Removing cooker switch

[someonelse]

See the socket/cooker switch in the photo. What is likely to be behind it? Would the socket be on the same circuit as the cooker? Could I replace this with a double socket? Or if I replaced it with a blank, what would I do with the wires?

Purpose: I don't want the room designated as a 'kitchen'.

 

[Blueflash]

Yes you could replace it with a double socket. But make sure the if there is a cable supplying a cooker connection plate that that wiring is disconnected and made safe

Regards,

Dave

 

[someonelse]

Cheers.
Just measured it and it seems longer than a standard double socket. It's 165mm across (145 between the screws).

Anything available to replace?

 

[rsgaz]

It's a non standard old Crabtree size. You won't find anything to fit that box that isn't another cooker switch! Behind the faceplate you will find one of these....

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CB9338.html

They're much taller than a normal box, too. You will need to replace it with a normal box and then fill and paint around it.

 

[someonelse]

would a crabtree double like this fit?
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CB4306.html

or do crabtree do a blank face?

 

[rsgaz]

would a crabtree double like this fit?

Nope!

or do crabtree do a blank face?

And, nope!

 

[someonelse]

Grrrrrr!

But thanks.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I don't want the room designated as a 'kitchen'.

What do you mean by "designated"?

Seems a strange word to use if what you are doing is moving your kitchen to a different room and using this one for something else.

Grrrrrr!

Surely all the tiles will be going if it's no longer the kitchen, so in the overall scheme of things a new back-box isn't too onerous?

 

[JohnW2]

or do crabtree do a blank face?

...And, nope!

A blank plate is nothing more than a piece of material of adequate mechanical strength with two holes in it (and earthed if it is metal). It ought not to be difficult to fabricate one, if there is no 'simpler' solution to your problem.

If, as is likely, it is a dedicated cooker circuit coming from your CU/fuse box, then, if you are sure that it would never be needed again, another option would be to have the cable removed at the CU end, after which you could remove the 'cooker switch' and fill the hole

Kind Regards, John

 

[someonelse]

'Designated' - Mortgage lenders rarely approve applications where there are two kitchens in a property. The presence of a cooker, or cooker point, would designate it as a 2nd kitchen (for their purposes). But a utility room is fine.

Tiles would not be removed, and yes, it's possible in the future the cooker point might be restored.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Leave it there, then. You have a socket.
I don't see why you think the word 'cooker' on a switch designates the room as a kitchen. It's probably an actual cooker which does that.
Stick a label over it saying something else.

You could likely fit another socket where the cooker connection is lower down - or several.

 

[JohnW2]

'Designated' - Mortgage lenders rarely approve applications where there are two kitchens in a property. But a utility room is fine.

Fair enough, but I think you'll find that mortgage lenders are concerned about how rooms are actually being used, not what is written on electrical accessories.

My house once had multiple kitchens (it still has two). As a result, there are still 'cooker switches' (that I haven't bothered to get rid of) in rooms that clearly are not being used as kitchens. Even if that came to the attention of lenders (which seems fairly unlikely), I would be surprised if it resulted in any problems.

Kind Regards, John

 

[someonelse]

I appreciate the fedback. You may both be right. But the only way to find out is to wait for a surveyor to visit and see what he writes in his report. If he puts 'kitchen' (or perhaps even 'could be used as a kitchen), the lender might reject.

I'm just minimising the risk.

 

[JohnW2]

I appreciate the fedback. You may both be right. But the only way to find out is to wait for a surveyor to visit and see what he writes in his report. If he puts 'kitchen' (or perhaps even 'could be used as a kitchen), the lender might reject. I'm just minimising the risk.

There's no harm in being cautious!

I think a lot probably depends upon the size of the house. The only real reason I can think of why a lender might be concerned about two kitchens is if there is scope for constituting the house as two separate dwellings (unlikley if the house is of 'modest' size, and particularly if the room in question is close to a 'real kitchen') - and, in any event, countless houses have 'granny flats', which may well have a ('second') kitchen. As for "could be used as a kitchen", that's true of almost any room, even if it currently does not have a 'cooker' circuit supplied to it. The presence of suitable plumbing and drainage is much more likely to make people think "could be used as a kitchen" - since, even if it does not currently have a 'cooker circuit', an electrician could always arrange that in an hour or three!

What is this room currently constituted as - is it actually being used as a utility room? If it is, and if you're really concerned, you could have one of the appliances (washing machine or whatever) hard-wired into that switch, and stick a label over "cooker" which said "washing machine" (or whatever).

Kind Regards, John

 

[someonelse]

It's a kitchen in an annexe......

But back to the electrics: I'm thinking now to replace the existing "non standard old Crabtree size" switch with a modern standard size one (filling in the plaster around it), and then covering with a face-plate.

That way it can be easily re-converted to use if required.

Would that be straght-forward to do?