How to conceal your boiler by boxing it in

Boilers are an essential feature of modern households, ensuring that we can get hot water from our taps and showers and heat up our homes. That being said, there is no getting away from the fact that boilers aren’t the most attractive of things, with plastic housing, pipes, control panels, and noise creating an eyesore. After putting time, effort, and money into furnishing your home to your exact tastes, the last thing you want is a new boiler that ruins the whole interior design scheme. 

So, what’s the solution? 

Boxing in a boiler is a way of concealing unsightly pipes from view without rendering the unit inaccessible when routine maintenance or repairs are required. It’s a clever hack that lets you enjoy all the benefits of having an efficient, fully-functioning boiler installed in your home without compromising the aesthetic appeal of its interior.

In this guide, we’ll introduce you to boxing in boilers and offer some ideas and inspiration for how you can go about concealing your boiler safely. 

What is “boxing in” a boiler?

Boxing in a boiler is the process of covering or concealing your boiler unit in a structure such as a cupboard so that it isn't visible. Keeping it hidden from view by installing it inside a specially-designed boiler cupboard, boiler cabinet, or appliance compartment means that it will blend in with the rest of the room without making it difficult for members of your family or boiler engineers to access it when needed.

The benefits of boxing in a boiler

1. Preserving the interior design scheme of your home

By choosing a cupboard or storage unit that matches the interior decor of your home, you can ensure that your boiler blends into the background and doesn’t end up becoming an eyesore. Boilers can also have extensive, unsightly pipework, but this can all be boxed in, too, along with the main boiler unit. 

2. Reducing noise levels

Depending on the age, brand, model, and condition of your boiler, it may be prone to making normal operating boiler noises. Boxing it into a cupboard or storage unit provides an additional layer of acoustic dampening that will help prevent your boiler from making itself heard.  

3. Making your home more attractive to buyers

If you’re trying to sell your home, boxing in your boiler could be the deciding factor in a potential buyer’s decision to make you an offer. In fact, a 2018 survey by N-Power found that an exposed boiler would put 68% of 2000 UK participants off making an offer on a property altogether! By keeping everything concealed you will be able to showcase your home at its absolute best without the visual distraction of a boiler’s pipes cluttering the aesthetic. 

What things do you need to consider when boxing in a boiler?

If you want to box in your boiler there are a number of things you need to take into account before getting started. Not all storage units, be it purpose-built or one that’s already installed in your kitchen, will be suitable for housing a boiler and could render the entire system inaccessible and in turn, mean the boiler unit cannot be serviced or accessed for repairs. Here’s what you need to consider in order to make sure you’re boxing in your boiler safely.

1. Read the manufacturer’s guidance

The installation requirements will vary depending on the type of boiler you have in your home. These recommendations are made by the manufacturer to allow for proper ventilation and cooling at all times. Generally, it’s advised that there should be a 50mm gap between the boiler’s sides and any hard surfaces, a 300mm gap at the top of the boiler chamber, and 200mm of space at the bottom of the boiler.

2. Leave room for maintenance

If you want to conceal your boiler within a unit or cupboard, it’s crucial that you’re still able to access it for routine maintenance or emergency repairs. Ensure you can open the cupboard or cabinet door at least 90 degrees on either the horizontal or vertical axis. Measuring your boiler and the unit you’re planning on boxing it into is, therefore, of the utmost importance to ensure everything will fit together safely.

3. Consider getting help from a professional

If DIY isn’t your strong suit or if you’re pushed for time, it might be a good idea to get help from a local handyperson or specialist carpenter. Spend some time doing your research before choosing someone, though, as you want to make sure that they have the skills, experience, and insurance needed to do the job correctly. It’s also worthwhile asking a few different people for quotes on how much they think the job will cost to gauge whether one offer is good value for money.

Ideas for boxing in your boiler

So, now that we understand the basics of boxing in boilers, it’s time to look at some ideas for how you can do it in your own home. Remember, the key to boxing in a boiler successfully is to conceal it from view and make the entire system blend in with its surroundings, so you may want to adapt these suggestions to suit your home’s interior design scheme most effectively.

1. Install it inside an existing cupboard

This is one of the most popular ways of boxing in a boiler, especially with anyone who is also planning on redesigning their kitchen or utility room and can afford to reorganise their space more efficiently. Installing a boiler directly into a kitchen unit is an effective, tidy way of hiding it away without altering the aesthetics of your room in the slightest. 

Some boilers are available in compact models, which will fit comfortably in a standard kitchen cupboard. Just make sure that the boiler you choose is large enough to meet your household's hot water and heating requirements; the more radiators, bathrooms, and people there are in your home, the bigger your boiler will need to be.

Living in or moving to a larger property and wondering what boiler to go for? Read our buying guide for expert advice on the best boilers for large homes.  

2. Build a new custom unit

If you don’t already have a kitchen cabinet or utility room cupboard suitable for your boiler, or if you don’t fancy the task of fitting out your kitchen with entirely new storage, building a dedicated unit for your boiler could be the answer.

This could be built to match your existing kitchen decor to avoid impacting the overall look and feel of your home. It’s even possible to upcycle off-the-shelf kitchen cabinets from major high street retailers and adapt them as housing for your boiler. Lifestyle blogs and DIY guides have advice on the best units to buy and how to modify them if this is something you want to do.

3. Just box in the pipes 

If you have a compact boiler or one with a white chamber, you might get away with just boxing in the pipework. 

There are several ways you can do this.

1. Building housing around the pipes to completely hide them from view.
2. Installing the boiler so the pipes can be hidden within kitchen counters.
3. Painting the pipes in a colour that matches the rest of the room.

Make sure you don’t use any cladding materials that are sensitive to heat, though, as your boiler’s pipes will get hot when in use.