FURNACE ROOM ELEVATED
Clean, clutter-free finished spaces can be customized to include special zones for storage
Furnace rooms don't always get the love they deserve.
While buyers of new homes may key in on installing higher efficiency furnaces or even tankless hot water heaters to increase their energy savings, these still tend to go into basic, scaled down rooms with concrete floors and not much else, while being lit by a plain old-fashioned light bulb.
But that's changing.
“The old way of thinking was that guests don't see the furnace room so buyers don't want to spend their money down there,” said Brian Maclean, president of Newground Developments, an Edmonton-area custom home builder. “But when it's brought up as an option, people get excited about the idea.”
So what exactly are we talking about?
It comes down to a finished room that homeowners take pride in, adds Kevin Birkholz, president of custom home builder Birkholz Homes. That includes everything from smooth epoxy finished floors, metal checkered plate wall panels, or perhaps drywall finished and painted to the same level as in the rest of the house.
Or some combination of the two, drop or T-bar ceilings — allowing access to plumbing but giving the room a more refined look — and even increasing the room's size to allow for customized storage space that doesn't have the dampness or clamminess found in unfinished basements. Meanwhile, the anti
quated naked light bulb gives way to modern LED strip lighting.
“It's (storage) becoming increasingly more important to people,” said Birkholz. “It seems like houses have less storage outside their mechanical space. Everybody is trying to maximize the living space in their basements, so as we push
storage into the mechanical rooms, there are now a lot of people that are looking for a solution.”
It's all about making that mechanical room — including storage space — a part of the rest of their house so they feel good about going into that room and using it, added Birkholz. Maclean concurs, noting the rise of a need for more storage and that storage is one of the things his clients are looking for.
“You can never have enough storage,” he says.
Both builders said this space can be customized to include special zones for sports equipment, bikes, seasonal items and even home to additional fridges or freezer units. Some homeowners, they said, will use the fancier, expanded mechanical rooms to store pieces of art.
Then there is the fact that today's homes with smart automation or higher-end home theatre systems need a place to house the electronics and equipment that powers them. Having them in a finished extended mechanical room keeps the technology in an inviting space that makes it easy to reach if they need to be accessed.
Maclean also points out that normal furnace and related maintenance is much more pleasing to do if you're doing it in one of these upgraded rooms. Changing or cleaning filters, accessing the humidifier or just checking things out is less of a task in these upgraded rooms as opposed to having to head down into an unfinished basement.
LOTTERY HOME SHOWS THE WAY
Demand for these higher end, expanded mechanical rooms seems to date back some five to 10 years ago in Edmonton, both builders say.
In earlier versions of these upgraded rooms vinyl flooring might have been the choice, said Birkholz. Today, it is the higher end epoxy finish.
“What we are seeing now is the next level, always finished nicely and neat,” added Birkholz.
And while most Edmontonians wouldn't have had a chance to see an example of the more upscale mechanical rooms, that wasn't the case earlier this year when the 2020 Mighty Millions Lottery home opened in Cameron Heights.
In that home, built by Newground Developments, the mechanical room got a full upgrade with the checkered metal wall panels, a T-bar ceiling, epoxy floors, increased size to accommodate plenty of storage, and even painted baseboards.
“Painting the floors helps to keep the dust down and finishing the walls prevents dampness,” said Maclean. “What used to be excess space is now being made to serve a better purpose.”
The response was very positive, said Maclean.
“A lot of people were surprised to see the upgraded mechanical room,” he said. “They were saying it is so nice and bright, the additional storage is great, and that it would feel like less of a chore to maintain their furnaces.”
COST TO UPGRADE
Depending on how detailed a homeowner wants to go, upgrading the mechanical room finishes will add less than one per cent of the home's overall cost to the build price, according to Birkholz Homes. Newground Developments offers a dollar value, estimating about $4,000 to $5,000, again depending on the size and finishes.
Upgrading the room, however, does not mean it will change its overall location. That is pre-determined by the model of home being built.