Can't access boiler :(

[AA]

My house is just under 2 years old and I was thinking the boiler should have its first service sometime. Then I discovered there is no way to remove the front cover of the boiler without dismantling the kitchen cabinets! You see, the boiler guy installed the boiler. Weeks later they kitchen guys installed the kitchen wall cabinets. The top of the boiler is a couple if inches too high, so the top of the cabinet has been contoured around the shape of the boiler. The cover is the type that slides horizontally out. These pictures show it a bit better.

was thinking of removing the pelmet, cutting a portion of the cabinet top out and refixing it with angle brackets/plates. That would make it easy to dismantle things at service time. But during service there would be no support across the top of the cabinet. Would the cabinet hold itself together OK or is there a risk it would "implode"? Any other ideas?

I could call the builders back but their approach to snags usually involves messing things up with unsuitable tools and patching them up with sealant or whatever comes to hand.

[John]

[John]

The builders may have another cupboard carcase to hand that they could adapt (better) and then fit.

(Personally, I have never understood why we accept that a boiler should be taking up a space in a kitchen - builders stubbornness I suppose- pipes handy. Count your blessings that it is at least in a cupboard - many builders (sorry - Designer Homes firms) seem to think they look nice just slapped on a wall.)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Most wall cabinets already clip onto brackets. If you remove the pelmet and any screws securing it to its neighbours it should lift up and off.

[tim.....]

Surely it "takes up space" wherever you put it, so this is potentially irrelevant.

I once looked at a house where it was on the middle of a lounge wall, and thought "what a stupid place for it".

I also think that bedrooms are a silly place as the noise of it firing will keep people awake and always walk out of houses when it is there.

Which really only leaves the hallway or the bathroom, and in many houses there is less space here than the kitchen.

tim

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The bathroom is equally as handy for pipes, usually. And in the days when boilers produced a lot of heat into the room, a pretty good place for it.

[The Medway Handyman]

I would use KD fittings like these

to fit a removeable piece in the top of the cupboard. The bolts would enable you to remove the piece by using the bolts rather that undoing screws - only so many times you can do that.

Fix the cupboard firmly to the wall usng brackets so that removing the insert doesn't affect the structure..

Typical. Builders blame the kitchen fitters, they blame the builders - you are stuck in the middle.

[dennis]

My next one is going in the attic, along with all the control valves, in an insulated cupboard.

[stuart noble]

I did a similar thing for a neighbour but, with units either side, it was impossible to get the cross piece out because of the KD bolts. Had to sacrifice that and replace it with a pair of softwood struts with metal brackets on the inside of the carcass. No problem with stability, but this was a full length larder unit, so it had plenty of strength elsewhere. I have another neighbour with what looks like a similar problem waiting to happen. I guess there are boilers specifically designed for wall unit installation where removal of the case, and access to the innards, isn't a problem.

[robgraham]

d

Would be interesting to know if they still exist but when I was faced with the boiler fitting problem into a small house, I found one that was in a fibreglass case and hug on the outside wall. No problems with access and no problems with using up valuable internal wall space.

I know that has nothing to do with the OP's question - sorry!

Rob

[John]

Would be interesting to know if they still exist but when I was faced with the boiler fitting problem into a small house, I found one that was in a fibreglass case and hug on the outside wall. No problems with access and no problems with using up valuable internal wall space.

I know that has nothing to do with the OP's question - sorry!

Rob

Apols for leading the thread astray - I like the idea of an external boiler - but I have only seen oil fired ones. I suspect the regs may not allow external ones. A half-way would be a service recess in the house. I have just the space under my stairs (no internal access to the area) where an opening could be made and a boiler fitted in with suitable insulation of course. Better still - the American approach to houses - a proper basement with all the utility things down there.

[stuart noble]

What do they do about the flue exit from a cellar? How high does it have to be from ground level?

[cynic]

I sincerely hope you are the one to have to repair your outdoor model when its pissing with rain or snow is blowing round your ears and you struggle to grasp anything with frozen fingers. I am now retired but would never turn out to such abominations.

[jgharston]

I've just had my boiler replaced, and wanted it put in the cellar (where my washing machine already is - why take up kitchen space?). However, my plumber couldn't get an answer from the supplier about how to flue it correctly, so it went in the kitchen :(

-- JGH

[stuart noble]

Interesting. The cellar option would be nice in the case I'm thinking of, except it does have a tendency to flood when the water table's high. Still, a wall mounted model should be safe. I hope someone can clarify the flue situation because this is one of those houses with a tiny kitchen and a massive cellar.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The flue shouldn't be a problem since many can be extended. The condensant drain and safety outlet might be.