gordonr, If there's nothing else I've learned during the course of my renovations, I've learned that everything ends up being more complicated than you expect. Once you open up the ceiling or the wall, there always seems to be something in the way of what you want to do. A floor joist where the tub drain needed to be, pipes where I wanted recessed lights to go, and now the recessed light over the tub is where it would make sense to run the duct. I can hardly wait to get to the kitchen renovation! I spoke with a rep in Miele's technical service group yesterday. Initially he was telling me he thought what I wanted to do entailed too long a stretch of duct - that it would reduce the performance of the dryer. I told him I expected that it would not be optimal performance, but what I was trying to determine was whether it would reduce it to the extent that a condenser dryer would have the same performance. He didn't seem to understand what I was getting at, so I gave an example: If the vented model has 15% better performance than the condenser model and the venting I'm doing reduces performance by 15%, then the condenser model would be generally equivalent, but if the vented dryer's performance is 50% greater, the same 15% reduction in performance would still mean the vented dryer was a better choice. I asked if he could give me any information about how much better the vented dryer's performance was than the condenser model and how much the venting I was considering would reduce the vented dryer's performance. At that point, he said he wanted to talk with one of the senior technical reps and put me on hold. When he came back, he told me that the dryer was rated for up to 60 feet (which I already knew) and that I should be fine with what I was planning on doing. He also told me that the sr. rep had indicated that having a condenser dryer in a closet could be problematic because it puts off a lot more heat than a vented dryer - you'd need a lot more air circulation into the closet with a condenser dryer. The closet I'll be putting the w/d into is 68" wide by 29" deep, so the extra heat and air circulation need may not have been as much of an issue for me as it might be for others with a more confined space. One learning that I took away from this: if you start to get the sense that the technical or customer service person you're talking to may not be as knowledgeable as you'd like, ask to talk with a senior rep. Like anywhere else, initial phone calls will be answered by more junior staff who will route the more complicated issues to more experienced staff. I've decided to go with a vented dryer, and now just need to decide between the Miele and the Asko. I'll let everyone know which one I end up with. Jan

The solution may be simple, get a tight clearance vent telescope. This will allow you to place the dryer as close as 3 inches to the back wall. Here is a link that might be useful: Tight Vent from Amazon

If you check the spec on your dryer I think you will find that you will be exceeding the ability of the dryer to move the air to dry effectively. Each load will take longer and therefore be more costly. I'd suggest that you look into a booster fan. Tjernlund makes about the best of them in my opinion. Watch their video on operation. You could take the 4" exhaust pipe (try to use smooth walled ridged pipe) and insulate and sleeve it with PVC on the portion under the deck. The vent should not terminate under the deck

Thank you both for your input. @dadoes, you are correct about the HOA. They perform no maintenance whatsoever on the townhomes themselves and they will not intercede in a dispute between neighbors. I did buy a heat sensor gun and it shows a hot spot when the dryer is running. The neighbors say there is a vent pipe there that goes to the roof, but I expect it is not properly sealed as you describe. I see no evidence of humidity on my side, but as you say, I can't really tell unless I open the wall. I tried the Fire Marshall's office first, but they have handed off all inspection-related responsibilities to the city. I am fairly certain that they don't have the right to use the shared space for any equipment, but I haven't been able to discover what law or regulation applies. If I can uncover that, I will know which agency to contact.