Dealing with plumbing in a small laundry room

[lkirill]

I'm in a bit of a bind with my current plumbing setup. My townhouse (NJ) is built on slab and all my major HVAC/water appliances are sitting in a small laundry room on the ground floor level (see the image). Now came the time to replace my furnace but it’s completely blocked by the pipes coming in and out of a water softener and also lots of space on the right side is taken by a water heater. Bottom line, it’s not really possible to replace the furnace w/o removing either the water softener’s pipes or the heater or both. Water heater is quite old and I don’t mind replacing it at the same time. My question is, how do I coordinate the whole effort? Should I call the plumber and ask him to remove the softener with its pipes and let the HVAC guys install the furnace? Also is it realistic to clear the area from both water softener and old heater, install furnace and then put back the new heater and softener. I don’t mind dealing with cold and hard water for a couple of days but I need to know if it all can be completed within that period.

 

[frodo]

your water softner has been installed illegally.

the uniform mechanical code states that the equipment shall be accessible to maintain and REPLACE with out removing other systems

who ever had the water softner installed did not think ahead.

as far as removing the water softner, replace the heater then put it back.

good luck, a plumber will remove the water softner
a hvac guy will do the heater
then the plumber puts the softner back

getting a plumber to come to your house twice is going to cost you out your........

not have ing a picture does not help.

i am wondering if the softner can be raised off the floor allowing access under it

or move the washer dryer closer and sotner next to them

 

[frodo]

......................

 

[skelly716]

I'd disconnect the water softener and move that out of the way. Then replace the furnace and the water heater at the same time. I'd also use this outage time to look at the softener to see if it needs any maintenance or cleaning.

 

[skelly716]

Why not run your water softener piping along the wall (strapped/secured) behind the furnace? Leave all appliances readily accessible.