Is it possible to hide a gas boiler in a closet: 9 successful solutions

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Merlin September 25, 2018

Boiler in the closet, communications hidden

According to SNiP, the gas boiler is located in the kitchen. This useful unit spoils the interior and needs to be disguised. Get acquainted with effective techniques for installing a gas water heater/boiler in a cabinet that does not violate operating rules.

Solution 1: Safely placing the boiler inside furniture

If you are planning to improve the kitchen space and hide the gas boiler, you need to study the norms, installation and use rules. This is an important point on which your health and life depend.

I will focus on the main points:

1. Placement is carried out on the wall or floor.
2. The gap from the floor is 80–160 cm, from the ceiling - 80 cm.
3. The cabinet used for “camouflage” cannot be adjacent to the walls of the unit. Gaps are made on the sides - from 5 cm, in front - from 10 cm.
4. The room must have windows for ventilation.
5. The power of a household boiler is selected to be no more than 60 kW.
6. Installation and configuration is carried out only by specialists.
7. The distance to electrical appliances and stoves is at least 30 cm.
8. It is advisable to install gas leak alarm sensors.

The chimney must have good exhaust. Its performance is checked twice a year.

This is what a geyser looks like without decoration

Unauthorized replacement and transfer of a column

As we have already found out, various types of punishments are provided only for independent work with gas. Next, we’ll look at what the consumer faces from unauthorized replacement or relocation of the dispenser.

What are the risks of replacing the column yourself?

We have found that the consumer has the right to carry out installation and dismantling of an unattached device independently or to involve third parties.

Clause 10 of Section II of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 14, 2019 N 410 establishes that the replacement of in-house or in-apartment equipment must be carried out by a specialized organization.

Independent manipulations with the replacement of gas equipment, in particular the water heater, will entail a number of consequences.

So, according to Art. 7.19 of the Code of Administrative Offences, a fine of ten to fifteen thousand rubles will be assessed, civil servants will be subject to sanctions in the amount of 30-90 thousand rubles, and penalties of 100 to 200 thousand rubles will be applied to business entities.

A Art. 38 of Federal Law No. 69-FZ “On Fire Safety” dated December 21, 1994 states that property owners may be held administratively or criminally liable for violating fire safety.

It is prohibited to install a geyser in rooms where household members stay for a long time, for example, resting or sleeping

Violation of the rules for using gas at home in terms of independently replacing gas devices leads to liability under Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

For property damage caused, punishment is provided in the form of a fine for unauthorized replacement of a gas water heater of up to eighty thousand rubles or the amount of the basic income of the convicted person with imprisonment for up to 24 months. Other types of influence may also be applied - correctional labor for up to two years, with arrest for up to 12 months.

Solution 2. We hide the boiler in a closet: decorating techniques

The best option for disguising a white unit is a wall-mounted kitchen cabinet. In this case, the proportions are maintained and the interior style is maintained.

How to choose a cabinet

When purchasing furniture, you need to correlate the height and depth of the cabinet with the parameters of the boiler. In this case, the cabinet should be larger and not restrict air circulation. When planning to camouflage a gas boiler, consider the main points:

• installation height;
• communications wiring;
• hose length;
• method of their installation;
• possibility of installing a mounting box/channel.

Wiring, valves and connections cannot be bricked up, they must be accessible

Cabinet installation

There are 2 installation methods:

1. A wall cabinet (without bottom or roof) is mounted on the wall. A gas engineer is called and installs a gas boiler. The necessary communications are provided.
2. If the water heater is already installed and you don’t want to call a gas equipment specialist, prepare the cabinet for work and hang it above the gas appliance. Before starting installation, remove the furniture door, remove the roof, and make cuts in the bottom for hoses/pipes. To add rigidity, fasten the cabinet walls with metal corners. Secure the resulting frame over the boiler.

The bottom and lid of the cabinet are missing to improve ventilation

The floor-standing boiler is installed according to the rules - in the corner of the kitchen. If desired, it can be closed with a pencil case. The height can be any, and the depth and width according to the installation instructions.

Technical recommendations

• The volume of the boiler depends on the need for water supply.
• When developing the project, the safety requirements for placing a gas boiler are taken into account.
• In a private house, water heating equipment can be used for contour heating and domestic needs.
• The boiler is installed in a place convenient for preventive maintenance.
• It is not hidden in a closed cabinet or mounted above the stove.
• Frequent ventilation of the room will ensure the environment in it.
• A floor-standing unit will require less imagination to disguise it.
• Non-flammable material is used for the walls and floor adjacent to the heating apparatus.

Solution 3. Gas boiler in a chipboard cabinet

I will name two reasons for using a chipboard cabinet:

1. The boiler is purchased after purchasing the kitchen set.
2. The kitchen design is improved without purchasing new furniture.

In any case, your goal is to decorate the gas unit. The front part of the door is made as similar in color to the set as possible. If the boiler is located between two wall cabinets, you will need to attach a chipboard door to the profile and cover it with film or other finishing material.

To create a full-fledged cabinet, you will need wooden blocks (25*40 mm), chipboards and tools, including a screwdriver and jigsaw. Measure the gas appliance, draw a plan of the cabinet. The top and bottom are made 6 cm larger, with gaps of 6–10 cm left in the front and sides.

The cabinet is made to order or built in independently

To decorate the boiler with a cabinet, it is recommended to buy a ready-made door. This will help match the texture and color of the set installed in the kitchen.

Solution 4. Kitchen in a private house: installation rules

An individual house in the private sector differs from city standards. Installation requires compliance with certain rules and regulations. Get to know the most important standards:

1. The height of the ceiling where the gas boiler operates must be 2.5 m or higher.
2. The installation space is at least 4 square meters. m.
3. If installation is carried out on a wooden wall, metal sheeting is required.
4. Setting up and starting is carried out by gas masters.
5. Distance from the meter - from 1.6 m.
6. If ignition is electrical, the socket is located at an interval of 1 m.
7. The chimney is carried out with good exhaust.

Communications are covered with a removable tile panel

Solution 5. Kitchen interior: how to hide communications

Solving the issue of camouflaging the body is half the battle. Communications coming from the appliance spoil the interior of the kitchen no less than the boiler itself. Gas pipes, water hoses, and a bulky chimney are an integral part of the unit and remain visible.

According to safety rules, all connections leading to the gas boiler cannot be completely retracted into the wall. The connection points must remain accessible at all times.

You can decorate communications with a box. To do this, purchase a plastic one of the required size or make it yourself from drywall. The second method has a more solid design, which can later be covered with decorative film or covered with tiles.

The walls of the box should not be tightly adjacent to the hoses/pipes. A gap of at least 1 cm is required.

Chipboard box for pipes and hoses

The gas pipe is usually hidden by furniture and only a small part is visible between the shelf and the desktop. This place is covered with chrome paint or decorated in any of the ways described above.

Corner elements of communications are successfully masked in different ways:

• artificial flowers;
• dummies of fruit;
• hanging panels;
• painted over to match the interior.

Features of kitchen design with a boiler, photo examples

The specificity of the boiler is that its appearance can hardly be called aesthetic. Therefore, it requires a certain playing out and design.

The decision on the design must be made before installing the boiler

When planning a kitchen design with a gas boiler, the following aspects must be taken into account:

1. The opportunity to spend a certain amount of money on the purchase of the selected brand of boiler. The more expensive this equipment is, the more compact it is in size and has a more attractive appearance.
2. Installation in a certain area must comply with all the rules required by the gas service, as well as ease of use by residents of the apartment.
3. Do not neglect the style of the room that you plan to implement. The design methods for the boiler or geyser depend on this.

A gas boiler can highlight the style of the kitchen interior

In the interior of this kitchen, a wall-mounted boiler plays the role of an accent

Solution 6. Smoke exhaust pipe: how to close

There is a chimney running under the ceiling to the vent. Compared to pipes and hoses, it is larger in size and consists of a corrugated or metal rectangular box.

It is impossible to remove it and our task is to make it less noticeable. We use any available method:

• cover with decorative panels;
• we build a hanging shelf above it;
• seal it with PVC film of a suitable color;
• we use vinyl stickers;
• create a thematic (abstraction, pattern) drawing.

The chimney pipe is placed in the cabinet

Solution 7. Location and decoration options

The geyser/boiler can be installed in different places. Decoration methods vary depending on location; let’s look at the most common ones.

The gas boiler is located in the corner: what to do

Often the gas unit is installed in the kitchen in the corner. Nearby there is a hanging shelf for the headset.

In this case, an extension is made to the cabinet. A frame is created on which the purchased door is hung. You just need to choose the right fittings and door facade.

This design has no ceiling or bottom. This will ensure good air circulation and communication outlets. There is a second option - the cabinet for the speaker reaches the countertop, the pipes do not need to be decorated.

A narrow pencil shelf is installed between the column and the wall cabinet

The boiler in the corner is the most convenient location. If it is located between two wall kitchen cabinets, then a frameless structure is created. The masking door is attached to a strip nailed to the adjacent cabinet.

Parapet gas boiler

The heating system of private houses can run on natural gas. The parapet boiler belongs to the group of individual heating systems. The compact device can be installed anywhere in compliance with safety regulations.

According to the instructions, it is installed on the street 3 m from the house or on a wall with a gap of 30 cm. If you installed it in a room, then there should be no curtains, upholstered furniture or flammable materials nearby.

The large ventilation pipe and pipes leading to the batteries can be disguised by placing them in chipboard boxes. It is advisable to leave the unit itself open, as combustion occurs in it and air access is required.

Parapet boiler placement options:

Despite the heating of the device, some owners hide the parapet boiler in the furniture. In this case, a design is made that allows easy access to the valves and control panel. A household fan is installed in the cabinet with the gas unit to improve the circulation of air masses.

Placing the boiler in the cabinet

A custom-made cabinet cabinet allows you to disguise the gas installation along with connections and pipes. There is also space left for placing kitchen utensils. Craftsmen make such a pencil case themselves.

The pencil case has several doors

When creating a cabinet, the following conditions are met:

• presence of air circulation;
• structural stability;
• easy access for maintenance;
• if necessary, the possibility of dismantling.

The front part of the cabinet-case is divided into two vertical doors. If desired, two roll-out boxes are mounted below. In small rooms, wide facades are divided into double doors.

The cabinet-case hides the gas water heater and communications

Materials

In order to mount a plasterboard box yourself, you will need the following materials:

• sheets of plasterboard, it is desirable that the material is resistant to moisture;
• vertical aluminum profile;
• self-tapping screws;

The following tools will need to be purchased or rented:

• electric screwdriver;
• metal scissors.

The procedure for making a plasterboard box

The progress of work will be as follows:

Then the metal frame is covered with plasterboard using the same self-tapping screws.

At the first stage, it is very important to correctly assess the size of the future false cabinet and plan its location. Where necessary, install a frame of profiles, securely attaching them to the wall with self-tapping screws

Such “skeletal” structures are located along the entire pipe

For greater structural strength, the elements located in a U-shape are fastened again to each other with scraps of metal profiles. After the metal frame is ready, we move on to working with drywall. First, you need to carefully measure and record all the distances between the profiles, then draw blanks of the appropriate size on the plasterboard sheets and cut them out. The final stage is finishing the resulting box. Gaps, unevenness, cracks and other existing defects are eliminated with polyurethane foam. The excess must be cut off.

The surface is leveled with primer and putty, special attention is paid to the joints. You can bring the box to absolute smoothness using sandpaper. Decorating the entire structure can be done in different ways, in accordance with the general concept of the kitchen interior:

Decorating the entire structure can be done in different ways, in accordance with the general concept of the kitchen interior:

• coloring;
• wallpapering;
• laying ceramic tiles, etc.

The undeniable advantages of this method of masking gas pipes include:

• simplicity of box design;
• cheap materials;
• aesthetics of the final design.

However, there are also disadvantages:

• reducing usable space in the kitchen;
• dismantling of the structure in case of repair or change of communications;
• a blind box would be a violation of safety regulations.

Other original ways to disguise gas pipes

Designers advise owners of kitchens in the newfangled hi-tech, techno, and minimalist styles not to hide the pipes, but, on the contrary, to emphasize them in any way - highlight them with color, shine, chrome, etc. Such a deliberate emphasis on technical elements is a key requirement when designing such functional modern styles.

For those who still can’t wait to hide the gasification system, we advise you to pay attention to these unusual methods of camouflage:

The situation when the gas tap is installed at a small height from the floor (up to 1 m) is not uncommon. It is very easy to disguise such pipes - hide them under the countertop. The ability to manipulate the gas valve is ensured thanks to the remote handle.

Two holes are made in the tabletop - one for the gas pipe, the other for the outlet of the tube, which is attached to the valve. A handle is attached to this tube from the outside, which regulates the termination of gas access if necessary. This method allows for maximum use of kitchen space and meets safety requirements.

A rather aesthetic and original option for decorating a gas pipe passing over the entire work area is to disguise it as a roof rail. In this case, the gas pipe is used as part of a system on which various kitchen accessories are located.

The pipe is cleaned to a shine, and then covered with chrome paint, preferably in several layers. Next, all kinds of hooks for napkins, shelves, baskets, holders for dishes, pendants, etc. are placed above the pipe; fortunately, the range for railing systems today is quite large. Of course, it is impossible to hang heavy structures on a pipe, so they are often attached somewhere very close to the pipe to create the appearance of a solid system. The result is functional and tasteful.

Finally, there are simply a lot of options for decorating, painting, and gluing gas pipes. Starting from simple decoration with pebbles, shells, rhinestones, and ending with the creation of entire trees, the trunk of which is a gas pipe.

Now you know different ways to decorate a gas pipe in the kitchen - from a standard plasterboard box to original, original solutions. Which one is suitable for your kitchen is up to you to decide.

Solution 8: How to close pipes and valves

The boiler is completely hidden in the cabinet, and communications go down or along the kitchen apron. This moment spoils the design - pipes and hoses need to be decorated.

In open areas, a U-shaped box is made of plasterboard, the front part of which is removable. The depth of such a channel is 2-3 cm, width - 3-4 cm. Communications are laid in it and covered with a top panel.

In the pipe cabinet you can make shelves for storing small items

You can buy ready-made plastic channels, they are sold in different colors and sizes, the facade strips are easily inserted and secured with latches.

Communications are closed with a decorative box with a removable panel

The valve should be in an easily accessible place. With all your decorative creations, accessing it should take at least 10 seconds, that is, open the door and turn off the gas.

Solution 9: Using decorative grilles

Grids allow air to pass through and at the same time close the contents. For furniture facades, gratings covered with PVC film are used. You just need to choose the right color.

In the furniture fittings departments there are grilles made from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They imitate the structure of wood and have different colors. A door with a grill is the best option for a gas boiler.

Large wardrobe with lattice doors

If you cannot find the desired tone, paint the purchased grille and varnish it. For complete resemblance to the furniture, you can order the production of decorative grilles according to your samples.

Precautionary measures

In order to avoid conflict situations during operation with inspection authorities, a gas boiler in the kitchen must be installed, observing the following installation rules:

• Comply with the requirements of the SNiP instructions 02/31/2001, 01/31/2003.
• A ventilation system is built into the room.
• It is mandatory to have a door separating the kitchen from the corridor.
• The open type unit is provided with a free space of 35 centimeters at the top and bottom, 3 from the sides.
• It is allowed to install a fake cabinet that has a visual similarity to the interior of the room. The door is made with recesses for air; this is a lattice or ornament made with a jigsaw.
• The equipment must be freely accessible.
• When the boiler is placed close to the furniture, its walls are protected from possible heating by a fire-resistant coating.
• First, they install the equipment, only then they sheathe it, simulating the interior of the room.
• An electric stove, oven, refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher are not installed under a gas water heater.
• There should be a distance of 1500 centimeters between the boiler and the meter.
• Do not install a unit with an open burner in the kitchen, such as an atmospheric convection boiler.
• It is forbidden to combine two hoods, making it one for a gas stove and boiler.