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I have a consumer unit that is right in the corner next to my front door and I'm wanting to make the space a bit more useable for storage etc. The consumer unit is in its own metal enclosure so is fire safe and OK to put in a cupboard of some kind, I'm just wondering how I could go about doing this...

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My initial thought would be to just cut out a piece in the cupboard on the side and back and slot it over, but the issue is that the CU flap will hit the wall as it's less than 18mm away from the wall so I would need quite a substantial cutout, possibly affecting the structural integrity...

The other issue I'm thinking about is that I'd like a filler piece to push the cupboard away from the wall such that the doors I put on it will be able to open more than 90 degrees. But if I do this, how would I be able to access the CU through the cutout etc as well?

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Would it be worth just getting an electrician to move the CU 100-150mm away from the wall?

Is there a way of building this that I haven't thought about?

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    The back wall of most cupboards are just to keep them straight. A decent amount left on top and bottom should do the job. If you need to remove more above it should not weaken the cupboard much, you will also have the walls to strengthen it.
    – crip659
    Nov 18 at 22:02
  • Hack away and then fasten to the walls for structural integrity.
    – popham
    Nov 18 at 22:21
  • @popham if you're referring to the wall to the left... I'd like the door I put on this cupboard to open more than 90 degrees, so I'd need to offset it from the wall a little way and use a filler piece... This would mean I wouldn't really be able to fasten it to the wall, unless I used something like space plugs.
    – physicsboy
    Nov 19 at 10:59
  • @crip659 the full depth of the CU when flap is open is ~210mm and the cupboard would be 300mm deep, so just conscious that 90mm on one side might not be the most structural... Although I could fasten to the wall through the back to add a bit more strength; I guess I just want to make sure that it's a simple box
    – physicsboy
    Nov 19 at 11:01
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    For CU access you would cut the opening big enough to clear the CU's transition from closed to open. If those cuts are too deep to maintain stability, then initially cut for the closed state, install with sufficient blocking to stabilize (presumably above and below the cut), then cut away additional material to facilitate the closed to open transition.
    – popham
    Nov 19 at 19:49

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