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vanrohan · 2026-08-30T13:01:04.000Z

IKEA furniture is great for small adjustments to fit your needs. Not costing a fortune also makes it easier to experiment with it. Since they're so common, it's easy to find CAD drawings for most of them. I did a small hack/conversion on a Billy closet to hide some pipes in our apartment. https://vanderwalt.de/blog/customizing-ikea-billy-to-hide-pi...

BeetleB · 2026-08-30T23:17:47.000Z

I came looking for this comment. I suspect Billy is the most hacked piece of IKEA furniture!

artisinal · 2026-08-30T13:35:19.000Z

My mind immediately went: I’m sure there is some German law or ordinance or regulation against hiding your Gaszähler. This surely goes against die Niederdruckanschlussverordnung.

Now that you have published this online, police will visit you to remove the Billy!

Perhaps I am too pessimistic with German laws.

PS: It looks much better this way.

vanrohan · 2026-08-30T14:14:43.000Z

I really hope not! But it does look much better this way, it was an eyesore. And the regular heizung guys didnt complain when they saw it like this, so im assuming all is well

peterpost2 · 2026-08-30T15:40:20.000Z

There is a requirement for having a vents if you are boxing in that device.

One high and one low one, this is so the gas does not build up in case of a leak.

Would highly suggest you get that sorted, your insurance might be void in case you do get a fire.

IncreasePosts · 2026-08-30T14:36:57.000Z

As long as you can easily slide it out of the way and it isn't fixed to the wall, it wouldn't be a problem for anyone who needs to service it. Therefore, it would not be against regulations, because all regulations in Germany are logical

vanrohan · 2026-08-30T14:49:42.000Z

Good to know! It slides in/out like a puzzle, so should be fine then.

peterpost2 · 2026-08-30T15:41:12.000Z

You need a vent there as well so gas can't build up.

benj111 · 2026-08-30T16:54:44.000Z

I doubt a billy book case is anywhere near air tight.

peterpost2 · 2026-08-30T18:43:37.000Z

It has nothing to do with air tightness.

If it leaks slightly it could keep the gas/air at an explosive ratio within the box.

Best to just have it vent out into the room. then it's noticeable.

xattt · 2026-08-30T13:23:43.000Z

This look lovely and probably felt extremely satisfying once everything was said and done.

vanrohan · 2026-08-30T14:47:54.000Z

Thanks!

jmathai · 2026-08-30T13:46:30.000Z

I've been pretty disappointed with "medium quality" slightly more expensive furniture from places like west elm and pottery barn.

Now I will either get older recycled furniture for quality or pieces from IKEA for cost.

jakzurr · 2026-08-30T18:06:53.000Z

Wow, that's gorgeous! I hope the other poster isn't right about violating ordinances.

ludicrousdispla · 2026-08-30T20:00:15.000Z

You should add some RGB backlighting to it.

tonyedgecombe · 2026-08-30T14:07:31.000Z

I’ve just put an IKEA kitchen in. I had to do a very similar modification to fit the plumbing in.

forinti · 2026-08-30T16:18:18.000Z

That is weird.

Why is it inside your apartment?

Does someone have to check the meter regularly?

Anyway, great job.

AnIrishDuck · 2026-08-30T17:17:45.000Z

Presumably because it's cheaper. Ours was also originally in home; the utility recently came through and replaced all of ours with exterior units, likely at great cost (horizontal drilling machines aren't cheap)

I suspect the tragedy in Pennsylvania [1] was the catalyst. There are lots of potential issues with keeping these things indoors.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrimack_Valley_gas_explosion...

conductr · 2026-08-30T17:24:52.000Z

Meter still looks very accessible to me

forinti · 2026-08-30T21:51:43.000Z

Sure, but somebody has to be home if the gas company wants to look at it.