How to Hide a Boiler in Your Home to Save Space & Look Great

Reasons to hide your boiler in your kitchen, bedroom or other rooms

Lots of homeowners make an effort to hide their boiler, with the biggest reason being that boilers aren’t exactly aesthetically pleasing as obviously a machine full of boiler pipes and gas or electricity won’t exactly be the best-looking feature for your home, but is obviously a very necessary part.

Not hiding your boiler can actually decrease the value of your home, so putting in the effort to hide your boiler can actually be very useful long term as exposed boilers can decrease the value of your home from up to £5000!

Boxing in a boiler – Best ways to hide your boiler

There are many ways you can box in a boiler in a cupboard or similar as well as encasing the pipework to ensure that there there is no unsightly copper pipes or white boiler sticking out like a sore thumb in your kitchen or living area.

Here are the most common places to box a boiler and hide pipework in the UK right now:

Kitchen boiler cupboard or kitchen cabinet

Covering a boiler by installing it in a cupboard or building a cupboard around it is probably the most popular method of hiding your boiler.

This enables the boiler to be installed in a standard kitchen cupboard or other parts of the house whilst fitting in with its surroundings and not standing out.

Read more about fitting a boiler here.

Is it safe to put a boiler in a kitchen cupboard?

With many homeowners doing using this method, it is important that they are aware of the standards they must meet when they have a boiler cupboard. Each boiler needs to have enough ventilation when it is in the cabinet to be able to function according to boilers and building regulations,

The regulations include having the kitchen cabinet door open and having enough space between the boiler and the cupboard sides.

There must be at least 700mm space between the front of the boiler and the kitchen cupboard door to allow ventilation.

All the best combi boilers can fit in a cupboard, see our best combi boiler guide for more info.

Storage cupboard

Another popular and similar method to a kitchen cupboard is to hide it in a storage cupboard. Many homes have storage cupboards where they will stock items such as food, work and supplies, however, it might also be an ideal solution to install your boiler in a storage cupboard, as this will allow more space to be saved as well as very easily meeting the requirements of space for the boiler to have.

Painting your boiler

Painting it can be a very easy way of making the boiler fit in with its surroundings more, especially if it is made the same colour as other objects in the room such as cupboards or other kitchen units.

Most modern boilers come in white, but with as time has gone on boilers are coming in different colours now.

This could be an ideal solution if your boiler is white surrounded by darker objects or if you have a black boiler next to a white cabinet.

Can you paint a boiler?

Yes, you can paint a boiler, and paint is also a much more affordable option compared to installing a cabinet around the boiler and is easier for DIY.

However, using this method will also there are a few precautions before buying and applying the paint. Make sure the paint is heat resistant so that it doesn’t ending up damaging the boiler, the pipes or any other surroundings.

Boiler curtain

A boiler curtain is a less popular, but still very effective way of hiding a boiler, especially if the boiler is in the kitchen or a utility room.

Even a small curtain will allow the boiler to remain hidden and fit in with the aesthetic of the room it is in, whilst also giving you easy access to the boiler in case any maintenance or service is needed.

Using this method may be simple, but is an inexpensive way to hide your boiler, allowing you to save money.

Hanging objects on it

This is a much older way to disguise your boiler but another simple yet effective way of cover for your boiler is to hang common household objects that you may use on it.

This could mean hanging a whiteboard or chalkboard in front of it to conceal it or maybe putting a shoe rack in front of it so its not as noticeable.

Using this could be the most convenient technique as it utilises objects that will likely already be in your house.

Hiding boiler pipes

We’ve shown you how to hide a boiler, but hiding boiler pipes can be easily as important. One method to covering pipes is to use what you used to cover your boiler.

So for example, if you used a curtain to cover your boiler, make sure its long enough to cover the pipes as well, or if you made a new cabinet to hide your boiler, use some of the cabinet to hide boiler pipes within it.

Another solution to this is to get pipe casings to help hide them, although these will be an extra expense to consider if you have a certain budget. The price of the casings will depend on how much of it you need, where it can range from £30-£70.

Hiding an outside boiler

Hiding a boiler that is outside doesn’t quite have the same solutions as an inside boiler. However, putting a boiler outside can also be played to your advantage, as it offers new solutions that can’t be done inside the of the house.

Commonly, most boilers placed outside are covered by some kind of fencing or other wooden structures so it can look more decorative and fit in with the house rather than having a big bulky boiler on the outside wall in plain sight for everyone to see.

An alternative to this could be making a small extension on your home made of out bricks that will help hide the boiler and fit in with the house as its all made of the same material.

Both of these structures should obviously have a fair bit of space to allow ventilation, meaning the boiler doesn’t heat up too much and damage the boiler, whilst also allowing the boiler to be more energy efficient.

Boilers in cupboards FAQs

Can you put a boiler in a kitchen cupboard?

Boilers can be put into cupboards, with this being one of the most popular ways to do so. However, as mentioned before, this can’t just be any old simple cupboard, there are regulations that must be met before putting it in to a cabinet.

They are put in place to reduce any damage or fire risk that could be caused by the boiler overheating, so its very important for the safety of those in the house, as well as any financial aspect caused by the damage.

What are the regulations for installing a boiler in a cupboard?

The standards for a boiler cupboard are for there to be at least a 100mm gap between the bottom of the cupboard and the base of the boiler.

Also, there should be a a bigger gap of at least 300mm from the top of the boiler to the top of the cabinet, as well as room from the front of the boiler to the cupboard doors, usually a gap of 700mm or more.

These requirements are put in place so that the boiler has enough room to ventilate properly according to boiler flue regulations and doesn’t cause any harm or damage.

Best combi boilers for a kitchen cabinet?

Some boilers are more suited than others to be placed in the kitchen, which is usually down to the size and efficiency of it. For us, the best combi boilers to be put in a kitchen cupboard are the Viessmann Vitodens 050-w and the Ideal Logic C30.

The Vitodens 050-w is the perfect kitchen boiler due to its compact size, along with it being very quiet so it doesn’t disturb anyone whilst in use.

The Ideal Logic C30 is another great option, that is also smaller in size, so its not taking up much living space, in addition to it being quite cheap and easy to use. We think both of these boilers would be fantastic choices for your boiler in a kitchen cabinet.

Where to get your boiler installed

In conclusion, there are many places for your boiler to be placed in and around your home, in addition to there being many clever ways to hide a boiler.

Wherever you want your new boiler to be placed, you can get a quote for a boiler and choose from a wide range of different manufacturers and different types of boilers here at Boiler Central.

Compare replacement boilers online un under 20 seconds to get the best deals right now.