Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Mar 30, 2013 10:36 am Just starting the process of a knockdown/rebuild and so many questions arising. Luckily I found this great resource here to answer most of my queries. One that I can't find is related to the positioning of the various meters/boxes and access. Water, I assume, will be at the front of the block to replace the existing one (opposite side to the planned driveway so we should be able to have a nice wide entrance). Gas and electricity I'm not too sure about. As houses now seem to be much closer to the side boundaries I would think that having these extend from the side would impinge on access a little. Anyone have this problem? The build we are tentatively planning (Wisdom Homes Serenity 28) does have an 'indented' area on the right hand side where I assume the water tank or aircon will be sited. Would it be likely that both gas and electricity meters would be located there too? On a related issue - at the moment our electicity meter is behind our side gate but they have a key to the padlock that they supplied. We may (if the finances hold up) install electrically operated front gates. How does the meter reader get access to the meters on houses that have these? Re: Meter location - Electricity, gas, water 2Mar 30, 2013 2:05 pm kasyd On a related issue - at the moment our electicity meter is behind our side gate but they have a key to the padlock that they supplied. We may (if the finances hold up) install electrically operated front gates. How does the meter reader get access to the meters on houses that have these? Kasyd, they don't. Not sure of the exact number of times but I know at least once, if they don't have access, they will "estimate" based on past useage. We had that exact occurrence this time. I left the gate unlocked (the approx. date is given on the previous a/c) but was out by a day or so as the read date fell on a Saturday and I left the gate unlocked from the following mon-fri. Apparently they work on Saturday ? Don't know how many times they do an "estimate" reading before they knock on the door (we are, I believe required to provide access !). Their "estimate" reading was very close to actual (I keep a daily record ). The downside was we didn't get any solar credit as they didn't estimate that. I'm guessing will all come out in the wash provided they have access for the next reading. I am making sure the gates will be unlocked for a few days either side of the given date. In this day and age would have thought remote reading would be the go ! Re: Meter location - Electricity, gas, water 3Mar 30, 2013 9:15 pm I got my gas and electricity meters located together towards the front on the side of the garage. Placed the gate behind giving easy access to them for reading and still have by back yard enclosed. I know the electricity meters will probability be read remotely but gas still needs to be manually read. Water meter moved the to front of the boundary. Only disadvantage with all this is it also gives easy access for kids not that I had too much problems with that. Think I've had my gas turned off once in 15 years. Re: Meter location - Electricity, gas, water 4Mar 30, 2013 11:37 pm I have an electric gate as I am on an acreage. I fitted a key switch at the front gate that has a cylinder that accepts the master key held by the electricity distributor. In NSW this is administered by Integrity locksmiths. They can provide a lock keyed for one or all of the utilities (electricity, gas, Telstra, water). I am not sure where you are located but if you contact your electricity provider they should be able to tell you where to get the required lock cylinder. Any locksmith should be able to supply the electric key switch mechanism - you then substitute the electricity cylinder for the one supplied and get it connected to the release contacts on the gate. Re: Meter location - Electricity, gas, water 5Mar 31, 2013 10:02 am Thank you for answering most of my queries. jj1 Kasyd, they don't. Not sure of the exact number of times but I know at least once, if they don't have access, they will "estimate" based on past useage. This has happened a couple of times to us with really strange figures on our next bill - one time it was 2.5 times higher than any previous usage. At least the next bill was extrememly low as an adjustment. Wondering what would happen if they could get no access at any time. I assume we would get some contact demanding access or else no more power. Lourance I got my gas and electricity meters located together towards the front on the side of the garage. Placed the gate behind giving easy access to them for reading and still have by back yard enclosed. I know the electricity meters will probability be read remotely but gas still needs to be manually read. Water meter moved the to front of the boundary. Only disadvantage with all this is it also gives easy access for kids not that I had too much problems with that. Think I've had my gas turned off once in 15 years. This is similar to our current setup and, if we come up a little short moneywise after we build, will probably be what we do for a while. Access by the next door neighbours' darlings is a small worry but only a minor inconvenience if it happens. paulw11 I have an electric gate as I am on an acreage. I fitted a key switch at the front gate that has a cylinder that accepts the master key held by the electricity distributor. That hadn't occurred to me even though we currently have the padlock that they can unlock on our existing gates. Again, thank you for answering my questions. I keep asking questions here then realising that thinking about it a little more may have led me to a similar answer. I really think internet forums are encouraging me to not critically think about things. But, I really do like the sense of community here. I suppose I should think about how I ask the question (maybe make a suggestion and ask for feedback rather than just ask for an answer). I'll give it a try now - Looking at some electricity meter boxes on the Wisdom Homes displayed at Homeworld there were some that were mounted 'into' the brickwork a few cm. It does look to me that this would save a 'little' space between the wall and the side fence so will be asking them if this is an additional cost item or standard (I think I know the answer to that one). Is there anyone here that has this type of installation and does it save you any worthwhile space? Re: Meter location - Electricity, gas, water 6Mar 31, 2013 10:59 am A friend of mine used to live in an apartment block and one or more of her neighbours' meters were in her rear courtyard. As she had a dog, she couldn't leave the gate unlocked so they would receive estimated bills most of the time. Once each year (I think that was the maximum allowed) she had to take the morning off work to give the meter reader access so they could do an actual reading and square everything up. ~ Anne I used to be indecisive but now I'm not quite sure. Eeek - We're embarking on a knockdown rebuild! Click here for our build thread Our blog: kdrhome.wordpress.com 4 7895 I want to build a decking to the drawn shape outlined in black. The problem is how close can I build to the gas hot water unit? Will I be able to build around it and be… 0 16177 Thanks for sharing. Looks good. The joiner has come back with a quote of close to 5k. I think we are going to not do it. 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