Home resale implications of furnace installation.

It's like drilling holes in the roof of a vehicle to install antennas: it seems like it will reduce the value, but it really doesn't. I guess it depends on the buyer whether it's a plus or minus. I'd say that in general, it doesn't affect the value at all, or at least not a large percentage of the value. Ducts can be easily patched back in and the woodburner removed.

Personally, I've never done anything with the thought of improving the "resale value" of my house. I do what I want to, because I pay for it, and don't worry about the possible future effects that may or may not have an impact.

My wood furnace is the sole source of central heat, plus I have a small stove in the fireplace. If a new owner wanted "automatic" heat, what would it cost? 5 grand at most to put a furnace in- not very much in the scale of things. I could probably stick one in much cheaper by doing all the labor myself and make a profit on my labor too.

if its still in the garage to heat it , it may be a code violation (elk???? are you there????) in the cellar however , even if the unit is not used under normal conditions having it there and ready in case of a prospective owner either ; A, wanted to heat with wood or at least suppliment, or B, sees it as a backup in case of power outages (add on furnace not being the best case rather have a freestanding unit for that) but emergency/supplimental heat , how could it reduce value???

by the way , thank you for choosing my product <shameless plug sorry,> < chuckle>

Backhoe said:

Hi - I'm new here, first post. I've looked around quite a bit on this site and found a couple of various references but nothing directly about if a wood furnace in the cellar would hurt or help the resale of a home? I have an englander 28-3500 that I have used one season to heat my 3 car garage. It does a very nice job so I don't freeze while working on my car. My general question is would it help or hurt the value of my home if I cut it into my current heat ducts? I don't know if people buying a home, in general, consider it a plus or minus to have a permanent wood stove installed as part of the central heat. I know probably everyone on this site would consider it a plus (I certainly would) but I was wondering what people have experienced when they try to sell. I guess the best person to ask would be a real estate agent. At any rate, if this is in the wrong place, or already discussed, on the site my apologies and I will move if you point me in the right direction. Thanks.

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Going to make a few assumptions here about the current setup as far as being up to code already. Before you start cutting it in to the existing heating system of the house, you would certainly need to check with the local code to see if it's something you can do or not.

I agree with Gibbon, in that if it is something YOU want to do for your house - you should probably look into what you can do to integrate the wood heater into the existing system.

As far as resale value... that's where it gets a little sketchy as to whether or not it is a plus or minus. If you are planning on selling the house soon - I'd say - don't do it. If you are looking years down the road and want to do it for your own benefit - then I'd say - go for it.

You are somewhere in MA from the post, so you know you know there's proabably a wide range of people that might be looking at it if you are thinking of selling soon... Some might look at it as a plus, and some will look at it as something they are scared to death of (especially if they see it is "attached" to the heating system). If its not connected to the current heating system... you could have 1 potential buyer thinking "I could connect that in, and it's not a big deal that its not right now", and at the same time, you could have another prospective buyer thinking "I want that thing out of here, good thing its not connected to anything, so its not a big issue". It really depends on when you might be looking to sell.

First of all no flexible duct work can be used in a solid fuel burning system. Common flexible duct do not meet the potential heat range
No flexible duct can penetrate a One fire protection area such as your garage An no flexible duct can be used to transmit anything from a fire protection area Even Metal duct work is required to be tied into the fire alarm system and have a smoke damper. A garage is considered a hazardousness location. No return air can be taken from a garage.

I would think holes in the fire code sheet rock is a code violation. To the best of my knowledge, code violations do not add value to a home.

elkimmeg said:

To the best of my knowledge, code violations do not add value to a home.

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That is awesome! You should add it to your signature.

First of all Backhoe...Welcome to the Forum.

Backhoe said:

Here's the setup. The garage is a garage under the house with a firewall to the attached cellar. When I want heat in the garage I set up the flexible hose attached to the stove and drag the other end into the garage through the open door between the garage and cellar. The flexible hose has this rating (Temperature Range: -65 F to 1050 F, Intermittent to 1250 F) and the highest temperature I've recorded is 140 F so this is well within its rating, but, most importantly, this was all set up when the building inspector came. He said "Nice setup - this should keep you warm". This is a fairly big town in eastern Mass so this is no local yocel part time, unknowing inspector so I'll take his ok easily as this guy and the rest of his department are known for being tough. Most importantly, I'm very comfortable with what I've put in. If I were to hook it into by existing duct work I'd do some more work with the inspector to get his views.

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As others have pointed out "Permanently running this type of heating out to the garage" is not exactly the best idea. There are potential code violations. It's a "hornets nest" I would personally avoid. If you already have a "system(method)" that works for your needs??? The old addage: Why fix something that "isn't broken"??? Comes to mind.

Backhoe said:

As for the resale of the house, I'm not planning on resale within say five years at the least and maybe never. I was just wondering what people have run into trying to sell their house who have some type of wood hooked into their central heat. As other posters have mentioned, some would like it and it seems like others would be turned away so I was wondering, hence the post, what people who have sold with this type of equipment in place have run across for issues and more importantly, has it been a help or hindrance - in general. I haven't seen a post yet by someone who actually sold a house with this type of setup.

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A lot of people have this type of setup. Whatever you do "make it looks like it belongs there". A nice looking, well thought out installation will be of added benefit.
The question you have to ask yourself is this: "If I sold my house tommorow...Who would buy it???" By that I mean ask yourself the question: Who is the potential buyer and what are they looking for??? By the sounds of things your house sounds like either a split or raised "ranch" perhaps etc. etc. It doesn't sound like a 5000SQ/FT "McMansion"...(although at a 3 car garage you are starting to get into that neighborhood).

So again who is the potential buyer??? If it's a young "working couple" looking for an affordable home...then the wood furnace "may be a potential attraction" for folks watching every $$$... and with energy prices continuing ever uppward...That will only be more attractive in the future.

However if it's going to be "Some yuppy couple" the proverbial "Never cracked a sweat a day in their life" then they might view woodburning as more of a chore and would probably "Rather just turn up the thermostat"... So if you want to get a ROI on home improvements and these folks are the potential buyer... spend your $$$ on a new wine cellar or a hot tub with a built in surround sound system...

Again...Ask yourself "Who will be buying my home"???

Backhoe said:

What is the reaction of real estate people when they come through for a viewing?

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Don't ask the realtor...Tell the realtor "Look...Instead of telling folks 'It has large spacious closets'(Don't know how many times I heard that one searching for a house to buy...yeah yeah Beautifull closets...the wiring looks like spaghetti, the plumbing looks like Rube Goldberg & Sons put it together over the last 30 years one piece at a time and the roof looks like a pair of 50 year old workboots...But hey those are some nice closets your right! BTW Those cinderblocks under the washing machine?? Does the basement flood when it rains or is that a new product being sold by Sears???)' Tell them the furnace was hooked in in one of the latest 'energy crises' You know the one where heating oil hit $4.00 a gallon around 2007..."

Short and sweet of it...just think of "good things to say" for the realtor to "sell your house".

A lot of houses have sold over the years after all the "fads" have hit. Whether it's a coal stove or a wood furnace just make sure the realtor does their job by saying "that can easily be removed like it was never here if it's a sticking point"...

...All in all as others have said make it "your home" and don't be overly worried "about the next guy."

...Sometimes (when it comes to a home...especially woodburning) the best dollar spent...is one you 'saved'.

I think a wood furnace in a house would be a good selling point and possibly add value to the home. But, only if you had a standard natural gas or oil heating system as well.