The level of "technical well-being" of a modern Russian depends very much on the availability of only one effective source of energy - electricity. Almost all human needs of the twenty-first century are based on this type of energy - lighting housing and streets, processing food, storing meat and fish, heating rooms in winter and getting hot water, cooling rooms and ventilation in the heat, the level of communications and other functions, without which It's hard to imagine your life. Therefore, laying wiring in an apartment or preserving the old one is an integral part of housing construction.
Electrical work
Today, electricity goes to domestic consumers without much disruption or interruption. The main thing is to pay for the services of suppliers without delay. Another thing is the repair of home energynetworks. Companies engaged in the supply of electricity are responsible for the operation of the network only up to the consumer's meter. In the apartment itself, the owner himself must take care of the proper functioning of electrical appliances. And it can arrange all the lighting, power and outlet points in the optimal number and in a convenient place for use in its own way.
There is only one significant problem: will the owner have enough qualifications to carry out such work? If not, it is better not to try to argue with the voltage level in the network. This can end very sadly for the owner of the apartment, and for his household. In this case, it is better to hire an electrician to lay the wiring in the apartment and forget about the existing problems. But if the homeowner manages to cope with electrical repairs, then the power grid is in good hands.
Safe work rules
Before proceeding to electrical work, it must be noted that an electrician needs to know the rules for laying wiring in an apartment. They don’t joke with electric current, such work is very dangerous if you don’t know the basics and safety rules.
Nowadays, in a standard residential apartment, there is a significant amount of various consumer electronics and appliances. In this case, the voltage for each element of electrical equipment often differs. The situation with the power grid is very difficult not only in buildings that were erected a long time ago, but also in some new buildings, since it does not have time to optimally change and completely cope withthe advent of new electrical appliances.
To keep household appliances and your he alth at hand, you must always have an apartment power supply scheme in any room of your home. With the purchase of the next sample of household appliances, you need to measure the change in load.
A separate and serious issue will be the laying of electrical wiring, which is combined with a major overhaul of the premises. After all, the laying of wires is carried out, as a rule, inside the walls.
In this regard, you need to organize a new power supply project for a building or apartment. Difficulty level is professional. The drawing should contain a diagram of the electrical wiring of the network and a list of necessary materials. The site for entering the supply electrical wire from the network is marked, the installation of a switchboard, separate boxes, new sockets, various switches, lamps, electrical appliances. Having taken this step, it will be possible to mark the voltage load calculations and select the cross-sections of the working conductors.
Wiring these days is mostly made of high quality copper cable. There are several of them with different quality characteristics, recommended application places and, of course, cost. Any product has its own types and schemes, marking technical production characteristics.
New wiring
Laying new wiring in an apartment is a fairly common and even massive case. When you have a new apartment, the realization quickly comes that these are new technical problems with wiring. And the quality of work is not very high, and the distribution of connection points is not verysatisfied, and new electrical appliances require new power lines.
A similar situation develops during major repairs in an old apartment. Then it becomes possible to upgrade the electrical network from the entry point to the socket, repair all the wiring, re-marking the installation of power connection points so that it is comfortable and safe.
Sometimes there is a temptation to save money in the process of laying wiring in an apartment - to make a "vinaigrette" from scraps of old wires with broken insulation. This is definitely not worth doing. Firstly, it is dangerous, and secondly, such wires can fail at the most inopportune time, and it’s good if there is no crisis situation.
Three-prong plug
Almost all electrical appliances produced recently have a three-prong plastic plug included. Take your time in laying the wiring in the apartment in this vein. Keeping up with the times, most apartment owners will probably want to install the latest three-prong sockets when installing the next sockets.
These parts themselves, of course, are harmless, European standard level, technically ready for operation. However, if your apartment is located in a house built back in Soviet times (somewhere in 1950 - 1970), then the power grid is probably organized according to the GOST of those years, and the new one, according to the TN-S or TN-C-S schemes, only planned. In this case, even small jumpers cannot be made between the technical zero contact and the ground contact right on the outlet. This is very dangerous.
Planning
Having taken care of safety, we must proceed to the first stage of wiring in the apartment, the basic one for any work - planning. Usually the wiring diagram is typical, there is nothing difficult in it. The basis in the apartment wiring diagram will be an intra-apartment shield. Electricity flows through it into the housing, and wires must be pulled from it.
The number of power lines created will directly depend on the number of rooms. As a rule, these are several rooms (depending on the size of the apartment), a kitchen, a bathroom, hallways, if you're lucky, additional rooms, for example, a pantry, a dressing room. Also, this amount is affected by the power required for the operation of some devices. They may require an additional dedicated line. In most cases, there are two wires going there: the so-called zero and phase, in some cases a third is now being added - grounding.
Of course, do-it-yourself wiring in an apartment should be done after accurate calculations. Remember the school course in physics and the course in electrodynamics.
Network location
In an ordinary panel house, electrical wiring is usually hidden, hidden in recesses in the wall or hidden behind drywall and wallpaper. Therefore, laying wiring in an apartment with your own hands can begin with a search for power supply channels in the apartment.
After that, you need to take up the location of the outlets. In old apartments of the previous era, electrical sockets, as a rule, were located randomly, and theirit's pretty hard to find now. In our century, the correct location is considered to be 40 centimeters from the floor level. Sometimes such a solution may seem unnatural, but there are reasons for this: the sockets located in this way behind cabinets and tables are almost invisible, when connected they are closer to the target, you won’t accidentally catch them, and, no less important, such wiring in the apartment requires several less cable. There is only one subtlety: when connecting a household appliance such as a vacuum cleaner or an electric iron, you need to lean quite low.
Wiring location
Independent laying of hidden wiring in an apartment is in some cases a difficult task even for professionals. But on the other hand, you will be firmly convinced that the installation was completed one hundred percent according to the instructions. There are three leading wiring methods:
- lay under plaster during construction/overhaul;
- stretch in a corrugated polymer pipe;
- lay in plastic lightweight box.
All these methods of laying wiring in an apartment are considered by specialists to be unambiguously equal and correct, and the specific choice depends on the specifics of the apartment and your preferences. However, it is important to remember where you laid the cable, or rather, without relying on your memory, draw it on the apartment plan, otherwise any nail used for its intended purpose may cause damage to household appliances, or even a personal acquaintance with the strength of the current.
Wiring practice
For visual appeal and safety, do-it-yourself wiring in a new apartment is usually done by creating a hidden system. It is carried out inside the apartment walls, under a dense decorative finish or other elements. The safest can be the wiring in the apartment under hard drywall, laid with your own hands, since in this case the cable is well protected from any mechanical damage. A serious disadvantage of this repair option is that it is the most difficult and requires the ability to work simultaneously with a number of tools.
The combined method of installation of the electrical network combines its installation with a cable protected channel. This method allows you to simultaneously use the positive qualities of closed and open wiring - relative safety and good appearance.
Gender
Placement of wiring in the walls is still not combined with such difficulties as laying wiring on the floor in an apartment. The method has its positive and negative sides. And in order to minimize the negative points, it is very important to clearly orient the wiring and decide exactly how many electrical points you will have. After all, it will be almost impossible to make changes in the future.
However, the main problem that will become an obstacle during installation is the difficulty of fulfilling one technical rule. It states that all junctions and cable branches must be free for normal maintenance and light repairs.
Options for getting out of this situationsome. The simplest is the arrangement of electrical distribution boxes in the wall above the floor. Even more often, apartment wiring is carried out using ordinary sockets as junction boxes. True, in this option there is one big potential nuisance. If the wire that feeds this electrical point fails, all subsequent power points will also be inoperative.
Possible location of the junction box in a typical location under the ceiling. But this eliminates all the benefits of laying wiring on the floor in the apartment and leads to the usual work on hidden wiring.
Ceiling
Finally, another plane of the apartment that you have to deal with is the ceiling. Laying wiring on the ceiling in the apartment has its own subtleties. First of all, you need to decide on the type of surface. Depending on whether the ceiling is reinforced concrete, wooden or plastic, the wiring will go.
Usually, the initial stage consists of a complex of traditional works and chasing the ceiling for electrical wiring so that it is hidden. If this is not possible due to the characteristics of the apartment, it is recommended to try to lay the wires under the false ceiling. This method has a lot of its own features and difficulties, but in the end it will be possible to preserve the beauty of the finish and safety.
Cost of wiring in Russia, Ukraine
Do-it-yourself electrical work is the ideal way out of the situation. But if you don't haveprofessional skills, then you can hire an electrician. Specialists can carry out electrical network installation of new wiring or replacement of old wiring, repair of switchboards, electric meters, etc.
An example of such work can be wiring in an apartment in Krivoy Rog. A free visit of the master is provided for a general assessment of the situation with the operation of the electrical network. Masters are able to carry out large-scale work: from replacing a light bulb to a complete replacement of wiring, transferring sockets, switches, upgrading chandeliers, troubleshooting the network, commissioning household appliances and other types of work.
The cost of repair work is relatively small: installing a socket, a conventional switch will cost up to forty hryvnia, a socket for a household electric stove - up to fifty hryvnia, installing a switch in an old socket with simultaneous connection - up to sixty hryvnia, and so on.
In Russia, the cost of carrying out the relevant work by professionals is also moderately affordable. In Moscow, the installation of switches or sockets will cost two hundred and fifty rubles apiece, a spotlight - three hundred rubles, a chandelier - five hundred and fifty rubles. Installation of the wire will cost from fifty rubles per linear meter, boxes - from fifty rubles per 1 pc. Connecting an electric stove and oven will cost one and a half thousand rubles. Installation of new wiring in a one-room apartment will cost from fifteen thousand rubles and more.
In the regions, something is cheaper, something is more expensive. Wiring andboxes is in the same price range. Installation of sockets and switches - ten to fifteen rubles cheaper. A lot depends on whether to hire a craftsman working individually or professionals from a construction company. In the latter case, the cost of work is expected to be higher, but firms, as a rule, give a guarantee, and generally work better. Although it all depends on the master.
