Replacing an electrician in an apartment: how to properly repair the wiring with your own hands

Replacing the electrics in an apartment is a complex of serious measures that must be approached responsibly. The main problem lies not in the rewiring itself, but in the fact that this process in most cases entails a partial, or even full-fledged, home repair. And there is no point in expensive work if, due to malfunctions in the new network, after a month or two, you have to again rip off the wallpaper, beat off the plaster and gouge the walls.

Signs of problems with your home network

Specialized firms often motivate the need for capital work with an electrician by the fact that old aluminum wires are not able to carry heavy loads. One of the arguments in favor of this version is the sharply increased number of used household appliances. However, before deciding to change the wiring in the apartment, you need to make sure that you really cannot do without it.

It is possible to understand that it is time to take up an electrician seriously without special diagnostics. Network problems are indicated by the following manifestations:

1. Sockets and switches spark, and their repair or replacement, reconnection of contacts does not cause visible changes.
2. Short circuits occur every now and then.
3. Light bulbs burn out - power surges are possible in the network.
4. "Knocks out" plugs or machines. This means that the line cannot handle the load.
5. Shocks. You should especially be on your guard if this happens in places where there are not only devices, but the line itself is not in sight. Here you should suspect a breakdown in the hidden wiring.
6. Household appliances often break down, safety devices "burn".

There is indeed a danger that the systems of the last century will not withstand the increased demands. But problems arise with new wiring, if only because of its poor-quality installation. In practice, Soviet-era lines successfully coexist with more modern sections. Therefore, it is not at all necessary (although desirable) to change everything at once.

Features of proper preparation

If you replace the wiring in an apartment with your own hands, preparation is necessary, especially with a large amount of work, which inevitably carries dirt, noise, and a prolonged lack of electricity. A well-organized preliminary stage will reduce the impact of negative factors on family members, speed up the process, and save money.

To ensure high-quality, safe and fast electrical work it is necessary to try to comply with a number of recommendations:

1. Determine where electrical appliances and household appliances will be located.
2. Draw at least an elementary diagram of the future network.
3. On this diagram, it is imperative to indicate all planned outlets, lighting fixtures, controllers, switches, taking into account their height. In a children's room, for example, they should not be installed freely for babies, and next to an overhead TV, the wires will look completely out of place.
4. During major works, it is better to immediately provide for the wiring of other communications (telephone, Internet, fire and burglar alarms, bells, video surveillance).
5. It is essential to resolve the issue of power supply at the entrance to the dwelling (directly through the general switchboard or by installing an additional indoor device).
6. When the circuit is ready, you need to calculate the amount of required equipment and consumables.
7. Determine the length of the wires. To do this, you need to accurately measure the distance from the feeding point to each location. It is important to take into account protrusions, corners, niches, as well as the fact that the line turns will need to be done at right angles. Another 10-15% should be added to the overall result.
8. Check the tools and, if necessary, buy them. Of those devices that are not needed every day, and therefore may not be in the home drawer, you will need an electric tester, a soldering iron, a hammer drill with powerful drills, a grinder, and a level.
9. Separately, you need to take care of a reliable step-ladder, the so-called temporary hut and an extension cord (it should be enough to the farthest connection point). You can make your own timeout, which is needed to connect power tools and organize work lighting.
10. It is better to buy everything you need in a specialized store that provides a guarantee.
11. Agree with relatives or friends that the family will stay with them for a while.

For apartments, hidden wiring is preferable, and in private houses, in summer cottages, you can do with open wiring. She, by the way, is gaining popularity now, based on the fashion for retro. If desired, both options can be combined, giving some premises (kitchen, dining room) an original "semi-antique" style.

Organization of dismantling the old system

Directly replacing the electrical wiring in the apartment begins with the dismantling of the old system. If there are no problems with open wiring in this regard, then you will have to tinker with hidden wiring. In any case, you need to work with special gloves and use insulated tools.

It is very important to approach this stage of work correctly:

1. The apartment or house must be reliably de-energized. Unscrew the plugs (or turn off the machine). If the switchboard is outside the dwelling, it is necessary to monitor the access to it by unauthorized persons, or at least post a corresponding warning notice.
2. Check grounding for operability or arrange it.
3. Check all visible wires, all connection points for voltage absence. You can work with them only after you become confident in safety.
4. When dismantling, you need to remove all switches, chandeliers, lamps, sockets.
5. If it is decided to dismantle the old hidden wiring, then in order not to do double work, you can use a special device to detect it. All its channels will have to be opened.
6. Special pipes, if there were wires in them, it is better not to reuse.
7. In the variant in which it is planned to use the existing channels, they must be thoroughly cleaned.

You don't have to remove your spent wires. This speeds up the process, but can threaten with problems when laying a new network and during its operation. The way out is to completely bypass the existing network, which is difficult or even unrealistic.

Stages and tricks of the main work

The dirtiest, noisiest and most important stage is the channeling. For main lines, it is usually carried out about half a meter from the floor or ceiling. Next, there will be auxiliary grooves. The convenience and result of further work will depend on the quality of this work. But at other stages there are many subtleties and tricks.

Room to room

It is believed that it is more convenient to work on a room-by-room basis. This is logical if you clearly imagine the end result. This is where you need a pre-drawn network diagram. In theory, this approach assumes that the process can be interrupted repeatedly by disconnecting and reconnecting individual rooms.

You can structure the work like this:

1. Toilet and bathroom. Here, one line (lighting) may be enough. But in the case when a washing machine is permanently installed in the bathroom, an outlet line will also be needed. Razor sockets, hair dryers, mirror lights are now immediately mounted in the dressing table. They can be connected to the line in the corridor.
2. Kitchen. You need to get two lines here and not save on the number of outlets (fortunately, there are both double and triple designs). A washing machine, microwave oven, extractor hood, food processor, refrigerator, electric stove - all this will give a decent load. Sockets here, as in the bathroom, are best equipped at a distance from the sink.
3. Corridors and hallway. They require at least two branches, especially if they are long or broken. It is better to power the sconce and the lamp under the ceiling separately.
4. Children's. Attention should be paid to sockets. Better to use special access restrictions.
5. Hall and other rooms. This is the area of ​​aesthetic, interior experiments. Spot lighting combined with a central one (chandelier) is often used here. Modern ceiling lamps provide for a stationary or portable control panel, switching modes.
6. Balcony. If there was no lighting on it before, then with large-scale work you need to take the opportunity and hold it. This is much easier than equipping an add-on system after a major renovation has been completed.
7. Shield. This is the last stage when everything else is finalized. First, you need to temporarily connect the system to check the phase and zero. Then - check everything for short circuits in the off and on state. And only then carry out the general connection.

It is clear that before the final connection of the network, all repair issues must be completely resolved. So, sockets and switches are finally mounted after plastering, whitewashing, painting, wallpapering the walls.

Big and small secrets

In the process of work, especially for a not very experienced master, many questions arise. Potential problems are easy to work around if you know some subtleties. Their use in repairs can greatly simplify the process and operation of the network.

Here are some of these "secrets":

1. When using corrugated channels, it is better to stretch the wire into them on the floor, and then place everything in the groove. So that the line does not fall out, after about half a meter, the channel must be fixed (you can use an alabaster mixture).
2. It is convenient to make sockets in rooms with a common wall opposite each other. So you can save wire and corrugation, connect both systems to the same network. And you will have to drill and drill less.
3. For zero and phase, as well as grounding, conductors of different colors are provided. They need to be connected according to their purpose, at least based on the ease of installation. But the main issue here is security. Blue - zero, yellow-green - ground, black, brown, gray, white - phase.
4. For the same convenience and safety, the line for the air conditioner must have an outlet (although it is a stationary device).

A good help in the work will be the use of high-quality electrical terminal blocks. They come in many different types, but are easy to handle. Mixed compounds can be used if necessary. There are also whole busbar blocks.

Repairing the wiring in an apartment is not an easy and slow business. And if you are going to install also a "warm floor" system or some other novelty, it will become even more complicated. And yet, the process is quite within the power of an ordinary person who has the initial skills of such work, as well as observing accuracy and safety precautions. If the landlord does not have such qualities, the road lies to the specialists.