How close can I put a wall to the furnace

I am located in Ontario Canada .. as this would likely play into the answer

I am finishing my basement, in my 2.5 year old home. I am using steel studs to construct all walls as they are non-load bearing. I want to locate a 3 piece bathroom beside what will be the furnace room (gas furnace, and gas hot water tank will be contents of that room). How close can I build my bathroom wall to the furnace itself. I have access at the back of the unit (approx 30") should I evey have to service or get the unit out of there. I will however have to reverse the compartment so I can change the filter from the back. I am hoping to put a wall around 12" away from the unit itself. Is there are building code, or bylaw that would prevent me from doing that.

Any help is appreciated.

Chris

 

When I put up my wall around my furnace, I also used steel studs and placed the wall about 4 feet away, thereby giving plenty of space to manuever in the room. I will be istalling a fire rated door and grates on the wall for the furnace to breath.

 

Clearances should be specified my the maker. Likely 6" is all that is needed but check with the manufacturer, it may be zero clearance. Front clearances are generally higher for maintenance.

Another issue is combustion air for the furnace. You can generally not tightly enclose a furnace as this deprives it off the combustion and dilution air that it needs. You will need to ensure that the unit has air it needs or else you could have some high CO (carbon monoxide) levels which will quietly cause you to fall asleep and not wake up, or just set off your CO alarm. Also would result is higher operating costs as gas will burn less efficiently and produce less heat requiring higher gas use.

Sometimes a louvered door will allow enough air, other times you need to add vents to adjoining rooms or vents to bring in outside air. If it is a high-efficiency furnace you may already have a pipe bringing in combustion air.