# Options for disguising an ugly gas wall furnace



## dandh (Oct 26, 2012)

We have a big Empire gas heater in our living room that provides most of the heat to our open-concept ranch house. It works well, it's just an eye-sore. It's also in the middle of the only open wall in the room, so we have everything (TV, couch, etc) sitting at a weird angle to the corner. I'd love to build (aka: have my hubby build) a "cover" for it, but obviously we don't want to do anything to limit the function and flow of the warm air coming from the furnace. It has a blower on the top left corner. Can we build a frame around it and use sheet metal from Home Depot (that's the first place we've seen decorative sheet metal, anyway) around the top half/front of the furnace to allow the air to move through? 

Anything do-able with that? Other things we need to consider? Thanks!


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Beside impeding the function of it...anything other than metal is going to be a fire hazard.

About the only 'real' solution is a forced air heater...


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I agree, but in the off chance there's another way, posting a picture will help.


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## dandh (Oct 26, 2012)

Here's a pic of the heater...pardon the unfinished trim. :whistling2:


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

Your kind of stuck with what you see.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Changing to a different heat source is about your only option on this one.


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## dandh (Oct 26, 2012)

We did have one HVAC guy tell us (when he had come to repair it last winter) we could probably paint it, but only once. Though I have no idea how to go about painting something like that.... Thoughts on that?

And just so I understand the big picture....what makes it different from old radiators that people build covers around? (Not trying to argue that point, I just want to better understand this hunk of metal in our living room!)


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

Radiators don't have a gas burner in them, that requires combustion air to work.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

If you have a crawl space that is deep enough, you could put a forced air heater down there. You would run the ducts in the craw space.

Trust me....once you get a 'real' heater, you will wonder why you waited so long. Instead of the heat being in one room....all your rooms will be warm.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

You certainly can paint it white to blend it into the walls. Use some Rustoleum. Buy a quart of white oil base to paint the flat parts and you could use a rattle can of Rustoleum white to spray the fins/vents. Hopefully you can pop off that cover and paint it in a garage or outdoor area so you don't create nasty fumes or damage some of the interior parts with spray paint. Not the ideal solution, but it will make it blend into the wall and hide it some.


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

beenthere said:


> Radiators don't have a gas burner in them, that requires combustion air to work.


 And if you add a layer of paint and even slightly reduce the opening in those fins it can overheat or be a hazard. That unit/appliance is UL and CSA/CGA rated the way it is. If you alter it then the safety rating is void. They are tested in a lab with those size of openings and engineered for them. Even small changes can be hazardous. Only option would be to take the cover off and sandblast the paint off and add the same amount later.


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## dandh (Oct 26, 2012)

Thank you all! Incredibly disappointing for me, but maybe we'll just paint a big smiley face on the front panel and try to live with it. ;-) 

We'd love to do a whole house furnace but we don't have a crawl space and we have 2 quotes at over $7000, which simply isn't an option for us with everything else we need to do on the house, and knowing we may have to sell it and move again in a couple years. :-( 

As far as arranging furniture, though....are there guidelines then, as to how far away a couch/chair/desk need to be from this unit? I haven't had much luck finding that info online.


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

Nothing in front of it. 6 to 12" a way from the sides.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

How many sq. ft. is this house?
One of my rentals is only about 800 sq. ft. and it's all heated and cooled by what's called a mini split.
Uses very little power and simple to install. No duct work needed.


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## dandh (Oct 26, 2012)

joecaption said:


> How many sq. ft. is this house?
> One of my rentals is only about 800 sq. ft. and it's all heated and cooled by what's called a mini split.
> Uses very little power and simple to install. No duct work needed.


The house is about 1600 sq. ft, and there's another smaller gas furnace in the room that used to be the garage (and was poorly remodeled and has no insulation).


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Even better, get rid of that archiac unit, and go with a mini-split or high velocity heat pump unit.

You could have a cover built, like they do with radiators, but it would also have to have sheet metal inside to protect the wood, if you make the cover out of wood.

What is the actual output temp of the unit, and what is the temp of the sheet metal covering the unit, when it is running?

You could also do a switch to turn it off when not using, by having it plugged into a switched circuit. I would use a AFCI breaker, or GFCI outlet to protect from any problems though, if I went with that route, just to be on the safe side.


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

If you make any kind of cover it will slow down the airflow patterns thru it and make the house feel worse from lack of circulation plus it could possibly overheat it. Safety and design of the unit come first. Don't want to read about you in the news when you get CO poisoning or there is a fire.:no:

People get CO poisoning from small appliances/units like that one just as easily as bigger furnaces. Gas fireplaces also.


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

yuri said:


> If you make any kind of cover it will slow down the airflow patterns thru it and make the house feel worse from lack of circulation plus it could possibly overheat it. Safety and design of the unit come first. Don't want to read about you in the news when you get CO poisoning or there is a fire.:no:
> 
> People get CO poisoning from small appliances/units like that one just as easily as bigger furnaces. Gas fireplaces also.


Yep. If the fan moves more air out from the cover, then the cover lets in for heating. It will draw the combusted gasses back in and blow them into the house.

No safe way to cover it, and make it look better.


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## old_squid (Oct 31, 2012)

The cover comes off the unit. Take it to a automotive body shop and they can paint it any color or even design you want. Other option would be to check with your local high school or technical school to see if they take on projects. Most time they'll do this kind of thing for cost of materials and a small "donation".

By no means cover the unit with anything or try building it in to hide it.


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

old_squid said:


> The cover comes off the unit. Take it to a automotive body shop and they can paint it any color or even design you want. Other option would be to check with your local high school or technical school to see if they take on projects. Most time they'll do this kind of thing for cost of materials and a small "donation".
> 
> By no means cover the unit with anything or try building it in to hide it.


 
Good Idea, :thumbsup: and probably they can sandblast it too. Looks like it is brown and dirty and new paint won't stick to that either.

and to get real fancy maybe they can put some nice racing flames on it.:laughing:


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## dandh (Oct 26, 2012)

old_squid said:


> The cover comes off the unit. Take it to a automotive body shop and they can paint it any color or even design you want. Other option would be to check with your local high school or technical school to see if they take on projects. Most time they'll do this kind of thing for cost of materials and a small "donation".
> 
> By no means cover the unit with anything or try building it in to hide it.


The entire cover comes off? Or just the front panel? Thanks for the ideas!


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