'Sliding Wall Panels' for Around Hot Water Heater
Intro: 'Sliding Wall Panels' for Around Hot Water Heater
when i replaced my hot water heater the wall at the side of it had to be removed to get the old one out and replace it so rather than rebuild the wall I decided to replace the wall with 2 sliding panels so if in the future I needed to either get in there or even remove the water heater I wouldn't have to take down the wall again plus I can easily slide out a panel when i want to drain the sediment which I do once a month (tip: if you drain a couple pails out each month - part of my month end routine maintenance around the house - the sediment won't build up in your water heater and it'll last longer)
As you can see from the pic my water heater location is in the bathroom next to the toilet and there's not much room. The new water heater is also a 50 gallon so it's slightly bigger than my previous one so the wall has to also be moved over accordingly
As you can see from the pic my water heater location is in the bathroom next to the toilet and there's not much room. The new water heater is also a 50 gallon so it's slightly bigger than my previous one so the wall has to also be moved over accordingly
STEP 1: Planning Out the Project
so first i did a lot of brainstorming as to how to build a track for these wall panels to slide on???
If you remember back in August I had a whole lot of renovations done..well, thinking of what I have on hand (rather than buying new) plus I'm all about re-use/recycle...I realized if I use 2 pieces of corner trim I could make myself a sliding trim piece by placing one on top the other.
I also have a couple sheets of drywall (1/2" x 4' x 8") so that will work for the panels
I will have to 'bite the bullet' and purchase some trim wood ...Home Depot has 3/4" x 2" x 8' cheap wood on for 1.29 each so I picked up 4 of those...some of it will be used to attach my sliding trim pieces to the subfloor and the rest will be used to brace the back of my panels so they have some support. I also stopped at the Restore here in town and picked up 2 vents (15" x 7" ea) since I want to vent the water heater sliding walls.
Obviously I will need some drywall screws and some wood screws which I have on hand as well
and paint...lots of that around too
If you remember back in August I had a whole lot of renovations done..well, thinking of what I have on hand (rather than buying new) plus I'm all about re-use/recycle...I realized if I use 2 pieces of corner trim I could make myself a sliding trim piece by placing one on top the other.
I also have a couple sheets of drywall (1/2" x 4' x 8") so that will work for the panels
I will have to 'bite the bullet' and purchase some trim wood ...Home Depot has 3/4" x 2" x 8' cheap wood on for 1.29 each so I picked up 4 of those...some of it will be used to attach my sliding trim pieces to the subfloor and the rest will be used to brace the back of my panels so they have some support. I also stopped at the Restore here in town and picked up 2 vents (15" x 7" ea) since I want to vent the water heater sliding walls.
Obviously I will need some drywall screws and some wood screws which I have on hand as well
and paint...lots of that around too
STEP 2: Getting Started on the Slider Trim Pieces
so i started by measuring from the wall out as far as the corner of where the 2nd panel will end
The plan is to first slide the left panel into place and then slide the right panel into place afterward.
Be sure to leave enough room to allow for the bracing on the back of the panel to slide next to the panel already in place
I first attached 27.5" piece of 2" x 3/4" to the subfloor using wood screws. Next I cut same length of the corner trim x 2 . The other panel will be 30" long so I did the same for the other side of the water heater.
After I got the support piece attached to subfloor I could then attach one piece of the corner trim. With that completed I next reversed the next piece of corner trim to make my notched out slider trim for each panel
After I finished screwing down the corner trim to make my sliding trim I measured for each panel
66" length x 27.5" and 30"
cut out the wall panels and slid them into place to get a rough fit and make the final measurement
The plan is to first slide the left panel into place and then slide the right panel into place afterward.
Be sure to leave enough room to allow for the bracing on the back of the panel to slide next to the panel already in place
I first attached 27.5" piece of 2" x 3/4" to the subfloor using wood screws. Next I cut same length of the corner trim x 2 . The other panel will be 30" long so I did the same for the other side of the water heater.
After I got the support piece attached to subfloor I could then attach one piece of the corner trim. With that completed I next reversed the next piece of corner trim to make my notched out slider trim for each panel
After I finished screwing down the corner trim to make my sliding trim I measured for each panel
66" length x 27.5" and 30"
cut out the wall panels and slid them into place to get a rough fit and make the final measurement
STEP 3:
Since the bottom is out a couple inches from where the top sliding trim will sit I will have to shim it enough so that my sliding trim at the top will sit evenly..the plan is to build a small shelf to accomodate for this difference..I can always put some knickknacks up there if I want to later?...more dust collectors really lol
Next I measured exactly and cut down my 2 sliding panels from the 1/2 " drywall
I set them in the track to confirm they fit before beginning on the top support
stopped back to Home Depot and bought 2 U-joint trim pieces to cover the rough edges of drywall sliding panels
measure/screw in shims for the top of panels and install my upper track
(rather than purchase wood I just used wood I had laying around from other renos)
screw it in place and measure for the 2 mini shelves
add the top 2 pieces of drywall for my knick knack shelf
Next I measured exactly and cut down my 2 sliding panels from the 1/2 " drywall
I set them in the track to confirm they fit before beginning on the top support
stopped back to Home Depot and bought 2 U-joint trim pieces to cover the rough edges of drywall sliding panels
measure/screw in shims for the top of panels and install my upper track
(rather than purchase wood I just used wood I had laying around from other renos)
screw it in place and measure for the 2 mini shelves
add the top 2 pieces of drywall for my knick knack shelf
STEP 4: Inserting My Vents and Finishing It Off
so I have the 2 vents that I got super cheap at the restore
I just have to lay my panel flat and position my vent where I want it (near the bottom and in front of the venting on actual water heater)
Next I trace around the vent and then get the drywall saw and cut out the pattern
I decided to screw trim pieces of wood on the back of the drywall sliding panels for support (I basically attached trim pieces along the outside length and width) and I also screwed some trim pieces around my vent hole so I can screw the vents in place
I got a corner trim (white) and use it to cover the gap between the 2 sliding panels for now..it works pretty good and covers the gap so Im ok with it for now...maybe I can come up with some other way in future?
**my mudding on mini shelf leaves something to be desired and it looks a bit rough but I plan to re-mud the top shelf area and re-paint when I get motivated
Either way I accomplished what I wanted...what started as an idea ended up being a sliding panel wall that I can move out when I want to
I've since drained the sedament 2x already and it's quite easy to just slide out one panel/drain/slide back into place...plus if I ever needed to repair/remove the water heater I wouldn't be faced with removing the wall next time
what are your thoughts?
I just have to lay my panel flat and position my vent where I want it (near the bottom and in front of the venting on actual water heater)
Next I trace around the vent and then get the drywall saw and cut out the pattern
I decided to screw trim pieces of wood on the back of the drywall sliding panels for support (I basically attached trim pieces along the outside length and width) and I also screwed some trim pieces around my vent hole so I can screw the vents in place
I got a corner trim (white) and use it to cover the gap between the 2 sliding panels for now..it works pretty good and covers the gap so Im ok with it for now...maybe I can come up with some other way in future?
**my mudding on mini shelf leaves something to be desired and it looks a bit rough but I plan to re-mud the top shelf area and re-paint when I get motivated
Either way I accomplished what I wanted...what started as an idea ended up being a sliding panel wall that I can move out when I want to
I've since drained the sedament 2x already and it's quite easy to just slide out one panel/drain/slide back into place...plus if I ever needed to repair/remove the water heater I wouldn't be faced with removing the wall next time
what are your thoughts?
2 Comments
zomfibame 10 years ago
I love this fairly simple way to hide the water heater. nice idea for sure... I do think Tyelar is right as far as legalities and safety though... but on the other hand I've lived in a fair number of places that had the water heater 100% exposed with NOTHING around it but a folding-door. and I've lived in mobile-homes that only had a single layer of very thin (1/8" paneling in one place) between the water heater and a main bedroom.... in reality, it did indeed stress me a bit when I slept in that room, thinking about how fast I'd die in my sleep if something went wrong. ..... so, in truth, I would at least do like they suggested and glue a 2nd piece of sheet-rock to the back side of the sliding panels. ... also, it appears the vent at the top of the water heater is linked to a piece of PVC pipe... if it is indeed a gas water heater I'm very surprised that this is kosher since where ever I've been the vent had to be metal in case of a fire or excess heat etc. if you are draining the heater regularly though, that means you get to inspect it often, so I'm guessing you'd notice pretty quick if something was starting to go wrong.
tyelar 10 years ago
You might want to check local building codes. If that is a gas fired water heater, it's supposed to be in a one hour fire-rated enclosure.. Ignore this if it's an electric water heater.
If so, you probably need to glue another sheet of sheetrock to each panel, and vent to the outside of your structure. At a minimum. Otherwise bathroom must have one hour fire-rated walls and one hour fire rated solid core door.
Even though it's a pain, it may save you and your families lives one day.