Expert: Sharon Toji - 2/4/2012

Question
Sharon:
I live on the first floor of the building where I reside with the boiler room directly below my living room.  I’ve noticed that my floor in the living room is warp and is constantly hot.  Just last week, I heard a very loud noise coming from the boiler room and when I contacted the super, he said that all the pipes were coming loose and that he and to shut down the boiler.
A friend told me that if my floor is warp, that means I do not have a concrete foundation under my apartment so as to in the case of the boiler erupting it will be contained in the boiler room, and not coming through my apartment.
What is if any, the code for the apartment above the boiler room?  This is very uncomfortable for me.

Thanks!

Chelston

Answer
I got even more precise information from a well known building inspector here in California: You might be able to find out for yourself the btus of the boiler, and also ask the Super if there are vents, and if they might be plugged. If he is not cooperative, or if there are no vents, it's definitely time to go to a building inspector or the fire and safety department. Different states handle codes differently. Here, you would go to building and safety.

"Boiler rooms have always required a minimum of a one-hour separation when the boiler exceeds 400,00 btus.

To be efficient, a supply of combustion air is necessary and is based on the btu rating of the boiler. Typically, two vents have to be installed within 12 inches of the ceiling and the floor to be certain that proper ventilation is provided. The vents are screened and they might be "plugged" with debris; so, they should be checked.

I know that it is a good and prudent action to request that a building inspector take a look at the condition."

I  checked on a building code web site I belong to, and got this answer:  "Concrete not required, But there should be a fire separation or sprinklered and the floor should not be "warm" to the touch.
Sounds like the boiler room is not properly ventilated."

I would suggest going to the local fire dept and asking for an inspection for safety reasons. As my expert said, they may need to install some kind of fire separation between the boiler room and your floor. Or, they may need to ventilate the basement in some way, or install sprinklers.

Sharon Toji