Victorian Terraces predate central heating, so when they were being designed no-one considered where a boiler might be discreetly installed (more of a 20th Century problem). If you are lucky, your boiler will be tucked away in an anonymous corner somewhere. On the other hand, it could be plonked on a wall in your kitchen and stick out like a sore thumb. If so…read on! Boiler camouflage was some way down my new home DIY list, but then it started dripping. In order to get it serviced I needed to remove a rather cumbersome cupboard that was boxing it in, and rather than put it back up, I decided to replace it with something lighter that would make the boiler easier to access in future. There are plenty of ideas for how to hide a boiler on Pinterest (click here for an ideas board on the subject), but whatever you decide, bear in mind that sooner or later a plumber will need access to your boiler’s innards. I created a rough frame out of 2x4 , a first attempt at a bit of carpentry:

I then cut a sheet of 6mm mdf and screwed it to the side (easy to remove in future). I used another sheet of mdf to make the door, primed it, and finished with three coats of chalk paint. I stained some pine strips glued them on to make a frame. The door was attached to the frame with simple butt hinges, again easy to remove if necessary. It’s not going to win any prizes, but I’m quite pleased with the finished article:

A final note – the morning that our boiler had been booked for its service happened to be same morning our first-born decided to enter the World. So the very first person to whom I uttered the words “It’s a boy” was the boiler company’s receptionist when I called to re-schedule. A day later a card arrived offering congratulations from all at Bristol Boiler Company – nice touch.