How to replace electrical wiring in the apartment?

Step 1 - Determine with

work front First, where to start - you need to determine whether to change the line completely or only certain areas. Here, of course, your case, but with certainty it can be said that the buildings of the 1960s used an aluminum conductor of a small cross-section to create an electrical network, most likely without grounding. This option is extremely dangerous and is not even subject to partial recovery, so it is better once to completely replace the wiring in the apartment with your own hands and be calm.

If the conductors are in this condition, the apartment wiring must be changed:

You also need to evaluate your strength and decide whether the wiring in the apartment itself will be replaced or if a specialist call is required. There is already a stick from both ends. On the one hand, there are no special difficulties in the layout of the line, but on the other hand a special tool, calculations and certain skills of working with electricity will be required. If you still want to test your strength, then we will tell you in detail all the stages of the work.

Immediately recommend that you review the steps for replacing the wiring in the video instructions:

wiring work. Step 2 - Determine the schematic and materials of the

. Now proceed directly to the calculation work. First of all, you need to make a diagram of yourself, where you will find the locations of new switches, sockets, junction boxes and powerful household appliances, which will be powered directly( for example, an electric stove).

We recommend that before starting the replacement, review the wiring diagram in a one-room apartment, which provides the simplest version of the lighting group and outlet outlet for all rooms. Further on the basis of the scheme it is necessary to count the amount of materials, while choosing the most suitable characteristics.

Immediately it should be noted that the apartment uses the installation of concealed wiring, which is associated with a number of nuances: electrical safety, influence on the interior of rooms, fire safety, etc. At the same time to replace electrical wiring in the apartment with their own hands on the open no one bans, it all depends on your preferences and strengths.

We recommend that you follow the following recommendations to make a proper substitution:

1. Cable - copper, three-core, with a cross section of at least 2.5 mm2 for the outlet group, 1.5 mm2 for luminaires and 4 mm2 for high-power electrical appliances. It is recommended to calculate the cross-section of the cable in order to accurately determine the appropriate diameter of the conductors. As for the brand, it is better to give preference to the expensive foreign NYM labeling product. Of domestic, which are cheaper, we advise the use of VVG or PVS.
2. Protective automatics. Without it you can not do it, becauseit is imperative to protect the wiring from current leaks, short circuits and overloads when replacing the electrical wiring in the apartment. For this purpose, an RCD and a circuit breaker( or a combined model - a diafavtomat) are used. The automatic and RCDs have different characteristics, which are selected based on the loads on the line. For example, for a three-room apartment, it is customary to install a protective automatics on a group of sockets for 25A, for lighting - 16A, for a powerful electric stove - 32A.The input circuit breaker on the switchboard must be rated at 50A, and the residual current circuit-breaker at 63A.From manufacturers we advise to give preference to the leading companies - ABB and Legrand.
3. Distribution boxes for an apartment are selected based on the branching of the groups and the cross-section of all conductors. Rectangular and square boxes are more roomy, but round are much easier to install.
4. Sockets should be grounded, for protection from children, purchase products with special curtains, which will prevent foreign objects from getting inside. Pay attention to the labeling of the products, so that the socket can withstand current loads, otherwise problems can not be avoided in the future with the connection of powerful household appliances.
5. There are no special requirements for switches, the main thing is that they are convenient and safe. Among all types of light switches, keyboards and dimmers are popular.
6. Connect the cores to WAGO terminals, today it is the simplest and most effective way to connect wires. In addition, vagi have a low cost.

After calculating the number of all materials and selecting the most suitable product models, go to the store with the list, then go to the replacement of the wiring in the apartment.

Step 3 - Dismantling the old

line Now you can replace the old electrical wiring. To do this, we turn off the electricity at the entrance to the apartment, remove all the interfering furniture and begin to destroy the finishing of the walls.

The electrical wiring in the apartment is replaced from the distribution boxes in each of the rooms. Detect these electrical "points" you can by plastic covers in the wall or outlined contours through the wallpaper. The lid is twisted, after which all the twists are disconnected, and the old cable is gently freed from the putty bar. Also, you can find the wire in the wall with a self-made metal detector, which is created from improvised tools in minutes.

We draw your attention to the fact that in some places the line can not be dismantled from the wall without significant damage to the structure. In this case, you can do without strobleniya, if you cut off the problem area and carefully insulate, leaving in the old shtrobe!

Stage 4 - Laying new wiring

Now the most important thing is to replace the electrical wiring in the apartment yourself with a new, more reliable one. To do this, we recommend creating new grooves in the wall in order to make it convenient for yourself to place switches, sockets and other elements of the network.

We will not go into detail at this stage, becausein detail the installation of electrical wiring in the apartment, we considered in the relevant article.

When the replacement of the apartment wiring is completed, it is necessary to photograph the wiring of the cable on the walls. This is done so that when problems occur, you can easily find the damaged area in the photo.

Do not hurry up the mortars with mortar, you need to do this after all the wiring is checked for operability.

Step 5 - Inspection check

Well, the last, no less important event - the call of a new wiring in the apartment multimeter. This device will determine the operability of the electrical wiring and the presence of a short circuit, if suddenly you have something not so connected. If the device has not shown errors, it means that it is possible to connect a ready-made line to the lead-in shield and check the operability of all lamps, switches and sockets.

If all elements of the circuit are working, turn off the electricity again and proceed to the covering of the shroud. At this replacement of electrical wiring in the apartment with their own hands is considered complete. As you can see, the event is rather labor-consuming and requires skills, but nevertheless, with a huge desire and care, you can independently carry out wiring!
Material on the subject:

• Decoding of marking of cables and cords
• Installation of lighting in the apartment
• Installation of open electrical wiring