"converting" a utility cupboard

[domesticbadger]

Strangely enough, I think there must be people who have done this, but not necessarily spoken about it online (or in a searchable way)...

I have a Utility cupboard that contains the electric (brown) and gas (blue) meters, as per the below plan. It is accessible via a full length door with a gas cupboard key. The jut of the building is single storey, so no load is being born by the internal walls of the cupboard.

The hallway itself is quite constricted due to this cupboard, and there is a radiator on the east wall at the foot of the stairs, meaning there is very little room to keep a pushchair, footwear, vac and so on.

Ideally, I'd like to make it internal and remove at least the wall adjacent to the door - possibly both, depending on the costs associated with relocating the electric meter over to the other wall.

A neighboring house has (in the past) removed theirs and turned it into a toilet, based on the planning portal searches, so I assume it is unlikely to be a problem.

Does anyone have any experience of this kind of work? I've asked the local authority if it requires anything 'official' in terms of planning, but I am at this stage only anticipating bricking up the exterior access and appropriately insulating the exterior walls.

 

[noseall]

The one sticking point could be gas provider regulations (you will not get this from Planning or B'reg's) in that the service to the meter must not be under any building and must be accessible to the service engineers.

It's a pity they are not on the outside wall, but I guess this is your neighbours side in any case. They could be brought forward onto the front wall with say a pair of stacked access meter boxes built in or say a floor mounted gas fella and the electric built in.....?

We moved our electric meter simply by man-handling it (ply back board and all) onto an adjacent wall, once the floor material was dug out.

 

[^woody^]

Apart from the £4k costs of moving meters outside, or having ugly intrusive boxing, where would the ironing board and broom go?

 

[domesticbadger]

Apart from the £4k costs of moving meters outside, or having ugly intrusive boxing, where would the ironing board and broom go?

I don't understand your question. It's essentially a large cupboard that is only accessible from outside, that I'd like to become accessible from the inside (thus making the space 'usable').

 

[John D v2.0]

Yes i think the main cost will be getting the meters moved, you can get quotes but since they're a monopoly they can charge whatever. They may have better rates if the move is a shorter distance and the incoming supply only needs shortened rather than rerouted.
Then you would need an electrician and gas engineer to extend the internal pipework and move the consumer unit as appropriate which would be hundreds rather than thousands.
Another option would be to add a lockable door from the hall into the cupboard and then use it that way. It wouldn't be ideal but it might be better then nothing. Watch out for the possibility of damaging the equipment too, it may need additional protection eg boxing in.

 

[domesticbadger]

Yes i think the main cost will be getting the meters moved, you can get quotes but since they're a monopoly they can charge whatever. They may have better rates if the move is a shorter distance and the incoming supply only needs shortened rather than rerouted.
Then you would need an electrician and gas engineer to extend the internal pipework and move the consumer unit as appropriate which would be hundreds rather than thousands.
Another option would be to add a lockable door from the hall into the cupboard and then use it that way. It wouldn't be ideal but it might be better then nothing. Watch out for the possibility of damaging the equipment too, it may need additional protection eg boxing in.

The consumer unit is fine where it is, as its location and feed would not be affected by the move - the back board would simply need to move and not the 'internal' side of the connection. This is basically how it is set up now:

I've started an enquiry as to the costs, as I think it's quite minimal (in theory, it probably has enough 'give' to unscrew the backboard and move it, but that's not really a sensible idea or worth the risk).

My other alternative would be to simply halve the width of the cupboard - bring the wall in to the edge of the backboard. As daft as it all sounds, sometimes you have little space to work with, and it would vastly improve the functional space in the house, even if it were only an extra foot of depth to play with in the hallway.

 

[noseall]

(in theory, it probably has enough 'give' to unscrew the backboard and move it, but that's not really a sensible idea or worth the risk).

What risk? You're hardly trying to tie a knot in it.

Once you have unearthed as many services and knocked down as many meter bearing walls as I have, you soon come to realise the things do not just explode when touched. They are actually quite well connected.

 

[domesticbadger]

What risk? You're hardly trying to tie a knot in it.

Once you have unearthed as many services and knocked down as many meter bearing walls as I have, you soon come to realise the things do not just explode when touched. They are actually quite well connected.

I was thinking more about moving a meter without permission - wasn't entirely sure whether there was a criminal risk involved.

 

[noseall]

criminal risk

Good point.

 

[^woody^]

I think the asbestos (AIB) panels will be a problem to bump up the cost a bit/lot more.

 

[domesticbadger]

I think the asbestos (AIB) panels will be a problem to bump up the cost a bit/lot more.

Asbestos panels? They're polystyrene

 

[^woody^]

They won't be a problem then.

 

[endecotp]

Is the gas meter too low down to be visible in your photo?

 

[domesticbadger]

Is the gas meter too low down to be visible in your photo?

Yes, it's pretty much sat on the floor but on the right side wall.

 

[endecotp]

In that case, have you considered reducing the height of the cupboard? You could have an external small door at ground level providing access to the gas meter, then inside you could have either a space or a separate cupboard from there to the ceiling. Of course how useful that is depends on what you want to use it for - and it doesn’t solve the issue of the electricity meter, which you would presumably have to move down or something.

I mention this because I once knew a house where the small gas meter cupboard was accessible from the porch, and inside the top of it was a handy bedside table!