Hi, I've got a dilemma with venting an exterior water heater enclosure.

In it there's a direct vent 40gal gas water heater.

The enclosure is 24"x 24"x 72" and mounted on a 12" riser of concrete.

The top of the box has about 22" clearance under the eave.

The eaves are really deep about 30" from fascia to wall.

Currently it is vented with 3" accordion flex to single wall and strapped

to the fascia with an 18" riser above the roofline to a standard vent cap.

Needless to say it looks god awful and I don't believe it is venting correctly.

I don't want to cut through the eave to run it straight up.

Is it legal to just 90 it off the top and vent horizontally?

Or maybe fabricate a heat shield under the eave and just stub it out short?

The location is in a breezeway between 2 houses, but when there is a no wind situation

I'm guessing there could be some C02 issues? It would however be venting approximately 8' off the ground.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

you need to use B-vent for a chimney.
regular smoke pipe must have 6 inches clearance fron wood.
B-vent can be within 6 inches of wood.
you can not put a 90 directly on top of the draft hood. must be at least 12 inches of straight pipe before turning 90 deg.
maybe have a talk with you gas inspector about how to run the chimney legally.

If you vent it horizontally, the wind will blow into it and cause combustion and pilot issues.

You stated the water heater is a "direct vent". Is this correct?