07_HOMES_WE_KNOW
Craftsman Bungalows, Period Revivals and Hillside Homes
Bungalow Heaven is one of Pasadena's best-known landmark districts, and its Craftsman bungalows share a pattern: a water heater on a back porch, in a basement or in a small closet off the kitchen, with old flues and narrow gas piping. Converting to tankless frees that space, but every pipe and vent has to travel through old-growth framing and plaster.
We plan routes that avoid cutting into original trim and visible facades. Condensing units vent with PVC, which allows side-wall or rear terminations that stay out of view from the street. Where a roof route makes more sense, we reuse existing penetrations when the code allows it.
Gas is the other big item. Many period homes in Madison Heights, Linda Vista and East Pasadena still run small-diameter gas lines that can't feed a unit drawing up to about 199,000 BTU. Upsizing the line, often to 3/4-inch, is a common part of the job, and we run it through crawlspaces and attics to keep finished rooms intact.