Today, exposed electrical wiring is mainly found in three cases:
- In wooden houses, where this is due to the requirements of fire safety and the characteristics of the structure itself.
- Lofts and high-tech style, where all communications are publicly displayed is a traditional design technique.
- Historic buildings, where any major renovation work related to reconstruction, including those related to wall chipping, has to be coordinated with a number of government agencies.
We wrote that the electrical wiring in a wooden house can be closed. But in this case, you have to use modern technologies that will make it possible to make channels for wiring inside a wooden wall that meet all fire safety requirements. Such channels will have to be provided at the construction stage, which can significantly complicate the process and make building a house more expensive..
Therefore, in wooden houses built according to traditional Russian technology, the owners often prefer the simpler way of installing electrical wiring – open.
The four most important rules for open electrical wiring in a wooden house:
- There must be an open air gap between the wire and the wall so that a short circuit does not cause a fire.
- Sockets and switches are mounted on a non-combustible base, substrate.
- The distance between the wire fasteners, holders, should not be more than 50 centimeters. If there is a turn or corner, then there should be more holders.
- All wire connections must be protected by special boxes designed specifically for such cases.
Important! In order to prevent the accumulation of fire hazardous dust in the places where the cable passes through wooden walls and ceilings, it should be placed in a steel pipe. In addition, if mice are in a wooden house, they can threaten the integrity of open electrical wiring..
A very popular option is to use retro wires when installing open electrical wiring. They are much more aesthetic indeed. Retro wires are stranded copper cables that are encased in PVC insulation. On top of such insulation there is a casing made of artificial non-combustible silk. The twisted retro wiring looks quite attractive, you can choose the appropriate sockets and switches. Such wires can be of different colors, so it will not be difficult to pick up for wall decoration. But remember that factory-made retro wiring costs a lot more than regular cable..
Fans of high-tech and loft styles claim that laying open electrical wiring is an excellent and easiest option. In fact, there is no need for one of the dirtiest repair processes – creating channels in the walls using a chasing cutter and a puncher. No need to create recesses for mounting boxes. If the wiring begins to shorten, there will be no need to hammer the walls again, nullifying all efforts to repair the apartment, it is easier to find the problem, as well as replace the cable section.
Open wiring can be protected in various ways, pass through special channels. For such purposes, you can use:
- Corrugation, which is also used to protect the cable in case of installation in the floor or between partitions. However, the corrugation looks too ugly, therefore, in residential buildings it is practically not used openly.
- Plastic cable ducts. They come in a variety of colors, but traditionally remain white..
- Pipes. Metal or plastic pipes can be used.
To conduct the cable channel, you will need rotary angles, external and internal, smooth or at 90 degrees, tees, transitions, end caps, boxes for wire junction points. All these accessories will help to make installation easier, and the wiring itself will look more aesthetically pleasing..
As in the case of conventional electrical wiring, if this is your first time doing such work, it is better to invite a specialist who will do everything according to the rules, reliably and quickly. Surface wiring usually takes less time.
