We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said that
you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes are
sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line, but is
it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a gas meter,
the other the electricity meter.

Apologies if this has been done to death already.

Thanks

Edward

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:35:53 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said that
you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes are
sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line, but is
it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a gas meter,
the other the electricity meter.

Apologies if this has been done to death already.

Thanks

Edward

Imprisoned ????? That seems a bit unlikely .

Can you fit the boxes without disturbing the meters etc . If so I'd
say just go ahead .
Stuart

On 27 Nov, 14:08, Stuart B wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:35:53 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said that
you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes are
sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line, but is
it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a gas meter,
the other the electricity meter.

Apologies if this has been done to death already.

Thanks

Edward

Imprisoned ????? That seems a bit unlikely .

Can you fit the boxes without disturbing the meters etc . If so I'd
say just go ahead .
Stuart

The meters actually fit inside the boxes, and in addition the gas
meter box has been pushed out of alignment by the trunk of a Virginia
Creeper (not me, guv, honest, we only moved in 18 months ago). Can I
fit the boxes? No. Can someone else fit them without disturbing the
meters etc.? I doubt it, but I guess that would depend on a
combination of competence and luck.

Edward

wrote in message
...
On 27 Nov, 14:08, Stuart B wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:35:53 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said that
you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes are
sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line, but is
it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a gas meter,
the other the electricity meter.

Apologies if this has been done to death already.

Thanks

Edward

Imprisoned ????? That seems a bit unlikely .

Can you fit the boxes without disturbing the meters etc . If so I'd
say just go ahead .
Stuart

The meters actually fit inside the boxes, and in addition the gas
meter box has been pushed out of alignment by the trunk of a Virginia
Creeper (not me, guv, honest, we only moved in 18 months ago). Can I
fit the boxes? No. Can someone else fit them without disturbing the
meters etc.? I doubt it, but I guess that would depend on a
combination of competence and luck.

Edward

Can you cut the front off and splice it onto the trimmed back old box?

On 27 Nov, 15:21, "John" wrote:
wrote in message

...





On 27 Nov, 14:08, Stuart B wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:35:53 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said that
you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes are
sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line, but is
it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a gas meter,
the other the electricity meter.

Apologies if this has been done to death already.

Thanks

Edward

Imprisoned ????? That seems a bit unlikely .

Can you fit the boxes without disturbing the meters etc . If so I'd
say just go ahead .
Stuart

The meters actually fit inside the boxes, and in addition the gas
meter box has been pushed out of alignment by the trunk of a Virginia
Creeper (not me, guv, honest, we only moved in 18 months ago). Can I
fit the boxes? No. Can someone else fit them without disturbing the
meters etc.? I doubt it, but I guess that would depend on a
combination of competence and luck.

Edward

Can you cut the front off and splice it onto the trimmed back old box?- Hide quoted text -

I wouldn't have thought so - it's fibreglass (I think) so some way
outwith my capabilities. Also, the gas meter box seriously needs
resiting - in fact I'd go so far as to say that both are completely u/
s and must be replaced.

Edward

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:12:17 -0800, teddysnips wrote:

On 27 Nov, 15:21, "John" wrote:
wrote in message

news:d55c1954-10dc-4f99-9731-
...





On 27 Nov, 14:08, Stuart B wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:35:53 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said
that you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes
are sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line,
but is it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a
gas meter, the other the electricity meter.

Apologies if this has been done to death already.

Thanks

Edward

Imprisoned ????? That seems a bit unlikely .

Can you fit the boxes without disturbing the meters etc . If so
I'd say just go ahead .
Stuart

The meters actually fit inside the boxes, and in addition the gas
meter box has been pushed out of alignment by the trunk of a Virginia
Creeper (not me, guv, honest, we only moved in 18 months ago). Can I
fit the boxes? No. Can someone else fit them without disturbing the
meters etc.? I doubt it, but I guess that would depend on a
combination of competence and luck.

Edward

Can you cut the front off and splice it onto the trimmed back old box?-
Hide quoted text -

I wouldn't have thought so - it's fibreglass (I think) so some way
outwith my capabilities. Also, the gas meter box seriously needs
resiting - in fact I'd go so far as to say that both are completely u/ s
and must be replaced.

Edward

Contact NG Transco on 0800 111 999 raising your concern for safety of the
meter boxes that should get someone round within a few hours.

You can then find out how much NG Transco will do and how much you will
have to do or pay. At the very least the meter boxes are yours and their
replacment is down to you. There is a chance that Transco might just do
some or most of the work involved.






--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

Ed Sirett wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:12:17 -0800, teddysnips wrote:

On 27 Nov, 15:21, "John" wrote:
wrote in message

news:d55c1954-10dc-4f99-9731-
...




On 27 Nov, 14:08, Stuart B wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:35:53 -0800 (PST),
wrote:
We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said
that you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes
are sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line,
but is it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a
gas meter, the other the electricity meter.
Apologies if this has been done to death already.
Thanks
Edward
Imprisoned ????? That seems a bit unlikely .
Can you fit the boxes without disturbing the meters etc . If so
I'd say just go ahead .
Stuart
The meters actually fit inside the boxes, and in addition the gas
meter box has been pushed out of alignment by the trunk of a Virginia
Creeper (not me, guv, honest, we only moved in 18 months ago). Can I
fit the boxes? No. Can someone else fit them without disturbing the
meters etc.? I doubt it, but I guess that would depend on a
combination of competence and luck.
Edward
Can you cut the front off and splice it onto the trimmed back old box?-
Hide quoted text -
I wouldn't have thought so - it's fibreglass (I think) so some way
outwith my capabilities. Also, the gas meter box seriously needs
resiting - in fact I'd go so far as to say that both are completely u/ s
and must be replaced.

Edward

Contact NG Transco on 0800 111 999 raising your concern for safety of the
meter boxes that should get someone round within a few hours.

You can then find out how much NG Transco will do and how much you will
have to do or pay. At the very least the meter boxes are yours and their
replacment is down to you. There is a chance that Transco might just do
some or most of the work involved.






My meters were indoors when I purchased this house. As I did not want
the hassle of the meter men coming into the house I decided I wanted
them outdoors. The gas people and the electric people provided the
boxes, which I fitted. The relative companies came round and re-sited
the meters into the boxes. At a fairly high cost, however it was a
convenience move not a safety one.

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:43:10 GMT, wrote:

On 27 Nov,
wrote:

I wouldn't have thought so - it's fibreglass (I think) so some way
outwith my capabilities. Also, the gas meter box seriously needs
resiting - in fact I'd go so far as to say that both are completely u/
s and must be replaced.

Aren't they the responsibility of the utility co?

That's what I was told by the (as was) electricity board.

--
Frank Erskine

On 27 Nov, 13:35, wrote:
We have some very ugly and broken meter boxes on the side of our
garage. Our old builder (who has now gone AWOL) said that he'd fix
new ones. Our new builders, when asked to do the same job, said that
you can be fined and/or imprisoned for doing this. Both boxes are
sunk into the brickwork. I can find replacement boxes on-line, but is
it legal or sensible to fit them yourself? One contains a gas meter,
the other the electricity meter.

Apologies if this has been done to death already.

Thanks

Edward

Meter boxes were invented for the convenience of the mass market
rabbit hutch builders, with no thought of longetivity or future
maintenace.

Its possible to cut the back and part of the sides/top/bottom off the
new box, and the one in the wall, and then slide the new one into the
opening and fix it with screw and plugs (or expanding foam).

Or make a new frame and door out of timber.

You can not [legally] disconnect the meters.

dg