How to connect electrical wiring in the apartment – all stages of electrical installation

Installing electrical wiring in an apartment is not as long and expensive as installing wiring in a house. This is due to the fact that there is no need to draw a line inside the housing, because this is provided by the developer.

Cabling in rooms consists of the following steps:

• Graph
• Calculate the amount of necessary materials and electrical equipment;
• Tag and strobe walls;
• Cable mount
• Installation of sockets, switches and junction boxes;
• Input shield assembly;
• Line examination by laboratory.

It should be noted that to date, open wiring in the apartment is no longer used , so in this article we will consider installation work in a hidden way.

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The wiring diagram in the apartment is easy to do with your own hands. To do this, it is recommended to use a photocopy of the housing plan, where you can easily mark the installation locations for sockets, switches, lamps and other components. On how to make a wiring diagram before repair, the main points are presented below.

The starting point of the scheme is the location of the distribution board in the apartment. Usually this place is a corridor, next to the front door, at a height of about 1.5 meters from the floor.

When drawing up the scheme, we recommend that you consider the following tips, criteria and rules:

1. In apartments, it is prohibited to get rid of load-bearing walls, as well as create horizontal and vertical portals. We will describe this in detail below.
2. The path of the apartment’s wiring should be strictly vertical and horizontal along the walls. This condition provides less chance of damage. For example, by the location of the outlet, you can know exactly where the cable will pass so that you do not inadvertently drive a nail when hanging a picture. Ideally recommended before driving the nail. Find the wire in the wall using a special device. Please note that in Khrushchev and other panel buildings, the cable is laid in channels in the dishes. Due to rigidity requirements, channels can be run diagonally.
3. The track should only run at right angles.
4. It is better to draw a line at the top of the wall, at a distance of 20 cm from the ceiling (this height will provide the minimum chance of mechanical damage and will not appear on the relief of the repair). It is also possible to post it on the floor, not the ceiling, using a special electrotechnical board.
5. The keys in the apartment should be located at the entrance to the room, on the side of the door handle. The height of circuit breakers is not standardized according to GOST and SNiPu, but, as a rule, it is either 80 cm or 150 cm. According to European standards, it is better to install lower switches, in addition, it will be more convenient for children to turn on the light if necessary.
6. Outlets are mounted at the bottom (20-30 cm from the floor), but if necessary, they can be placed at any height (for example, in the kitchen above the counter). Suggested for 10 square metres. meters of space to install at least one outlet, and at least one outlet per room. In the kitchen, the number of products should correspond to the number of household appliances, at least 4 pieces are recommended. This is described in SP31-110-2003, “Design and installation of electrical installations for residential and public buildings”, paragraph 14.27. The distance from the installation site to the door and window should not be less than 10 cm.
7. Each room should have a junction box.
8. Before drafting the wiring in the apartment, carefully plan the location of household appliances and furniture. It happens that after electrical work, products can be covered with furniture, or wires from household appliances do not reach the power source.
9. The bathroom should have at least two sockets (one for connecting a washing machine, the second for a hairdryer). But read the article “Sockets in the bathroom»about their correct location. In short, the sockets should have protective curtains or be in the area with the least possibility of splashing.

Selection of devices and automation

When choosing switches and sockets, pay attention to the way they are mounted – internal or external. If you are going to install them in socket boxes, you need to purchase products for indoor installation only. To connect wires, you need to use screw or jack terminal blocks, PPE caps or sleeves. It is also possible to make the connection by welding or soldering, but in no case by twisting. Therefore, you need to purchase products for connecting wires with a margin.

Choose circuit breakers and RCDs from well-known manufacturers, from the budget segment these are IEK and KEAZ, and from the middle and upper ones these are Schneider Electric, ABB and Legrand.

Not sure which cable to choose? So the cable must be copper. To make electrical connections in the apartment with your own hands, you can choose a VVGng or NYM copper cable.

This is one of the most suitable brands of wires in the local market. For lighting, choose a cross section of 1.5 mm². And protect it with 10A machine, put 2.5mm cable. kv on the sockets. And set the device 16A. For connection of an electric stove and powerful consumers, it is better to use a cable with a cross section of 4 mm. And protection with a 25A assault rifle.

If you want the wiring in the apartment to be safe, put a voltage relay shield, which protects against overvoltage in the network as a result of phase imbalance, which is often observed in old housing stock due to zero sweep.

The assembly diagram of the shield can be like this (on its basis, select only accessories):

If the apartment provides  grounding , the circuit will be as follows:

Wiring and requirements

In this case, it would be logical to conduct wiring through existing channels, floor or ceiling (if a suspended or suspended ceiling is planned). The first and last option is more preferable.

Important!  Dropping the ceiling in the apartment is strictly prohibited! The only option with which you can make flashings on the ceiling is, first of all, to apply an additional layer of plaster to the ceiling, where the cable will be hidden. This layer can actually be carefully grounded without touching the monolith.

For example, the easiest option is to draw lines from the shield to sockets and switches along the ceiling, channels or floor, and there you will already have to make vertical strobes and so-called wells for installing socket boxes.

Another important point that you should pay attention to if you decide to carry out the wiring in the apartment with your own hands –  noisy work is  allowed from 9 am to 7 pm (except Sundays) with an hour of silence from 13 to 15! Strobing indicates noisy action and can cause not only the anger of neighbors, but also a fine (from 1 to 5 thousand for individuals).

We will return directly to wiring the apartment. As we said earlier, the length of the conductors must be purchased with a margin. This supply will go to their interconnection (on each side the outer sheath of the cable is removed by 5-10 cm) and to the connection of sockets, switches and fixtures (length margin of 10-15 cm).

Connecting sockets and switches

This stage is very simple, you need to connect all the sockets and switches in the apartment. To do this, strobes are installed in special strobes and boxes. We recommend that you “plant” these items on the alabaster, such that it quickly and securely adheres to the wall.

Machinery connection and assembly

After connecting all the protective devices in the apartment, it is necessary to carry out continuity of wiring with a multimeterto check the correctness of the work performed. Best for these purposes, call an electrician so that an experienced specialist checks everything. Finished wiring checking services are not expensive.If no problems are found, feel free to turn on the machine and make the first tests of the finished line.

Here, using this technology, electrical wiring in the apartment can be done with your own hands. We hope that the presented step-by-step instructions, diagrams and requirements have helped you carry out electrical installation safely and, most importantly, comply with all standards and rules.