Replacement of electrical wiring. Degree of wiring damage. Preparation. How to install new electrical wiring in an old apartment

All apartment buildings already have electrical wiring installed throughout the apartment. During repairs or when remodeling a room, it becomes necessary to re-lay all the wires and connect all the devices. In addition, the old wiring is not designed for a large number of powerful consumers in modern house and becomes brittle and brittle over time, so it must be replaced for safety reasons. We offer step by step instructions How to replace the wiring yourself.

Drawing up a plan diagram

Any electrical wiring work begins with studying old scheme connection and input features power wires to the apartment.

To do this, it is convenient to use a copy of the apartment plan, on which you can mark the installation locations of sockets, switches, and lamps. The starting point is distribution board with a meter near the entrance to the apartment. At this stage, knowledge from school course physics. In the future, the diagram will help to correctly calculate the amount of wire and fittings and will help with repairs and maintenance.

Rules for drawing up a plan:

• The electrical wiring route must run strictly vertically and horizontally, and all turns must be made at right angles. This is necessary for safety and with this arrangement it is more difficult to damage the line.
• It would be optimal to lay it in the upper part of the wall at a distance of 15-20 cm from the ceiling or along the floor inside a special electrical baseboard.
• Switches are located at the entrance to the room from the side door handle. Their height from the floor is not regulated, but in most cases it is more convenient to place them no higher than 80 cm.
• According to the European standard, sockets are located at a height of 30 cm, but in different rooms they can be located at the required height. For example, put them higher in the children's room, place them near the table in the kitchen, etc.
• The optimal number of sockets is 1 piece per 6 sq.m. For a kitchen or bathroom, the number of sockets should correspond to the number of working electrical appliances. The distance from the door or window opening is at least 10 cm.
• Each room must have at least one distribution box. The exception is installation of wiring without distribution boxes when installation and wiring is carried out in socket boxes.
• It is advisable to include a 30 mA RCD in the diagram at the entrance to the apartment and 10 mA in the bathroom to protect against electric shock.

Also on the diagram you need to take into account the layout of the apartment and possible options arrangement of furniture so that you don’t have to use extension cords or redo sockets. When you have figured out how to do the electrical wiring, you need to calculate the length of the wires, the number of sockets and switches, and additional accessories. Now with this estimate you can go to the store.

Selection of components

Let's start with choosing a cable. You can find cables with aluminum and copper filling. The former are cheaper, but conduct electricity worse with equal cross-sections, are not elastic enough, and are prone to overheating. Therefore, copper wires are considered the best for residential wiring, as they can easily withstand heavy loads, are durable and do not oxidize. The sheath must be made of PVC or any other non-flammable material.

We calculate the cable cross-section according to the diagram and take into account maximum power all electrical appliances for each branch. For sockets, the wire cross-section is at least 2.5 mm2, and the power circuit breaker is designed for a current of 20 A. For lighting, 1.5 mm2 and a circuit breaker of 16 A are sufficient, and powerful electrical appliances must be powered through wires with a cross-section of 4 mm2 and protected by a 25-amp automatically.

All cables must be laid inside corrugated tubes separately from each other to avoid overheating and fire.

The selection of sockets, switches, cable ducts, junction boxes and other small fittings should be carried out according to the same principle.

For high-quality and durable repairs, choose only products from trusted brands that comply with GOST and SNiP and have the Rostest badge.

Sockets can be with or without grounding. The presence of a grounding contact is mandatory for connecting electrical appliances in the kitchen and bathroom. A protective cover or curtain on the socket will be useful in a child's room. There are also exotic options with a shutdown timer or a plug ejection button.

Switches can be single-key or with several keys, for controlling several lamps in walk-through areas. Illuminated switches and built-in light level controls are convenient.

All electrical devices have contacts for connecting wires. They come in two types: screw and quick-clamping. Screw ones are simpler and cheaper, but require regular tightening of the terminals so that contact with the wire does not deteriorate. Contacts with spring-pressed terminals do not have this drawback; the force is always constant and is completely eliminated human factor(there are loose wires in the connectors).

RCD - device protective shutdown increasingly common in apartment wiring diagrams. The benefits of it are obvious: the device monitors current leakage in the network and, if the threshold value is exceeded, de-energizes the entire network completely. So, if the wire insulation is damaged or the connected device overheats, a leakage current occurs, which is detected by the device. The use of RCD completely protects against damage electric shock if you carelessly touch a bare wire.

RCD connection

Wall preparation and marking

There are two types of electrical wiring installation in an apartment - closed and open. Open way the wires are laid in cable ducts or attached directly to the walls. All sockets and switches are also mounted without recessing. This method does not require labor-intensive operations and is relatively simple, but less aesthetically pleasing. This type of wiring can be used in the garden, garage, and storage room.

For closed placement of wires, we will need to make recesses and slits in the wall along the entire line; we can use technological holes in the walls and ceiling. But after sealing the cables it turns out Smooth surface ready for finishing. For apartments, only this option is used. It is possible to place the main cable lines on the ceiling, followed by installation of a suspended or suspended ceiling.

Preparation of the walls begins with cleaning them of old wallpaper and plaster, dismantling the old wiring, after which markings are applied according to the plan. At this stage, it is convenient to mark the cable routing locations using laser level or a long cord.

According to the markings, recesses are made using a grinder and a chisel or a special wall chaser, and recesses are made for distribution boxes and sockets with switches. To do this, you will need a hammer drill with special drill bits for concrete. This is the most time-consuming part of the repair, so if you doubt your abilities or don’t have the right tool, it is better to entrust the work to specialists.

To work with wires, it is worth purchasing special wire cutters that quickly and accurately cut wires and remove insulation from them. With their help, bare contacts can be sleeved with copper tubes.

Installation of hidden wiring

Now you can proceed directly to laying the line. The sequence of actions will be as follows:

1. We turn off the switch in the panel at the entrance to the apartment. Armed with a multimeter or indicator screwdriver, we check the presence of voltage in the network and only after that we start working.
2. After the meter, we install a distribution box with a strip for circuit breakers, from which each cable line. An RCD is installed in front of the distribution box, in which the input wire should always be routed from above, and the exit to the apartment from below. There can be one RCD per apartment or several per apartment. different groups electrical appliances.
3. At the output there may be a common junction box, from which the wires will already go to their rooms. Instead of one such box, individual ones can be installed in the premises.
4. We must place the wires in corrugated tubes made of non-flammable material. This will simplify repairs in the future, and the wires will not overheat.
5. We tack the wires to the wall using special fasteners (clamps) or spread alabaster at regular intervals.
6. We leave an extra 15-20 cm of wire at sockets and switches for connection and repair. In places where it is planned pendant lamps, you need to leave up to 1 meter of cable depending on the design of the chandelier. It is better to cut off excess wire than to screw in missing pieces.
7. We attach socket boxes and switches to alabaster. It quickly and reliably sticks to the wall, so you need to cook it in small quantities.
8. We connect all sockets, lamps and switches to the machines and apply voltage. Then we check the functionality of electrical appliances. If the tests are successful, you can seal the cable channels and begin final finishing.

Sometimes experts suggest installing wiring under the floor. This method has several advantages: saving on wires, ease of maintenance, if the floor is wooden, there is no need to trench the walls.

Laying open wiring

This quick way how to replace or re-wire electrical wiring has become popular thanks to the cable channels of the different sizes. There are wall-mounted and floor type"plinth". The quantity is calculated according to our scheme, leaving 5-10% of the length for allowance and trimming. For fastening you will need self-tapping screws or liquid nails.

1. We cut off the cable channels at the marked places construction knife or a hacksaw.
2. We attach the lower part of the channel to the wall using screws, dowels, nails - it all depends on the material of the walls.
3. We install distribution boxes in the same way, without embedding them into the walls. In this case, the cable channels must be closely connected to the box of switches and sockets.
4. We put the wires in them and close the lid. The line is ready.
5. We clean the contacts and connect all the fittings. Now you can perform a trial run and check the functionality of individual nodes.

There is another way of wiring - the so-called retro style. Most often she met in village houses and buildings built in the 20-30s of the last century. It consists of fastening the wires on ceramic insulators. For this we need copper wire soft braided and small roller insulators that are attached to the wall at regular intervals.

Replacing the electrical wiring in an apartment with your own hands is not particularly difficult and can easily be done by a person without special knowledge and skills, the main thing is to follow safety precautions.

It is not always possible to completely. This is due to material capabilities, as well as the specifics of the repair. Let’s say that if the owner of an apartment decided to renovate only the bathroom and kitchen, there is not always a desire to change all the wiring in the rooms. However, leave old electrical wiring in the rooms where the renovation will be carried out is not the right decision. It’s better to overpay a little and replace the cable, as well as electrical accessories, with new, safer and higher quality ones. In this case, partial replacement of wiring in an apartment or private house is used. Features of the work, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of this method will be outlined below.

Is it worth replacing the electrical wiring in parts?

To make it clear whether it is rational to change electrical parts in parts and whether this can be done at all, first we list the advantages of this type of electrical installation:

1. Lower costs.
2. The speed of electrical installation of several rooms (or individual lines) is higher than a complete replacement of wiring.
3. There is no need to renovate all rooms.

This is where the advantages of partial replacement of electrical wiring end. If we talk about disadvantages, there are many more of them:

1. This is not possible in all ways, and in any case, such a connection is dangerous. As we know, previously all wiring was carried out with aluminum wire, but now we need to use copper cable. Therefore, it is impossible to avoid connecting aluminum and copper during partial replacement of electrical equipment.
2. Difficulty connecting new lines in old junction boxes. Firstly, in old junction boxes there is little space for switching cores. Secondly, aluminum wires are quite fragile and can break when laying a new line.
3. Increased load on old wiring. If you simply decide to partially change the electrical wiring in an apartment or house, while connecting new cable to the old one in the junction box, an overload may occur. It is connected with the fact that an old aluminum wire of small cross-section will go to the box from the shield, which most likely will not withstand the new load. As a result, you will have to pull the new cable directly from the panel, bypassing the junction boxes. And this is not only problematic, but also complicates the wiring diagram.
4. Greater consumption of materials. Due to the use of “bypass circuits”, more cable will be spent on electrical installation as a whole. And the work itself will be more difficult and more expensive (if you use the services of specialists).

As you can see, partial replacement of electrical wiring in an apartment or house is possible, but it is more problematic and unsafe. Low reliability of connections, as well as a high probability of occurrence, are quite significant disadvantages.

The nuances of partial wiring replacement

In some cases, it is not at all necessary to completely change all the wiring to a new one, even before a major overhaul. To save on replacing wiring, you can leave aluminum wire for lighting, and lay copper for sockets and individual lines. If the old aluminum wire is in good condition, it must withstand a group of lamps because their power is not particularly high, besides, new LED and energy-saving lamps consume less electricity than old incandescent light bulbs. In total, replacing only the power line can also be considered as a partial replacement of electrical wiring with copper.

With sockets and separate lines for powerful electrical appliances, this trick will not work. This is due to the fact that the power line must be grounded, and for this purpose a three-core wire is laid instead of a two-core one. Therefore, if you decide that, by analogy with lighting, you can partially change the wiring for connecting sockets, know that this option is unacceptable.

Rules for performing work

To avoid repeating and describing the process of replacing wiring several times, in this article we will only provide key points, which you need to pay attention to. So, if you want to change the electrical wiring part by part in a private or panel house, consider the following recommendations:

1. The cable must be three-core, copper, double insulated. We recommend installing cables in apartments and houses. For sockets, select a cross-section of 3*2.5 mm2; for the lighting group it will be enough to lay a conductor with a cross-section of 3*1.5 mm2. A cable with a cross section of 4 mm2 can be connected to the electric stove. In any case, you need to choose the appropriate size based on the ready-made values.
2. Replace sockets and switches with new ones in any case. Sockets must be rated 16A. In the bathroom and kitchen (next to the sink), place sockets with covers to protect the contacts from moisture.
3. Wires of different metals must be connected using special terminal blocks or crimping with appropriate sleeves. Under no circumstances should ordinary insulated twists be made.
4. It is necessary to protect the line from overloads and short circuits circuit breaker. The RCD will protect against current leaks. We talked about that in a separate article, which was also discussed. It is also possible, which will protect against overloads, short circuits, and current leaks.
5. A must in a private home. It is not always possible to organize a grounding loop in an apartment. In this case, installing an RCD and organizing it will save you.
6. Definitely necessary and also old induction meter, if its accuracy class is 2.5.
7. All work must be carried out with the voltage turned off. If you need an outlet to connect a power tool, you can power it directly from the panel, making sure to disconnect all other lines.
8. Before you begin electrical installation, be sure to study the ones we described, as well as. The information is quite useful and will allow you to avoid the most popular mistakes made by home craftsmen and self-taught electricians.
9. In order not to overpay and not to change machines and basic power lines, we recommend that even before performing a partial replacement of the wiring, it is imperative that not a specific room, but a complete one.
10. Before carrying out work, be sure to prepare all necessary tool, and also make an estimate for electric installation work. The more thoroughly the preparation is done, the faster the main process will be completed. All the necessary tools are shown in the photo:

Taking into account all the tips provided above, you will be able to safely and correctly perform partial electrical wiring replacement. Still, after completing the work, before finishing the walls, we recommend inviting an electrician to check everything again and test the circuit.

The reasons why it may become necessary to replace the wiring in an apartment can be very diverse.

The most common problem is aging electrical wires.

Nothing lasts forever, and even more so, as you know, aluminum wires, which have a number of disadvantages, were used for wiring during construction in the USSR.

The main one is the increased oxidation of aluminum.

Given this feature of old houses, most people at the first major renovation they decide to replace the old wiring with a new one - copper.

The next reason that prompted you to change the wiring yourself may be the inconvenient location of the sockets, which are not located where they are supposed to be located electrical appliances in the house.

Another factor that pushes you to replace the wiring yourself is the discrepancy between the old wires and the total load on them.

Considering technological progress and the increase in the power of new electrical appliances, you should not partially change the wiring in the apartment.

Better to install a completely new one electrical network in a panel house. You need to do this before the time comes to carry out the finishing work, because in the process you cannot do without chipping the walls.

Necessary materials

Before you begin replacing the wiring in a panel house, you need to prepare the necessary tools and Consumables. You will also need a diagram of the old and new networks.

Then add another 5% to this amount, and divide the result by 220. Most often, you get a result close to 15A.

This means that in this situation a copper wire with a cross-section of 1.5 mm is quite suitable. With a value of 19A, it is better to take a 2mm wire. At 21A – 2.5 mm.

For convenience, it is better to take wires marked in different colors.

After the required cross-section of wires has been calculated, you need to decide on their number. A special scheme is used for this.

The first step will be to apply markings with your own hands - marking along the wall where the wires will run and where the switches and sockets will be installed.

You won’t be able to change the wiring yourself without a specific action plan.

The most correct solution would be to avoid any curved and diagonal lines when laying wiring, and draw only parallel to the floor or walls at the level of switches and sockets.

It should also be taken into account that it is possible that the apartment will have stretch ceiling Therefore, wiring should not be routed in the area where holes are drilled for mounting ceiling mounts.

After drawing, it will not be difficult to walk around the apartment with a tape measure and calculate the length of wire required for complete replacement wiring.

The next step is to draw up a diagram of the future new network.

The diagram must include all sockets, switches, as well as the location of the wires, indicating at what distance and how (parallel or perpendicular) relative to the ceiling, floor, walls or doorways they have been carried out.

This diagram should be kept as one of the most important documents, since during any future repairs or installation of furniture, lampshades, paintings to walls or ceilings, it is very important not to damage the electrical wiring.

Remember that this diagram is the most important preparatory stage at work, so consultation with an experienced specialist will not be superfluous.

In the case of laying wires in special corrugated or ordinary tubes, you need to purchase them too - the same number of meters as the wires.

In addition to wires, you will also need plastic boxes for sockets, distribution boxes and, in fact, sockets and switches.

It is better to choose sockets with curtains; they are much safer than regular ones, especially if there are children in the apartment.

Also, in any house there are always rooms with high humidity. Such as kitchen, bathroom.

To equip such rooms in an apartment with your own hands, you need to purchase sockets with sealing covers and a housing with a seal. They are protected from moisture and water from the walls.

You will also need:

• hammer drill or grinder;
• chisel and hammer;
• indicator screwdriver;
• insulating tape;
• cement mortar or plaster;
• pliers.

To change the wiring in the apartment, you must first remove the old one yourself. After everything has been calculated, purchased and prepared for DIY wiring, the first step is to disconnect and dismantle the old electrical network.

First you need to de-energize the wires - turn off all the machines and check with a tester or an indicator screwdriver whether the voltage is really turned off everywhere.

After checking, all sockets and switches are removed.

In a panel house, old wiring, as a rule, is hidden, embedded in the walls or stretched into concrete slabs- you can leave it without attention, without removing it from the previous groove, if there is no need to put new wires there.

It will be enough to simply cut them and insulate the ends.

But in this case, the main thing is to prevent the old and new electrical wires from touching.

It is not uncommon for lighting cables to be pulled out without drilling into the walls by simply unplugging them in the junction box and pulling them.

Installation of new wiring

After disconnection and dismantling old wiring, you can start laying a new one with your own hands.
First, we outline the locations of the new wiring.

To do this, draw two parallel lines along the future furrows, at a distance of approximately two centimeters from each other.

These will be the edges of the groove.

Then we hollow it out in one of the following ways: the first is to cut it with a grinder to a depth of about four centimeters along the drawn lines and remove the middle using a hammer and chisel; the second is to drill grooves using a hammer drill.

In a panel house this will not be difficult. The choice of method depends on the power tool at hand.

If the power tool is completely missing, then we simply gouge it out with a hammer and chisel (but this is a very long and physically expensive process).

Then we install all the boxes, fixing them with cement mortar in their seats.

To save money electric cable, you can run a separate power wire to each room, and from it, using twists, lead the wires to the connection points.

Twisting is done in the following way: the wire strands are stripped to a length of 3-4 centimeters and twisted together using pliers.

The exposed end of the twist is then cut to 1 centimeter length and insulated. You can insulate either using an insulating clamp or using regular electrical tape.

Care must be taken to ensure that the junction boxes remain within reach after all finishing works and installation of furniture and electrical appliances.

From the distribution boxes, putting the wires into grooves prepared by ourselves, we draw the network to the connection points.

If the lighting cable in the apartment was easily pulled out, then it is possible to replace it with a new one without gating - just connect the free end to the new wire and then pull it out at the junction box.

Having connected all the wires to the machines, turn on the voltage and check all the wires with a tester. If everything works, then you can plaster the grooves with the wires embedded in them.

When inserting all the cables into the panel, it is better to divide them into separate lines. For example, an electric stove needs a separate line because it operates under high voltage.

In addition to the switches in the panel, you can install several in the apartment itself.

This will make it possible to make different switches for different lines, making it easier to repair or replace light bulbs, sockets, and troubleshoot faults in the line.

There is also a slightly different option for changing the wiring - the wires are inserted into corrugated or ordinary pipes, and they, in turn, are inserted and sealed using cement mortar into the prepared grooves.

This method is much more convenient and reliable than cementing the wires themselves in the apartment, since if any section of the wire is damaged, it will not be difficult to replace it.

Every owner of an apartment or private house will at some point come to the realization that it is necessary to replace the electrical wiring. Changing the wiring yourself, of course, will not be easy. There is no way to do this without basic knowledge principles of operation and functions of electrical wiring, without documentation and wiring diagrams at home and, of course, without any personal interest in the fascinating process.

Why do most people decide to change the wiring themselves?

Change the wiring in the living area on our own usually solved together with major repairs. This is probably the most difficult part of it. Most people choose self-replacement for several reasons. The main thing, of course, is the cost of this type of repair activity. In a regional city Russian Federation specialized replacement electrical wiring from the organization costs more than a thousand rubles per square meter.

What is the basis for replacing the wiring?

When answering the question of how to change the wiring in a house, you first need to understand what actually falls into the category of replacement.

Wiring replacement includes:

• replacing wires made of aluminum with copper wires;
• transferring the power supply circuit from the solidly grounded neutral TN-C to TN-CS, which guarantees grounding protection;
• avoidance of branching the wiring to connect different groups of wires.

Why is it worth changing aluminum wiring?

It is known that it was widely used in the world in the sixties and seventies. At that time, this element attracted many because of its economical cost and safety; it was believed that the mining and, especially, smelting of copper was quite harmful to the human body.

But today we have come to the realization that it is necessary to change the wiring, in particular aluminum wires, since they are unsuitable for electrical wires for a number of reasons:

1. Today, as a rule, quite a lot of different electrical appliances are concentrated in a living space. In this regard, the power for wiring turns out to be greater, so very often today aluminum wiring unable to withstand modern conditions.
2. Even with the smallest drops of water, aluminum is susceptible to electrocorrosion emanating from the wire sheath. Therefore, a seemingly monolithic wire turns out to be cut to the ground, which is why malfunctions very often occur, which sometimes lead to emergency situations.
3. Everyone knows that aluminum is a soft metal. It is squeezed out from under the screws of the terminals, the twisting points weaken, and soldering of this element is difficult, expensive and is one of the so-called hazardous industries. Therefore, duralumin contacts are unreliable.

Why change the power supply?

Domestic TN-C power supply plan in Soviet time was necessary in connection with the implementation of mass electrification, the Soviet period was characterized by the enormous extent of communications in big country and a lack of non-ferrous metals.

With camber Soviet Union In the Russian Federation, a different power supply scheme was adopted - TN-CS, which guarantees maximum safety for customers regardless of the state of the power grid.

How to change the wiring in an apartment with your own hands?

If you decide to change the wiring in a room or house, you should follow a certain sequence of work. It is worth noting that by adhering to the set plan, you can reduce costs by almost three times.

How to change the wiring in the house? Replacement steps:

1. You need to start by drawing up a plan for the electrical supply of your living space.
2. Schematically depict the layout of the existing electrical wiring and confirm it with the registration diagram of the electrical supply.
3. Assemble a temporary structure.
4. Next, we directly connect the mechanisms, including automatic machines and switches, and connect the differential current device.
5. Now you need to install sockets (connection points) and stationary equipment (including elements of electrical appliances at home).
6. At the final stage, it is necessary to carry out electrical wiring into groups and points to connect electrical appliances.

If you are interested in the question of how to change the wiring in a panel house, it should be noted that before replacing the electrical wire, grounding should be done, if possible, or grounding should be ensured.

How much wiring power is needed?

High-quality electrical wiring of a living space is characterized by the amount of power consumed by technical devices.

Often public services set a certain limit on power consumption, for example, in rural areas There is a limit on electricity consumption of 20-30 kW per living area. Of course, in an urban environment such power supply limits cannot be met. If the power reaches high levels, in apartment buildings can knock out central traffic jams in entrances.

We also note that in Soviet five-story buildings, where the power supply limit is 2.3 kW, it is mainly necessary to change the wiring.

Of course, residents of such houses adapt to necessary conditions, realize that you cannot turn on too many electrical appliances at the same time - you should alternate and weigh your preferences. Especially in summer time when you want the air conditioner to work all day.

We carefully calculate the electrical voltage

We will not consider in detail how to calculate power for each type of living space; we will take a closer look at the consumption option for an average city apartment with a total area of ​​about 100 square meters:

• the central meter should have readings from 30 to 35 A, based on the area of ​​the living space;
• RCD for residential area is 55 A - 35 µA;
• two branches of wires of 4 square mm each should go to the kitchen;
• on each branch to the kitchen there is a 30A RCD at 30μA;
• air conditioner or split system - separate wire branch - 3 sq. mm - to the central meter 15 A, RCD - 25A at 30 μA;
• sockets and lighting circuits - must pass one into each room - wire readings 2.5 sq. mm.

In principle, these are all the basic values ​​for a single-line power supply diagram for an apartment.

Preparing a power supply diagram

If you live in standard apartment urban plan, then as a basis for your scheme, provided that you have not changed the location of objects in the house, you can take samples of the standard plan. On such samples you only need to enter your testimony. The RCD brand provided on the sample can be left; this factor does not play a significant role.

When drawing a diagram, pay close attention to the scale and dimensions. symbols elements present. It must be remembered that their incorrect scaling is not allowed. That is, the electrical condensate should look on the drawing in the form of two parallel lines half a millimeter thick and no more than one centimeter long, the sticks should be located at a distance of 2 mm from each other - there cannot be any other designation on the drawing.

Replacing electrical wiring in the house

How to change the wiring in the house with your own hands? To begin with, in accordance with the stages of replacement, we carry out preparations - a repair temporary hut. Charge all power tools needed for the planned work in advance. We also stock up on a long extension cord so that we can carry out activities in all rooms without any difficulties.

Then you must turn off the apartment's meters so that no energy flows. You need to remove the plugs or turn off the central apartment meter. Next, we hollow out the space around the meter in order to bring the wires from electric meter.

We connect a temporary temporary structure with a tight twist to the wires brought outside (twisting is permissible during this type of work), carefully remove the joints, then fasten the temporary temporary structure to the wall.

We carry out gating

It is worth noting in advance that the grooves can be used straight, horizontal or vertical. We recommend using horizontal grooves as a backup option; they are sometimes very inconvenient in the sense that they run only half a meter under the ceiling. Slanted and crooked grooves are extremely dangerous when replacing electrical wiring.

Drilling and tapping the wall should only be done on a stepladder with side supports, which is very often used in their work by those who put up tall advertisements. An ordinary stepladder under the pressure of the tool can simply tip you back along with the working device, which can lead to injury.

It is worth immediately marking with a grinder the boundaries necessary for the grooves. As a rule, the depth is made to the diameter of the corrugation and the width of the perforator bit, then the groove is filled with it. Next, inside the resulting corners, you need to make an oblique cut using a grinder and knock out a hole there so that the bend of the corrugation is smooth. The space for the counter is also made using a chisel.

It is advisable to choose a double groove for the switches, into which two cable streams can be placed at once.

Today, changing wiring without gating will present a number of specific problems, so it is worth warning your neighbors in advance about the time at which you are going to carry out such noisy work. Of course, it is acceptable to carry it out in the first half of the working day.

Laying wires

How to change the wiring in an apartment? First, measure the required length of the cable and corrugation. We tighten the cable itself into the corrugation on the floor. Next, we insert the socket boxes into the markings on the alabaster pillow. Now we lay the corrugations from the cables into the grooves, while trying to bring the ends of the wires into installed socket boxes. To complete the sub-sections, we apply a layer of alabaster to the wall, and plaster the grooves with corrugation at intervals of approximately half a meter.

Now you need to insert the ends of the corrugations into the VShch, glue them with a special conductive paste, tighten them with a tin clamp on the screw, and directly connect the screw to the ground terminal of the VShch. We install the VSC in the required place, make marks for the mounting hole, drill and attach the dowels.

We check whether everything is de-energized and disconnect the temporary shed. Next, we install wires from the electric meter and apartment PE into the overhead switchboard, which we immediately connect to the housing of the overhead switchboard. We securely fasten the latter to the wall. We insulate the wires from the meter and put them into the switchboard housing. Next, we restore the surrounding space using plaster.

Reminder about wire colors

This type of activity involves direct contact with electrical wires, so you need to once again familiarize yourself with which wire is responsible for what.

So, blue tint(or blue color) always denotes the neutral N wire. The PE wire intended for protection is designated yellow with a longitudinal greenish stripe.

Phase wires can have different shades, for example, white, red, yellow or Brown color. It is worth noting that when replacing wiring, you can only connect wires of the same color.

Transition of phase to zero, from phase to phase and switching on/off at the zero break are unacceptable.

The final stage: plastering the object

Now is the time for plasterers, painters and wallpaperers. However, first you need to fill the socket boxes with foam rubber, paper or rags flush with the wall, and cover the control panel with a piece of plastic film, tucking it under the edges of its frame.

It is worth noting that the meter also needs to be covered with film, but make sure that everything is applied carefully, without breaking the seal - you won’t end up with problems with the energy service later. If the seal was nevertheless touched by you and damaged, you must immediately report this to the appropriate organization.

In the end, after the plastering, painting and wallpapering work has been done, the socket boxes and electrical distribution boards will most likely look worn out and sealed, but you can simply feel them and cut out the wallpaper according to the outline. Having cleared the plaster deficiencies from the socket boxes, we install sockets, switches, lighting, boiler.

Then we implement a power supply circuit on the terminal blocks in the VShch, but the input from the meter should not be connected yet. Before inserting into the terminal block, each separate branch of wires must be carefully checked with a tester for short circuit:

• On a short time we start the flow into the apartment.
• We find the zero that departs from the electric meter.
• We take food indicators.
• We separate the phase and zero along the terminal blocks with pieces of wire of the corresponding colors.
• We check for a short circuit again, now with the voltage turned on.
• We turn off the main circuit breaker, power the apartment, and turn it on again.

That's all, the replacement of electrical wiring was successful.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that replacing wiring is by no means the easiest task for home handyman. It is worth taking on it if you were able to independently create a power supply diagram, wiring plan and arrange them in the appropriate way.

Safety precautions

Before carrying out work, be sure to turn off the power supply and ground everything possible. In no case should you skimp on quality wires, sockets and switches - this can end badly. It is advisable to use residual current devices during operation. This will not provide a complete guarantee of security (like nothing else), but in this way you can significantly reduce risks.

How to properly repair apartment electrical wiring.

In our long-suffering country, people do not have enough money to buy new housing. Secondary apartment market, i.e. apartments "B.U." is becoming more and more popular. The first thing new residents do after purchasing is to prepare for renovations. But not only the walls, floor, and ceiling need to be repaired, but also the wiring.

The fact is that in the last century, when this housing was built, the apartment’s energy consumption was expected to be 1-2 kW, but now it can easily reach 10 kW. Almost everyone has washing machine, microwave oven, iron, hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, electric toaster, electric grill, etc. Most of these devices easily consume 1-2 kW, and yet they can be turned on at the same time! You'll even have to change it. A modern electric meter is designed for a current of at least 50 A.

But how to start electrical wiring repair? For this there are certain rules. They will help you save time, money and health.

Rule one

Electrical wiring repairs start with a project. Determine what appliances will be in each room. What kind of lighting will there be, where will they be. At what height should they be installed? Previously, it was common to install sockets at a height of 80-90 cm, and switches 150-160 cm from the floor.

Now another fashion has come: sockets are at a height of 30-40 cm, and switches are 80-90 cm. The exception is, where they are placed at a height of 10 cm from the level of the tabletop. Do not skimp on sockets; it is better to place them at a distance of no more than 3 m from each other.

Rule two

During repairs, the wiring must be changed immediately and entirely. . Firstly, because previously they used aluminum wires, but they are short-lived and have a lot of very significant disadvantages. Secondly, when repairing electrical wiring, you should not connect aluminum wires and copper wires. Thirdly, the work associated with gating walls. It is better to do it in an apartment without furniture, because... there will be a lot of dirt and inconvenience.

Rule three

Before replacing electrical wiring, calculate the consumption. Add up the power of electrical appliances that will be powered from one line (one machine). It is accepted that no more than 5 sockets were connected from one machine. Total power the load of these outlets should be no more than 5 kW. The wire cross-section for sockets is 2.5 square. The machine is installed with a current of no more than 25 A. The cross-section of the wire for lighting is at least 1.5 square. The power of lighting devices is no more than 3 kW. The machine must be installed at a current of no more than 16 A.

Rule four

Don't skimp on materials. It is better to take the cable VVGng 3x2.5, VVGng 3x1.5 or VVP cable 3x2.5. Choose sockets, boxes and switches of the average price category. The evaluation criterion should be the quality of execution contact connections(chrome or nickel plated contacts are better), thermally stable base (ceramics is better).