Installing an air conditioner in the wal
handygman
| Posted in General Discussion on
I want to install an air conditioner in the wall of a one story house. I don’t now the snow load. The exterior wall is 2X4 studing. The inside wall is wall papered. Can’t be replaced. It’s a small air conditioner, 8,000 btu’s. I’m thinking I find a stud. It becomes the center point for the AC. I cut the rectangle to fit the AC through. So how do I get a frame in the wall. I assume I need a header. Is there a way.
thanks.
Replies
i would cut one stud ,then the ret. opening. now i'm looking at the stud hanging in free air,take a circular saw and set the blade at 3" and start making slices 3"deep into the stud. once i had it pretty well chewed out take a chisel and clean it up,make me up a double 2x4 header and anchor it to each of the ones off to the side.did any of that make sense?
or find a window.
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
What are the dimensions of your air conditioner?
This is important because there is 14 1/2" space between the wall studs. If the so-called "height" of the unit is less than 14 1/2" then you could mount it the unorthodox way. That is, in graphic art terms, portrait style instead of the usual landscape style.
Such a procedure would obliterate the need for any structural remediations whatsoever. However it might not work. Then you would have to change the orientation of some of the internal componants of the machine, perhaps the needle valve. Just a little matter of soldering, UL certification and recharging the Freon, a noble gas. But then again, maybe it will. In any event, there should be enough flexibility in the power cord to be able to fit in the receptacle in any orientation.
~Peter