Are gas appliances allowed in bedrooms ?

[smittyc]

I'm designing a master bath remodel in which I plan to remove an old fiberglass stall shower. It looks like a stacked washer/dryer could be put in the space it occupies and I would only have to run a gas line for it since the water and drain are already nearby.
Is it permissible (US) to put a gas dryer in a master bath that is open to the bedroom ?
In our ranch style house the washer/dryer are in the garage on the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms (where all the clean and dirty clothes are ). We end up carting clean and dirty clothes from one end to the other, up and down stairs.
I could run power for an electric dryer but the one we currently have is gas and cheaper to run.

Thanks

Chris

 

[rizzoa13]

Good question on whether it's a code violation. I did nearly the exact same thing but didn't ask anyone. I made 2 smaller rooms into our master and have our washer and dryer at one end. It's so convenient.

What you could do is move the washer and dryer into your master bath but leave the old hookups. That way if you went to sell all you'd have to do is shuffle them back to the other spot.

 

[chrisrosenb]

I do not know of any reason a gas dryer could not be in the bathroom. I have seen them in closets just outside a bedroom door.
Gas fireplaces are allowed in bedrooms.

 

[tjbnwi]

303.3 prohibits the location.
http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/Seattle/seattle_fuelgas/PDFs_fuelgas/Chapter 3.pdf

I know it is a link to the Seattle code, it is the same text as the national code.

Tom

 

[rst]

Actually, if you read the exceptions, they are allowed.

 

[awil66]

I don't read it that way.

 

[tjbnwi]

Actually, if you read the exceptions, they are allowed.

I don't know of any sealed combustion dryers.

The OP states the area is "open to the bedroom" this eliminates/prohibits the install under exception #5.

Tom

 

[Locks14]

As a Brit I can't offer any advice, other than to say regardless of code, I don't like the idea of a gas appliance where I sleep, regardless of how cheap it is to run!!

But the what do we Brits know? 99% of us wouldn't have a washer dryer upstairs in a month of Sunday's! We keep them in the kitchen/utility or occasionally in the garage, moving the laundry to the kitchen/utility for washing is no biggie.

 

[Holzhacker]

I run into this type of question/situation frequently when doing consulting work. The easy answer is that NO it is not allowed. However, the more in depth answer is that it is possible for you to install a compliant installation. In situations like this between the actual Code section and the Exceptions what it comes down to is that the Code is trying to dissuade homeowners/contractors from doing something stupid.
As Tom mentioned under Exception #5 the install you are talking about isn't allowed. However, you could provide exterior combustion air to the bathroom and you could close the opening from the bathroom to the bedroom thereby allowing the install. Would you do that? Probably not. More time and money than its worth. You could build a rated enclosure closet within the bathroom with its own combustion air.
My recommendation would be that you consider adjusting the bathroom size/configuration/layout so that you could put the laundry in a closet or small room that opens to the hallway. 2nd floor hallway laundry closets / small rooms are very common here.
I don't know where you are or what your local Municipal inspectors are like. If they show up and you are doing a non-compliant install its going to cost you to change it out. Beyond that if you go to sell the home it could also become a safety issue for a buyer. Granted easy enough to remove a dryer but an issue nonetheless since now there's no laundry space.
The Code isn't some pesky government intrusion as some would like to view it. The Code is meant to provide you with a better chance of staying alive when a building component problem develops.

 

[smittyc]

Thanks for all of the replies. I think I will err on the side of caution and use an electric dryer if I go this route.
Carrying armloads of clothes on hangers or baskets of dirty clothes up and down two stairways, down a long hall and through two doors is something I would like to do less as we get older. We could get along with smaller appliances in the bedroom for our small household but I may just keep the ones out in the garage. My wife does a lot of quilting and weaving and sometimes has very large items for the W/D.
Thanks
Chris

 

[DB10]

As a Brit I can't offer any advice, other than to say regardless of code, I don't like the idea of a gas appliance where I sleep, regardless of how cheap it is to run!!

But the what do we Brits know? 99% of us wouldn't have a washer dryer upstairs in a month of Sunday's! We keep them in the kitchen/utility or occasionally in the garage, moving the laundry to the kitchen/utility for washing is no biggie.

It's interesting to see how diferent folks around the world deal with diferent situations, I myself as well couldn't believe that anyone would want to put a gas appliance so close to where they or other family members are sleeping. In saying that I'v never had the need to own a clothes dryer, there not exactly good for the wallet or the environment.

 

[Steve-Rice]

I built a custom home of my own design in New Jersey.  Our master bedroom has a large gas fireplace.  The bedroom has double pocket doors opening into a 16' x 20' master bath suite.  We have a full size washer and gas dryer behind bi-fold doors in the master bath suite.  There is no special exhaust venting in the washer/dryer area. All we're approved by our building inspector.

Although approved in my township, each municipality can have its own codes.  The most direct way to get the correct answer for your particular location is simply to ask your local building inspector.  You should be pulling a permit and getting everything inspected anyway, so ask them when you apply for the building permit.  It will save you a lot of grief down the road...

 

[smittyc]

We live in the County and there isn't an inspection process. I guess that can be a good and a bad thing.
Interestingly our house built in 1977 has both a gas water heater closet and gas furnace just a couple of feet outside three different bedrooms including the master.
These appliances obtained their combustion air from the hallway through upper and lower vents in their respective doors. The flues go through the roof as you would expect. Right above the doors in the hallway there is a whole house fan that exhausts into the attic when it is on and potentially back drafts the appliances. I'm still trying to figure out a good way to seal off the leaky non-insulated louver for that fan when it is not in use but that's another post.
I have since sealed those vents in the closet doors and installed the code approved pipes for combustion air from the attic but I really need to build some insulated doors to replace the hollow core luan interior ones for those closets since they separating unconditioned space.
Chris