Ditch the walls for wiring. Proper gating of walls for wiring without dust

One of the most common methods of installing electrical wiring is hidden. This is when wires and cables are laid in grooves made in the wall or floor. The process of making grooves is called gating, and these grooves are called “strobe” or “scrab”. How to properly tap walls for wiring, what rules to follow, what tool to use, and we’ll talk further.

Gating rules

Laying wiring in a groove is a closed installation method. The remaining hole is then sealed flush with the wall, after which Decoration Materials. That is, then it is difficult to determine where exactly the wiring goes. From an aesthetic point of view, this is good, but from a practical point of view it brings obvious inconveniences: when working on drilling holes in the walls, you have to take into account that there is wiring somewhere there. You can find it using special ones, but the gasket itself should be predictable. To do this, we have developed a number of rules that must be followed in both apartments and houses:

This general rules, which relate to gating walls for wiring.

Tools for slitting and execution techniques

There is an old-fashioned method - a chisel and a hammer, which does not require electricity, but takes a lot of time and effort. By striking the chisel, its tip is driven into the wall, picking out some of the material. The process is then repeated many times. The speed of laying grooves in this way is very low. It can be used more or less successfully when cutting plaster. There will be big problems with any other materials.

The work will go faster with a power tool:

These are all methods that are used for gating walls for wiring in concrete or brick walls. If it is necessary to make grooves in wood or foam concrete, there are certain differences.

How to make grooves in wood

In principle, you can work with all the tools described above, except for a hammer drill. The main difference is that chisels are used instead of chisels, but the very essence of the work remains the same. First, two parallel cuts are made, and the wood between them is removed with a chisel. But besides these tools there are several more specific ones:

So there are more opportunities for chiselling in wood. IN in this case, if you have one of these tools, it is better to work with it - they are designed for wood and are the most convenient.

How to make grooves for wiring in aerated concrete

When laying walls made of aerated concrete or foam concrete, they have to be reinforced. The reinforcement is placed in cut grooves - grooves. For this purpose there is a special groove cutter for aerated concrete. This metal pipe with a handle and a protrusion at the other end.

The process is very simple - you need to pull the tool, pressing it to the surface. Foam aerated concrete is easy to process, so there are no difficulties. You can, of course, use a circular saw or angle grinder, but there will be many times more dust, which is not pleasant in the room.

Shooting brick walls

If we are talking about laying wiring in a house where finishing work has not yet been carried out, then usually grooves are not made on brick walls. A flat cable with conductors of the required cross-section is fixed over the wall, which is then covered with plaster. Usually it has a thickness of at least 3 cm, which is more than enough for laying 3*2.5 or 3*4 cables. Large ones are rarely used anyway.

If for some reason you are not satisfied with this option or want to lay cables in a corrugated hose, gating the walls for wiring is done in exactly the same way, using the same tools as for concrete. The only difference is that cutting brick is easier and faster.

Is it possible to groove load-bearing walls?

In theory, when repairing electrical wiring in an apartment, it is necessary to order a project. When developing it, the presence and location of load-bearing walls, and the possibility of laying grooves in them are taken into account. As a result, a plan is issued that shows exactly where and what needs to be laid, what width and depth each groove should be. All that remains is to do everything exactly.

If you are worried about damaging the load-bearing walls during work, submit a request for permission to the Criminal Code. They should pull up the paperwork and see how much safety margin there is in your home. Most likely, permission will be given.

But few people do this. Basically, they draw a plan (if they do), then they transfer it to the walls, and work begins. If gating walls for wiring is carried out in this order, in load-bearing walls don't make grooves more than 20mm deep and wide and just hope they don't damage anything.

Grilling walls for wiring: procedure and safety precautions

Since wiring must be done according to certain rules(described above), then first you should draw a plan, think about the placement of all sockets and switches. It is advisable to draw the plan to scale; this can be done in special ones, or on paper. Then the points where sockets, switches, chandeliers, sconces, and junction boxes are installed are transferred to the walls. After this, they are connected into a single system by a system of lines, along which grooves are then laid. After this, use the help to check whether there is already existing wiring under the laid routes (if you are doing repairs), make adjustments if necessary. Only after this does the actual gating of the walls for the wiring begin.

First, using a drill and a special attachment - a crown of a suitable diameter - you can drill holes for installing electrical outlets and mounting boxes. Then you can start gating.

But it is worth remembering that making grooves for wiring in walls made of brick, concrete, wood is a dusty and noisy business. Therefore, it is necessary to work during the hours allocated for noisy work - during the day, on weekdays, with a break for lunch - small children can rest.

Before starting work in a specific room, it is advisable to cover the entrance with a wet cloth - less dust will fly. You need to work in a respirator and goggles, or better yet, wear a protective shield that will cover your entire face (but don’t give up the respirator). It is also worth wearing thick clothing that covers your arms and legs - during work, particles of wall material fly off, and the smallest ones quite noticeably cut the skin, and can cause serious damage to your eyes.

These are the basic safety rules when tapping walls for wiring, but do not forget about the rules for working with power tools, especially such as angle grinders and hand-held circular saws.

Another tip: after you have installed the wiring, carefully measure all the distances and put them on the plan. It will be useful to you during repairs or if you need to nail/hang something in places where wiring may pass.

In the process of renovating an apartment, and sometimes after purchasing some new household appliance, you have to either re-wire the existing electrical wiring in the room or install a new “line”. IN modern houses, and not only in high-rise buildings, hidden electrical wiring is mainly used. The wires are laid in special grooves (channels), and they are plastered on top. Therefore, the question of how and with what to ditch a wall arises constantly.

Brick and concrete wall

If the wall is brick, then here special difficulties it can not be. All bricks are fastened together. Using an ordinary chisel and a hammer, you can easily make a notch in the layer of mortar, where you can then lay the wire or cable. There are no difficulties in the horizontal direction. When preparing the vertical part of the groove, you will have to face the fact that there will be no straight line.

You will have to make a groove with some turns or punch through a brick. Silicate brick is easy to “process”, and “red” brick can be processed carefully. Moreover, the type of masonry can be different, so you can groove a brick wall without using a power tool.

A concrete wall is another matter. It has increased strength, and if you use a chisel and a hammer on it, then laying the wires will take a long time. Naturally, it is necessary to use other methods. There is such a tool as a wall chaser. It allows you to make a groove of the required width and depth in almost any material. But given its cost, there is no point in spending that kind of money to use it for domestic purposes. It is better to use power tools that are more common in everyday life. But first, about some rules for gating.

How to groove correctly

1. The wiring is laid at a distance of 15 - 20 cm from the ceiling. Therefore, if a decision is made to run a new “thread” parallel to the old one, then you need to lower it slightly so as not to damage the previously laid one;
2. wires are laid in only two directions: horizontal and vertical. It is forbidden to lay wires in diagonals, zigzags, etc.;
3. if the plane has a slope (for example, an attic in which the roof is also a wall), then the wire is laid parallel to the junction of the surfaces;
4. It is forbidden to make grooves of great depth (for example, for cables, thick ones) on the load-bearing structural elements of the building;
5. distance between groove and gas pipe must be at least 40 cm.

Advice. After the groove is prepared, it is necessary to make a drawing of it (draw a laying diagram). This will come in handy later. After all, something is forgotten, and during the next repair or redevelopment, the electrical wiring can be damaged.

How to make a wall

Bulgarian

This method of laying a groove is quite effective, but it is advisable to use it only as a last resort if the wall is very hard. Or as “help” when working with another tool. Reason: the grinder creates a lot of dust. However, there are grinders with a vacuum cleaner, but given the diameter of the circle, it is clear that she will not be able to do anything in the corners of the room. Therefore, these places need to be passed using a different tool.

Hammer

It is good to do wall grooves if they are plastered and the layer of plaster is thick enough to hide the wires in it. Otherwise, without the help of a grinder, it is unlikely that you will be able to pass the entire wall. A hammer drill is used in different ways:

• You can drill holes along the intended line, which are then gradually connected to each other using a chisel and hammer. The holes should be located as close to each other as possible;
• You can purchase a special nozzle for gating.

As a rule, it is not possible to do all the work with one tool. Therefore, the main thing is to be able to “combine”, depending on the condition of a particular section of the wall.

Quite often there is a need to install an additional socket or switch. And, if you have completed the construction of a house, or have planned a major renovation of an apartment, then the question of how to groove walls for wiring without dust or at least with minimal dust formation becomes very relevant for you.

Preparatory stage

Regardless of the building material from which the walls are made, preparatory stage includes the following work:

Tools and methods for making grooves

How to groove walls for electrical wiring without dust: several basic methods are used to carry out this process. The difference between one method and another lies in the tools used, which in turn depend on the material of the walls, as well as on their total length, that is, on the volume of work to be done.

Attention! Regardless of the tool used, it is necessary to use personal protective equipment (goggles, gloves, respirator).

Milling wall chaser

Using this tool allows you to carefully and very quickly groove walls for pipes or electrical wires in building blocks, stone or brick with virtually no dust. To cut grooves in walls, cutters with high-strength tungsten carbide teeth are used. The rotation speed of the cutter is low: 1000÷1400 rpm. When rotating and moving forward, the cutter “gnaws out” the wall material in small fragments. The formation of dust during this process is minimal, and when a vacuum cleaner is connected, the possibility of dust formation in the room is reduced to zero.

Main advantages:

• when using such a tool, neat grooves are obtained without chips or gouges;
• minimum dust when working even without connecting a vacuum cleaner;
• high speed (1 m in just 15 seconds) and productivity (up to 700 m per day);
• maximum safety during use;
• low noise level;
• minimum clearance when making grooves along the ceiling or floor;
• the ability to make grooves of any geometric shape;
• saving labor costs and time;
• during technological breaks, it is held on the wall by itself;
• possibility of connecting a vacuum cleaner;
• no additional tools and devices are required to modify the “fine”;
• the ability to carry out the entire complex of work alone.

Models of wall chasers in this category: Macroza M95, Cortag Bric 35, Grost M2535. The cutting width is adjustable from 15 to 50 mm and depends on the installed cutter, the cutting depth varies from 20 to 50 mm. The price for such products is in the range of 27,000–45,000 rubles.

The only drawback of milling furrowers is that they are not recommended for work in walls made of high-strength concrete.

Advice! How to quickly groove walls for pipes and electrical wiring - use a wall chaser with a cutter (renting such a tool is only 1200÷1400 rubles per day).

Multi-disc wall chaser

Wall chasers in this category have almost all the advantages of milling analogues, plus they can be used to carry out work on walls made of heavy-duty materials, for example, super-hard concrete, granite, marble or stone. Special diamond-coated discs are used as cutting elements. The width of the groove depends on the number of disks installed simultaneously and varies from 3 to 50 mm. The depth is smoothly adjustable from 15 to 45 mm.

Main advantages:

• the manufactured groove does not require additional processing;
• high performance;
• with the help of this tool you can make grooves in walls made of any building material, even high-strength ones (that is, groove concrete);
• There is a pipe for connecting a vacuum cleaner.

Typical models: Hilti DC-SE 20 (1 to 4 discs), Hammer STR115 (1 to 8 discs).

Standard wall chaser (double-disc)

The set of such a device as a standard wall chaser includes two diamond disks, with which you can simultaneously cut two parallel strips in the wall. Next, using a hammer drill and a blade installed in it, select the wall building material between these lines (by the way, this operation can be done using a chisel and a hammer). The width of the groove depends on the distance between the cutting discs, the depth is adjustable. Almost all models of furrow machines provide the ability to connect a vacuum cleaner, but rotary hammers, unfortunately, do not have such connections. Therefore, when removing wall building material, you will need an assistant who will hold the vacuum cleaner pipe next to the impact blade of the hammer drill or chisel.

The range of double-disc wall chasers is very wide and varied: ZUBR ZSh-1500, Fiolent B2-30, Hitachi CM 5 SB, Makita SG 1250, Bosch GNF 35 CA, Metabo MFE 30. The price for such devices starts from 5,500 rubles.

Bulgarian

How to make a groove in concrete using an ordinary grinder with diamond blade installed:

• we mark two parallel lines on the wall that correspond to the width of the future groove for the wiring;
• we make cuts along the entire length of both lines to the required depth;
• using a hammer drill (or chisel and hammer) to hollow out construction material from the gap between the cut lines we get a groove of the required width and depth.

Attention! When using a grinder, we carry out the cutting depth “by eye”, so we carry out the work with special care.

When using an angle grinder, you are unlikely to get by without dust, since they (with rare exceptions) do not provide a device for connecting a vacuum cleaner. And keeping the “dust collector” nozzle next to the cutting blade while working is quite dangerous.

Hammer

A fairly common way to create furrows is to use a hammer drill in impact mode without rotation with a blade inserted into it. Available for sale big choice various blade shapes. The disadvantages of this method are: labor costs, a large number of dust and low speed of work.

How to hammer a concrete wall with a hammer drill (one of the methods):

• first, along the entire length of the groove, using a conventional drill, we make holes at a short distance from each other;
• then we insert a blade into the hammer drill and cut off the bridges between the holes.

In any case, when using a hammer drill, the groove for gasketing electrical wires it turns out uneven. During work, a lot of dust is generated, even if your assistant holds the vacuum cleaner nozzle close to the hammer drill. How to properly hammer with a hammer drill: you should take care of the shelter in advance plastic film everything that is in the room, and cover the doorways with cloth abundantly moistened with water.

In custody

Of course, the wall for wiring can be hollowed out using a regular chisel and hammer. However, this “old-fashioned” method is now used extremely rarely. A wide selection of tools for tapping walls for pipelines, electrical wires and other household communications makes this work much easier and faster. What to ditch - the final choice is yours.

From the author: Welcome, dear reader. We are glad that you decided to visit our repair and construction portal. Today we will answer one very pressing construction question: how to groove walls for wiring.

I think there is no need to talk much about the importance of this issue. If at major renovation If you intend to install wiring, but do not resort to finishing the walls with gypsum board (), or resort to it partially, then it becomes necessary to properly groove the concrete wall.

Even if you are not going to change the wiring (if the old one is in satisfactory condition), sometimes you need to install several new sockets to make it easier to use electronic household appliances. Moreover, it doesn’t matter at all where the action takes place: in an apartment, in a private house, in a studio, in an office or other public space, the principle of wall slitting is always the same. Let's talk about this now. But be prepared for the fact that the process of laying electrical wires inside the wall is quite dirty/dusty, noisy and labor-intensive. In short, a lot of work awaits us.

General rules for gating

Before we begin, let's definitely decide whether we even need to ditch the walls for wiring. Of course, to install new sockets and switches, furrows must be made. But where you can do without them, you need to do without them. This can be done by laying the wiring over plasterboard (gypsum plasterboard). This way you will not only save time and effort, but also provide yourself with relatively easy access to communications; sometimes such a need still arises.

Immediately grab the tool and start chiseling the surface of the wall - do not best idea. First you need to develop a plan. By plan here we mean the layout of all new sockets/switches, as well as the correct correlation between the material of the walls and the method of processing them. IN regulatory documentation SNiP 3.05.06-85 describes the basic rules according to which wires are distributed inside the wall. This set of rules must not be neglected under any circumstances. These rules were drawn up back in 1988, in accordance with Soviet building codes.

We will not consider these rules in detail here, but they are freely available on the Internet, so it will not be difficult to familiarize yourself with them by requesting “SNiP 3.05.06-85”.

We will limit ourselves to just naming the main provisions in order to convey the very essence of this work.

• Wall gating for wiring is carried out only parallel to the main structural elements of the building, in other words - strictly horizontally/strictly vertically. Tilt is only possible if the walls themselves have a certain slope. For example, this is possible on the attic floors of a house. In this case, the distance from the floor slabs should be no more than 150 mm;
• distance from windows and doorways to our furrow should be at least 100 mm;
• the distance from gas communications should be 400 mm;
• the width/depth of the furrow should be no more than 25 mm;
• the length of the main furrow should not be more than three meters;
• There should be as few turns as possible on the path from the junction box to the switch/socket. If it is possible to do without them, then that’s great;
• This follows from the above rules, but, nevertheless, just in case, we note that the angle of rotation must be strictly 90° (exceptions - attic floors, where the walls are located in an inclined position);
• Horizontal grooves cannot be made in load-bearing floors.

Wiring planning is carried out according to these rules. Only after the plan has been drawn up, and drawn up competently at that, can drilling of the walls begin.

Another actual question, which often arises based on the last point on our list: is it even possible to make grooves in load-bearing walls? The answer here is quite simple. Drilling load-bearing structures is regulated by the rules in accordance with which the redevelopment of the apartment is carried out. In each region, these rules may differ slightly, but according to generally accepted standards, it is prohibited to ditch load-bearing walls.

It is not possible to groove along the joint between panel slabs. When marking walls for gating, it is necessary to think in detail about in what places in the apartment and what kind of electrical Appliances will be located after the completion of repair work. It would seem that this is obvious, however, sometimes some miscalculations arise. Then it becomes necessary to use extension cords/surge filters, and this, at least, is not particularly convenient. In addition, some manufacturers of household appliances generally do not recommend connecting them to extension cords or surge protectors.

Now let's list the methods for gating walls and give them brief description, and only then consider them in more detail:

• hammer and chisel. The legacy of the Stone Age ancestors. The most primitive, inconvenient, long and the hard way. The furrow comes out uneven. I suppose there is no point in commenting further;
• Hammer/impact drill. Incomparably more convenient and quick way than the previous one, but the furrow is uneven;
• Bulgarian. The groove turns out smooth, but during the work too much dust is generated, which is subsequently difficult to remove even with the use of an industrial vacuum cleaner. So, if you have chosen a grinder to make grooves in the wall, then it is better to do this before laying flooring, the ceiling is made (both in the room where the work is being carried out and in the neighboring ones) and so on;
• wall chaser This tool is designed specifically for making grooves in the wall. The groove turns out to be perfectly smooth, with a strictly specified width/depth. It is not practical to purchase such a tool for one-time use, and it is quite expensive. But you can use the tool rental service, which is available in most hardware supermarkets, to borrow a wall chaser for temporary use.

Regardless of which tool you choose for the job, the procedure will be approximately the same. First of all, you need to check where the grooves are located along the path hidden wiring, and whether it is located at all. Now you will learn how to determine where the wiring is “hidden” in the wall.

How to determine the location of wiring inside a wall

By the way, this section of the article will be useful for you not only if you need to groove a wall. Surely, all representatives of the stronger sex reading this article have hammered a nail into a wall at least once in their lives. So, haven’t thoughts flashed through your mind like: “Isn’t there an electric wire going through this exact place?” And if you did not have a drawing, then you acted at your own peril and risk.

I think everything is clear with the drawings. But what if it is not possible to find such a drawing? For this, there are special devices that will determine where the electrical wires/fittings are located in the wall. In this section of the article we will look at the most common and accessible devices.

First, a little theoretical material so that you can imagine general outline how these devices work to find electrical wiring inside walls.

Since live wires create electric field around themselves, devices are able to detect this activity. Then, thanks to the signal amplifier, the device determines where the electrical conductor is located.

There are devices that work on the principle of a metal detector: the coil generates its own magnetic field. After any metal object from the environment, - it changes.

There are also hybrid devices, that is, equipped with both a generator and an amplifier. These are usually used in scientific laboratories, but there are also simplified versions intended specifically for domestic use.

Of course, the above explanation of the operating principle of these devices is very simplified, but now there is no point in going into details. Now we will give examples of specific devices that are available on our instrument market:

1. "Woodpecker". Official name: “Hidden wiring detector E121.” For quite a long time, this device has been successfully used by professionals in their field. The device has proven to be one of the most convenient and reliable of its kind. With its help, you can detect hidden wiring in the wall, located at a “depth” of up to 7 cm. In addition, “Woodpecker” detects radiation emanating from household appliances. electrical engineering. The price-quality ratio of this “weapon” is optimal.
2. MS-158M. Made in China. It is widely used in Russia and the CIS countries due to its relative cheapness. However, the MS-158 M is not very popular among professional electricians. The fact is that it reacts to everything possible: not only to wires, but also to fittings inside the wall, hammered nails, and so on. But if you use the device for some time, you will be able to distinguish where the fittings are, where the nails are, and where the wires are due to the strength of the signal that this device supplies.
3. MS-158. It is an earlier model of the device that we just looked at. They differ from each other only in appearance(case design).
4. MS-48/MS-18/... Devices of this class look like ordinary indicators. When using them, you must (!) know safety precautions and have experience working with indicators in principle. Otherwise, you have every chance to take your rightful place in the electrical chain. And, as we know, an electric shock does not bode well. When using MS-48/MS-18 or other indicators from this series, there is one more important nuance: if the humidity in the room is higher than normal, the indicator will glow regardless of which part of the wall you bring it to. But some electricians still adapt to such working conditions. If you practice, you can relatively accurately determine where the wire runs, and if you really delve into the practical part of the matter, you can learn to determine where the electrical wiring breaks.
5. DMF 10ZOOM. This “monster” is a product of the German company BOSCH. It has practically no significant disadvantages. In terms of compactness and ease of use, it is not inferior to its Chinese “colleagues”, but the DMF 10 ZOOM compares favorably with the “Chinese” in terms of workmanship. The principle of operation is practically no different from the ones listed above; I can only add that it is even somewhat easier to use than its analogues. Perhaps its only significant drawback is its high cost, but this is completely justified. If you are sure that after gating the walls you will no longer need such a device, you can take it for temporary use.

I think we have figured out how to find hidden wiring in walls. Now is the time to apply markings to the wall that you will follow when gating. Before we start treating the walls, I recommend covering the doorways leading to other rooms damp cloth to prevent the spread of ubiquitous dust. Of course, this is only relevant if the remaining rooms have already been completed. renovation work, including finishing walls/ceilings and flooring.

But before you start, you need to consider one more thing important point. We determine the location of the wiring hidden in the wall not only in order not to damage it, but, above all, to protect ourselves from an accident. Still electricity deadly. Therefore, in order to ensure safety while working, it is better to completely de-energize your apartment and connect power tools, for example, to a neighbor, if possible. This work should be approached with special responsibility and caution - this way you will save your life.

Now we will look at the process of processing the walls of a room using various tools that we have already listed earlier.

Wall chipping in various ways

Previously, we have already determined in what ways grooves can be applied to the wall. By the way, the depth of the furrow is determined by the brand and cross-section of the electrical wire. This nuance must be taken into account. Now let's look at the procedure for each of these methods.

Hammer/chisel

Initially, you should use a chisel to mark indentations along the edges of the future furrow approximately two times the width of the tip. Then place the chisel perpendicularly between these recesses and begin to knock out a furrow in depth. So shoot upper layer without deviating from the intended lines. After this stage is completed, begin to deepen the furrow along the entire length to a fixed depth (±25 mm). But if the wall is concrete, then making a furrow using this method is almost impossible. So use this method only if there is a need to make a furrow of short length, and not in a concrete or brick (!) wall.

Hammer

When processing walls with a hammer drill, you need to use two attachments: one with a wide drill and one that is a spatula. First, it is necessary to make holes along the intended line of the future furrow with a pitch of ±15 mm and 25 mm in depth. Then use a trowel and gouge a groove in the wall.

Important! When using a spatula, you cannot place it across the intended line, otherwise an extra piece may fall off the wall and, as a result, you will have to do extra work to correct the defect.

Working with a hammer drill is much easier and faster than with a chisel and hammer, but, nevertheless, those who are lucky enough to work with this tool for several hours in a row know that this is also a rather labor-intensive process.

Bulgarian

If you decide to use an angle grinder, you need to buy a diamond blade. Now, as you probably already guessed, you need to cut two notches along the intended line, which will be parallel to each other. The distance between them should be equal to the distance required for the furrow.

But you can’t do it without a hammer drill. After the grinder has fulfilled its role, it is necessary to use a hammer drill, which will knock out the groove itself to the required depth (do not forget that ±25 mm will be quite enough, although it all depends on the brand/section of the wire itself). By the way, the same work can be done with a chisel/hammer, but it will take much more time and effort. As we can see, this method is almost identical to the previous two, but we expect a slightly different result: the furrow is more even.

This is fundamentally important if you need to keep the wall finish intact as much as possible. But if you are looking for an answer to the question “How to groove a wall without dust?”, then this method is clearly not for you. There will be incomparably more dust from working with an angle grinder than when using all available ways gating. To solve this problem, use an industrial vacuum cleaner. Take one person to help you, who will hold the suction pipe of the vacuum cleaner as close to the cut as possible.

And one more thing: an angle grinder is a rather dangerous tool, so you must follow safety rules. You should use protection and hold the tool correctly - firmly and with only two hands. For people suffering from organ diseases breathing apparatus, it is necessary to use personal protective equipment: a respirator or a gauze bandage.

Wall chaser

In essence, you will get the same result as when working with an angle grinder and a hammer drill/chisel. It will only be much easier to achieve the goal. A wall chaser, in fact, is the same grinder with a diamond blade, but it has only undergone some useful modifications. The operating principle of this tool is quite simple: the design includes two cutting diamond wheels, which are covered with a casing, by adjusting the position of which you can adjust the depth of cut.

In addition, the housing is often equipped with an outlet where the end of the suction pipe of an industrial vacuum cleaner can be installed. Therefore, you can groove the wall with virtually no dust. But before starting to work with a wall chaser, it is necessary to remove from the walls everything that could interfere with the free movement of the tool (for example, pieces of old wallpaper, which can sometimes clog the casing).

After completing the work of the wall chaser, you should again resort to the “services” of a hammer drill to knock out a groove between two parallel cuts cut on the wall. As we understand, using a wall chaser is the fastest and most logical way to get the job done.

When considering several ways to do the same job, sometimes the conclusion arises: each method is good in its own way. But not in this case. There is only one conclusion here: use a wall chaser, and you can resort to other methods only if it is completely impossible to get this tool.

For gating brick the wall will do exclusively a wall chaser/grinder, and for a concrete wall - any of the methods we have considered.

Shutdown

We looked at four main methods of making grooves on the wall for electrical wiring. Now all we have to do is complete the job correctly. After you have made the furrows, they should be cleaned with the same industrial vacuum cleaner(or just a broom), and then apply a coat of primer. There is information on how to properly apply primer on our website. Laying electrical wires is a topic that is also worthy of consideration in a separate text material.

After completing the work, but before starting finishing activities, mark with a marker on the wall the distance from the corners and ceiling to the groove, and next to these marks write how much this distance is, then take a photo of this “composition” on your phone and save the photo, say, on a PC.

Thanks to this data, during the next repair, you will be able to find the place where the wires are laid without any extra effort. In addition, these photographs should be used as a guide when the need arises to drive a dowel/screw or a regular nail into the wall.

Now it’s worth thinking about how to make holes for boxes/socket boxes. To make these holes, you can proceed this way:

1. Drill an eightmm hole in the center.
2. Make a notch using a hole saw to mark the outline of the hole.
3. Drill approximately 10 holes along the marked outline.
4. Finish drilling the hole using a hole saw.

If in the process of work you suddenly come across reinforcement, the main thing is not to destroy it, because panel house this could lead to extreme Negative consequences. And one more important nuance: the wiring can be laid on the floor if the sockets are not very high. Remember that if it is possible to do without gating the walls, then it would be advisable not to miss such a good opportunity.

Thank you very much for reading the text to the end. We really hope that the materials presented will help you in your work. But, nevertheless, without one important note, the article would be incomplete: if you do not have experience working with electrical wiring, then it is better to entrust this work to qualified specialists. In theory, everything looks easy, simple and safe, but in practice everything is much more complicated and dangerous.

When making major repairs or finishing a new building, all craftsmen are faced with the need to supply communications and disguise wires. The best way to install utility networks- placing them in the wall. The work is quite labor-intensive and requires certain skills and special tools.

We will tell you how and what to use to tap walls for wiring, when you can get by with improvised equipment, and when it is better to use professional equipment. We will also describe the features of furrow preparation on different walls, let's give step by step guide for gating and sealing of channels.

Before choosing a tool and getting to work, it is necessary to draw up an electrical wiring drawing or taking into account building codes (the requirements are regulated by SNiP 3.05.06-85).

The diagram must indicate the location of all lighting fixtures, junction boxes, sockets, switches and the route along which the connecting wires will pass.

Important details:

1. The depth of the furrows should not exceed 2.5 cm and the width - 3 cm.
2. Maximum length of one channel from distribution box to the switch or device – 3 m.
3. Wires and, accordingly, grooves under them can only be routed vertically and horizontally, checking the level for parallelism with the main structures of the building. But it is impossible to reduce the distance “directly” with the help of oblique and especially wavy lines. An exception to this rule can only be wiring in attic room– in this case, the grooves are punched parallel to the slope lines of the walls.
4. The minimum distance from floor slabs to horizontal grooves must be at least 15 cm, and from heating and gas mains - at least 40 cm.
5. Vertical wiring should run at a distance of 10 cm or more from door and window openings.
6. It is important to plan the wiring so that the wires have as few bends as possible on the way from the junction boxes to lighting fixtures or sockets. Ideally, you should lead the path in a straight line from the box or use no more than one transition at a right angle.
7. It is impossible to tap on load-bearing walls, floor slabs and corners - this can weaken the strength of the structures of the entire building and lead to an accident.

If you carry out the drawing and subsequent gating in compliance with these rules, hidden wiring will work without problems or failures.

Choosing a tool for wall cutting

The easiest and fastest way to make deep grooves is with the help of special electrical equipment. But even if you only have at your disposal minimum set home tool, do not rush to give up your intention to do the work yourself.

We will tell you in detail how you can tap walls for wiring; we will consider options from “old-fashioned” methods to professional methods.

What is suitable from the home craftsman's arsenal?

The simplest toolkit that almost certainly can be found in any home handyman– chisel (chisel) and hammer. Place the chisel with its sharp edge against the drawn markings and hit it with a hammer to penetrate deeper into the wall.

More straight lines are obtained if you additionally use a hacksaw - it makes cuts along the length of the grooves, which makes the process a little easier and faster.

But in any case, this will be the most labor-intensive and time-consuming option for making grooves for wiring.

On large areas It is unprofitable to use such a tool: the depth and quality of the grooves made with a chisel leave much to be desired, and making them will require an unreasonably large amount of time and effort

This method is good because it does not require expensive equipment or special skills to work with it. Therefore, it is still successfully used to create short grooves on walls made of pliable material.

For example, if there is a need to extend an existing route to connect one or more new devices, etc.

But if the room is concrete or brick walls, it is better to abandon the intention of making grooves with a hammer and chisel, and use more effective methods gating.

A simple power tool to help manual labor

A conventional electric drill will help improve the speed and efficiency of manual grating. But problems may arise with concrete walls - the drills will “burn”, so let’s look at a few important nuances and the principle of doing the work.

You need to act according to the following scheme:

1. Draw markings on the wall surfaces.
2. Select a Pobedit drill bit with a diameter of 8-10 mm for the drill.
3. Make a “spot route” - drill holes of the required depth along the lines at intervals of about 0.5-1 cm. At the same time, you need to hold the tool perpendicular to the wall so that the drill does not bend and break. If you need a wide groove, make the holes in a checkerboard pattern.
4. When working with concrete or brick, you need to turn on the drill at low speeds and stop periodically to cool the drill in cold water (just make sure that the liquid does not penetrate inside the device).
5. Then, using a hammer and chisel, it remains to knock out the gaps.

Although the technology is quite primitive, it justifies itself when conducting darts at short and medium distances. For example, when laying wires in one room, a tandem drill and chisel will allow you to significantly save on the services of builders or the purchase of expensive equipment.

But for a thorough redevelopment of the wiring in the entire building or multi-room apartment, it is better to acquire specialized tools or invite a master electrician.

Professional equipment for quick installation

You can make grooves with a minimum of effort using a special wall chaser. This tool can be fitted with two diamond-coated discs at once, resulting in neat and perfectly smooth grooves on any surface in one pass.

In this case, the circles themselves will be covered with a casing, on which there is an outlet for connecting a vacuum cleaner to prevent the spread of dust throughout the apartment.

The wall chaser makes even and identical indentations, after which all that remains is to knock out the inner part of the groove impact drill or a hammer drill

In addition, the design of the wall chaser allows you to independently change the distance between the circles and set the desired width and depth of the groove.

In a word, this perfect solution with the only drawback - the price of the equipment is quite high, so it will be cheaper to invite a hired specialist than to buy a wall chaser for a one-time repair.

The following will help you quickly tap walls for wiring:

1. Impact drill or hammer drill with replaceable nozzles. Both devices operate on the same principle: first, holes are drilled with a short drill at intervals of 1-1.5 cm. Then the nozzle is changed to a pointed “chisel” or “spatula”, installed at an angle of 45 degrees to the wall, the device switches to the “without” mode drilling" and clears the groove from the remaining material. This method is good for its speed, but not for its quality - the groove still turns out sloppy, with torn edges, cracks and chips.
2. Bulgarian(angle grinder) – if you equip the device with a sintered diamond or turbo-diamond disk, it will do an excellent job of making even grooves. True, it is quite dusty and demanding of precision - according to the markings, you need to cut 2 parallel lines in 2 passes, maintaining a gap of the width of the future channel. Then the material is knocked out inside the groove using a hammer drill with a “shovel” attachment or other impact tool.

The grooves with a grinder turn out to be almost as smooth and neat as when using a wall chaser, but the cutting process is accompanied by so much a huge amount dust (especially if the walls are made of concrete or aerated concrete) that it is simply impossible to work without a respirator.

To remove at least part of this “cloud”, you can use a construction or: while one person is doing the gating, the second will have to hold the suction hose close to the cutting line.

You can modernize the grinder yourself: cover the cutting elements with a homemade casing from a plastic container or an old pan and at the same time provide a hole for connecting a vacuum cleaner

All objects that cannot be taken out of the room while the grinder is operating should be covered with film to prevent small construction debris from penetrating inside. Moistening the wall with water will also help reduce the amount of dust, but it is important not to overdo it, since working with wet concrete or brick will not be easy.

Features of working with various materials

If you have a correctly made diagram and suitable tools, it is not difficult for even a beginner in the construction business to perform wall gating. But this is the case if the wall is not load-bearing and is covered with a thick layer of pliable plaster.

What if internal partitions made of high-strength concrete, lightweight aerated concrete or even wood? Let's consider the nuances of working with various materials.

Grooves on concrete and brick

On brickwork, fastened with a mixture of sand and cement, you can gouge out horizontal grooves even with a chisel and hammer if you “get” into the seam. For vertical grooves, it would be better to use a power tool - an angle grinder, a hammer drill or a wall chaser.

If the masonry is covered with plaster, you can do it with primitive manual equipment, although the process will take a lot of time.

Rules for marking grooves for wiring on brickwork: horizontal channels are knocked out at the junction of rows, vertical channels - between rows of bricks

In principle, there is nothing difficult in working with concrete - although the material is quite strong, grooves on it can be made with any tool suitable for slitting, with the exception, perhaps, of a hammer and chisel.

But best choice there will still be a hammer drill, although the evenness of its grooves leaves much to be desired (however, all the nuances will be corrected by plaster).

The noise level from the hammer drill exceeds 60 dB, and in order not to injure neighbors, work with it is allowed only on weekdays and during the daytime, taking periodic breaks for 1-2 hours

This percussion instrument It has high power, so it can cope with any hard surfaces. It does not create such a large dust cloud as an angle grinder and does not require additional tool to clean out any remaining material inside the furrow.

In addition, on concrete walls With increased strength, using a grinder (and its analogues - a circular saw, an angle grinder) is unsafe - the wheel may break if pressed hard.

How to work with wood and aerated concrete

You can make grooves in walls made of aerated concrete or foam blocks using a grinder, drill, hammer drill or circular saw. But if you want to minimize the amount of dust, use a special manual wall chaser designed for working with pliable material.

Its pointed arc easily cuts a neat groove, and the desired depth can be achieved in just 3-4 passes.

By the way, it’s easy to make such a tool with your own hands from a plate sharpened on one side or hard punched paper tape. To do this, you need to bend a small piece of improvised material into an arc and secure the edges with wire or electrical tape.

For small volumes, such a device is quite sufficient, but if you need to install a network of channels total length more than 20 m, it is worth equipping the device with a convenient pipe handle.

If suitable material I couldn’t find one for a wall chaser, you can buy a ready-made tool in a store - a simple model will cost between 500-1000 rubles

As for walls made of profiled timber or rounded logs, then, according to the rules fire safety, it is recommended here that in the event of force majeure the source of ignition can be quickly neutralized.

As a last resort, for wooden walls You can use a special router, a grinder with a circular disk for wood, and a chisel, with which you can remove the material remaining between the cuts.

But, we repeat, it is better not to take risks with masking the wires and carry out the installation without violating the PUE standards and the integrity of the wooden covering.

Nuances with load-bearing walls

As already mentioned, it is prohibited to ditch load-bearing structures - if the top layer in the wall is damaged, the reinforcement is exposed, which can result in corrosion that will weaken the entire frame of the building. But what about the owners of apartments in a building where some of the partitions are made of reinforced concrete or most of the walls are load-bearing?

There are several options here:

1. Official approval– obtain permission to carry out gating work from the local building department. You can try if you can prove that the depth of the grooves will not affect or damage the reinforcing mesh, the deformation of which leads to softening of the load-bearing structures. But if we are talking about a panel house, the chances are almost zero, but for a frame-brick building, a permit will most likely be issued.
2. Apply a layer of plaster to the wall and carry out gating without delving into the structure of the slab itself. Typically, the reinforcement lies under a 1.5-2 centimeter layer of concrete, so if you level the wall plaster mixture, the depth of the grooves will not affect the metal.

AND last method, which will help solve the problem with any problematic wall - hide the wires behind drywall or in special electrical skirting boards.

Step-by-step description of the gating process

First you need to draw up a diagram with a detailed indication of all the elements of the electric highway. Those who are computer friendly can use special programs, For example, "Compass Electric", ProfiCAD, QElectroTech or other graphic editors.

You can draw in specialized programs various plans And wiring diagrams for electrical wiring, however, it will be difficult for a non-professional to understand them, so most people use a simple drawing on paper (+)

Step by step process wall gating for wiring:

1. If possible, we protect the room from construction debris - we close the doorway with a damp cloth, remove furniture and equipment or seal it hermetically.
2. If there is wallpaper on the walls, it must be removed so that pieces of paper do not get stuck in the power tool.
3. Then we transfer the wiring diagram to the walls using a drawing drawn up in advance, a marker and a building level.
4. We check the marked area with an indicator or metal detector for the presence of old wiring - if any is found, you will need to dismantle it or make an indentation of at least 10 cm. Ideally, the apartment should be de-energized and the wire extended to the neighbors, because if you accidentally stumble upon a cable that was missed during inspection under voltage, serious injury may occur.
5. Now you can make grooves using protective equipment and any tool convenient for you that is suitable for the wall material.
6. When the entire route has been completed, the grooves must be cleaned of residual material and dust, then treated with a deep penetration primer.
7. When the impregnation dries, you can install the wiring.

Please note that the grooves are different, because the grooves are intended not only for the cables themselves, but also for masking socket boxes, switches and Prepare “crowns” of two types - 80 and 65 mm, with the help of which round holes are cut for the distribution box and socket boxes

Of course, you can hollow out such grooves manually by marking a circle line with a drill or chisel, but it is much more convenient and faster to do this using a hammer drill and a “crown” of a suitable diameter. The same attachment can be used to make a recess for switches.

How to disguise grooves with wiring

Work on laying hidden channels is usually carried out before applying plaster, so that after wiring the communications, the entire surface of the wall can be leveled for applying the finishing coating. But if the wiring is replaced after the rough finishing of the walls, you need to act carefully so that the grooves do not turn a spot repair into a major one.

The smoothest channels are made using a grinder or wall chaser, but if you work only with a hammer drill or chisel, you won’t be able to avoid chips

The simplest option for channel processing is gypsum plaster. It must be applied after the grooves have been cleaned of dust and primed, and all the wires have been installed according to the diagram.

To prevent the plaster layer from collapsing over time and sagging, you can use a special mesh for reinforcement. Then smooth the mixture perpendicular to the groove (working the vertical groove from bottom to top) and remove excess solution with a smoothing iron.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

For a better idea of ​​wall gating, we suggest you look at the work of craftsmen with various tools and find out practical advice about the numerous nuances that may arise during the wiring installation process.

How to make a manual wall chaser for working with gas and foam blocks:

If the examples provided do not inspire you to do wall chiselling yourself, you can always call a specialist professional equipment so that he would make a network of channels and run wires along them.