Splitting water for rental units cost

My husband and I are looking at brownstones to buy and keep coming across single families that have been converted to multi-family units by the current owner. In almost all of these houses (unless it was a gut renovation) we see a single water heater for the entire building. Realistically, can one water heater be enough for a 4 family building?? And, if not, what are the general costs to split up water per unit?

kellyj

in Plumbers and Plumbing 12 years and 8 months ago

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needmtg | 12 years and 8 months ago

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My gas bill in summer (no heat) is $50-80, so I would expect double that for a 4-fam. Includes cooking gas. Incidentally, what are the pros/cons of tandem in parallel vs series? Vaguely remember one was good & the other bad?

slopefarm | 12 years and 8 months ago

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We have a 2-fam which we reno’d extensively. Separate water heater for the rental which is on the rental gasd meter. The water intake is not separately-metered. Probably excessive to go to four separate units. Just bulk up capacity in tandem (e.g., two big tanks instead of four little ones) and follow dave’s advice — deduct apportioned rental shares of gas and water bills against rental income.

brucef | 12 years and 8 months ago

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Kellyj, You have two basic issues. First, will you have sufficient supply of DHW to cover peak usage? Secondly, what will it cost to heat that water on the asssumption that the cost of delivering it separately is prohibitive unless the wall are all open. The answers are that the actual cost to heat that water is minimal compared to your other costs. Especially if it is heated using an efficient device (consider separate zone off medium efficiency gas boiler w/passive storage). Due to complicated Dep’t of Buildings regulations, it is unlikely that any owner you will meet converted a house to multi-family. Many brownstones were made into cold water flats (look for old gas pipes in front and rear rooms) in the early 1900’s. Many of these were converted to legal multi-family in the 40’s-50’s, before the laws were so onerous. Increasingthe density of dwelling units in the recent past meant giving up all “grandfathered” non-compliance, so it would look like modern construction. Reducing the number of apartments is far easier than the reverse.

daveinbedstuy | 12 years and 8 months ago

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Most people just apportion the common area gas bill (heat & h/w) according to the number of units and then deduct as an expense the appropriate number for taxes.   Maybe you could ask ahead of time if there are hot water issues.   I think i had a 60 gal tank for 2 units/ 4 people and it was never a problem.

kellyj | 12 years and 8 months ago

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the tandem idea is great. Any idea of how much it costs to keep it on a single system generally per year. The amount of people you have in your building would be similar to this building and wondering (since we would have to pay the bill for the entire building) how much it would approx come out to.

needmtg | 12 years and 8 months ago

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Depends on the size of the w/h and its recovery rate. I have a 65gal. hi-recovery w/h for 2 fam, 3 baths, 5-6 people and it’s been fine. Of course, if you have tenants takng lots of baths or showers at the same time, it will be a problem. Splitting is probably infeasible as you have to have adequate gas lines to each apt. and the heaters have to be suitablyinstalled and vented, not  an easy task and can get ecpensive. You could tandem an additional w/h to add capacity.