Meter board question

[robertoi]

Hi there,
I have a question relating to my meter board which I hope someone can advise me on!

My meter board is currently on the insider of the front wall of my house, on the right hand wall of an alcove (if u are standing facing the party wall with the meter on the right) where I want to build a cupboard. In order to do this, I need to get the meter moved a few inches across the board otherwise it would not fall within the cupboard. I believe my supplier will do this for free.

However, what I then would need to do is to reduce the size of the meter board by a few inches so that it also would fall within the cupboard. Obviously, to avoid paying £500+ to have the whole shebang disconnected, removed, and a new meter board put in, I am intending to cut board in situ on the wall.

My question really is - do I have the legal right to do this - after all I wont be interfering with the actual supply side of the electics atall, just the ancient bit of wood which (just about) holds it all on the wall.

Thanks in advance,

Rob

 

[Steve]

No you dont. The meter board and (normally) everything on it does not belong to you.

And if you think the DNO will get out of bed for free for anything other than a fuse pull or dangerous situation, you're sadly mistaken.

If the board was hanging off the wall, they might come out free.

hint hint.

Put up a picture. We like pictures.

 

[robertoi]

well, as it happens, the board is no longer actually firmly attached to the wall, as the plaster/ brickwork is so crumbly that it can actually be pulled away from the wall with your finger. I'll take a pic and post later...

 

[wingcoax]

In that case tell your DNO you consider it in a dangerous condition, hopefully they will respond in a timely manner.

 

[robertoi]

Thanks for the replies, now I look at it again, the meter board is actually not attached to the wall atall any more, as you can see from pic below I can put my hand behind it and pull it away from the wall, at any point on the board.

I think the only reason it stays in place is because the black fuse box connected to it has a very stiff (lead??) wire going into it and holding it in place.

Reckon my dno would be willing to sort this out free of charge?

Ta

Untitled

• robertoi
• 6 Mar 2010
• 1

 

[flameport]

The DNO might fix that for free, however the fix will probably be just screwing the board back onto the wall.
Changing the board itself will not be free, as that will require removing both the meter and the cutout, and then fixing them to a new board. The new board is likely to be the same size or bigger than the existing one.

However what is to be gained by removing a few inches of the board? The consumer unit is still in the way.

 

[Steve]

Yes that looks like a paper and lead cable going into the cutout, very stiff and very reliable, but dont try to bend it, or serious damage may be caused.

The thing with the equipment on that board is that the people that deal with the cutout (and the board), and the people that deal with the meter, are different! Thus if you want anything moving, you're gonna need at least 2 visits!

 

[robertoi]

By removing a few inches from the right hand edge of the board, the edge of the board would then be further back into the alcove, allowing me to build cupboard front which is flush with the chimney breast. At the moment, the board would extend further out from the alcove than the cupboard front.

I was planning on moving the consumer unit onto the rear wall of the alcove, as there is enough length in the tails from the meter to the consumer.

Its rather irritating that I may have to shell out potentially alot of money just to be able to build something in my house. Just cos someone put in a crappy meter board in an irritating location 20+ years ago......

Seriously, if I was to get the meter moved, and then cut the board in situ with a hand held circular saw or somerthing, and then tidied it up, how would anyone ever know??

 

[skenk]

You wont be able to move the meter unless you cut the seal which is seriously not a good idea.

Nobody would ever know or likely care if you were to take in inch or two off the side of the chipboard which had no equipment on it.

A Fein multimaster would be perfect for this, a normal circular saw would need somewhere around 50mm of space next to it so would not work unless the meter was moved this distance away from the line to be cut.

The tails might be long enough to move the CU but what about the circuit cables? I would not advise moving the CU to be a DIY job.

 

[robertoi]

I was told by my DNO that my supplier should move the meter on the existing board for free, I wasnt going to do it myself

Think I will go back to that plan and assume (probably realistically) that no one will ever notice. I mean, I will attach the board to the wall properly afterwards, so if anything it will be better than before!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Ask your supplier to confirm in writing that the DNO are right about them moving it for free...

 

[flameport]

I was planning on moving the consumer unit onto the rear wall of the alcove, as there is enough length in the tails from the meter to the consumer.

The tails might be long enough, but the other cables won't be. How are the circuit cables going to be extended?

How were you intending to disconnect the supply before moving the consumer unit? Don't even think about moving it while live - that would be extremely foolish and dangerous.