Moving gas meter into recess

Dodgysailor

Dear all,
We are building a small tiny bathroom under the stairs and the gas meter is a bit in the way of the toilet bowl. Our builder suggested, to remove a few bricks from the wall and get the meter a bit into the recess maybe half of it enough for the reading to be visible. The inlet pipe to the meter is a flexible metal pipe so the only thing the gas safe engineer has to do is to shorten the copper outlet a little bit.
Any one can suggest if this can be done?

TheCyclingProgrammer

Is it an external wall? Could you get it moved to the outside?

Dodgysailor

No, in the other side there is a garage. The idea is to put the meter within the internal wall just a few centimeters from its current position into the cavity but not in the garage. So part of the gas meter will be inside the wall cavity and the other part showing through....

Lungboy

The meter belongs to the infrastructure company, so it would have to be them that moved it wouldn't it?

beaker141

I'd go ahead and do it.

I had to get mine moved from "in the way" to an outside meter box, less than a 100cm move and it cost me several hundred for the right people to do it.

If you can achieve what you want without having to change the supply pipe then I'd go for it!

Lungboy

From the CAB website:

"Moving your energy meter less than 1 metre

You'll need to contact your supplier and tell them you want to have your meter moved.

You don't have to go through your supplier to get your meter moved. The costs of getting this done can vary depending on the supplier. You should get several quotes and compare the prices to ensure you’re getting a good deal."

macman

No reputable RGI will touch a meter, as it's not the property of the householder.

PasturesNew

Due to the cost of moving it at all .... you might consider where you'd really like it to be (outside) and think about swallowing the cost as a "done and dusted" job.

While a meter is inside your house, meter readers have to come in to read it. In a loo, that might not always be convenient.

If the cost of moving it completely outside compares well to a "small move" then it's worth doing. It'd also, potentially, remove a barrier to a future buyer wanting to buy the house. It'd be "Ah, handy, outside" rather than "Hmmm... in the loo? Not sure about that"

Dodgysailor

I know, moving the meter outside would be the clever thing to do and I am prepared to do it in the near future. At the moment I am struggling with cash so would like to delay it. The gas meter is attached only to the outlet pipe so it will only need to be pushed a few cm inside the cavity.

phil24_7

But you would need to put a lintel in above any hole you make in the cavity wall. With this added cost it could well work out cheaper and it would be easier and safer to move the meter itself.

I know what I would do.

Regards
Phil

fezster

macman wrote: »

No reputable RGI will touch a meter, as it's not the property of the householder.

An RGI with the appropriate qualification can move the meter by 1m (or as much as the flexible pipe allows), as long as they do not alter the mains gas isolation valve. This qualification used to be called MAT1 on their gas safe registration card, I believe.

OP - you may want to check with your local gas transco whether it is safe to locate it in the location you are proposing. Ideally, the person moving it would advise the same, but sometimes it's better to get confirmation from a party which has no incentive to say it's ok.