How to drill a wall for wiring. Tips on how to ditch walls for wiring without dust. grinder, angle grinder

During the repair or during the construction of a new building, it is necessary to lay communications or change their location. Electrical wiring can be run along the walls from the outside, but this method is used very rarely. Unmasked wires spoil general form interior, and besides, they are very easy to hook or pass. Needless to say, damaged wiring is not only unusable, but also creates a risk of fire.

That is why they often try to hide communications in the thickness of the walls, where they will not interfere and remain intact. To mask the wiring, the wall has to be ditched. And although this process is not so fast and easy, you can do the work yourself.

Shtroblenie: the main methods, pros and cons

The wall chaser is a tool designed specifically for gating walls

The method of wall chasing directly depends on the tool that will be used in the work. Let us consider in more detail what devices can be used to make furrows in the thickness of the walls:

The puncher is used for chasing walls quite often. It allows you to do the work quickly, but the furrows when using such a tool are uneven. The perforator also beats off excess parts of concrete or brick, so you will have to spend more mortar and time to seal the strobe. In addition, the tool is noisy and needs to be connected to the power supply. However, when using such a device, relatively little dust is generated, and the process itself does not take much time.
You can also make furrows in the walls with the help of a grinder. It is good because it allows you to cut even grooves exactly in those places that were previously marked on the surface. Between these edge lines, it will be necessary to make a groove for the wires, which means that other tools will have to be used along with the grinder, for example, a chisel or the same puncher. The minus of the grinder is also that diamond saws are needed for gating, which cost a lot of money. But the final result will be quite accurate.
A wall chaser is a device designed specifically for making strobes in walls. The tool is equipped with two saws, which, during use, make two even parallel grooves in the wall. The wall chaser works quickly and accurately, but it is quite expensive. However, if you need such a device for a short time, you can rent it and save money.
Chisel with a hammer - tools for laying strobes manually. There are many downsides to this method. Firstly, working with a chisel and hammer is long, difficult and physically difficult. Secondly, the quality of the result does not always live up to expectations, since it is not easy to make an even strobe by hand. Among the advantages of this method are the availability and low cost. It is advisable to use manual chasing with a hammer and chisel when you need to make a small furrow in the wall.
In some cases, wall chasing is carried out using an impact drill. This method is not very simple and labor-intensive, therefore it is rarely used. To make a furrow with an impact drill, holes are first drilled in the wall, equidistant from each other, after which they work with a drill like a hammer, knocking out a strobe in the concrete along the intended recesses.

Nuances before starting work

It is advisable to lay the strobes in the wall only in a vertical or horizontal position.

When starting the wall chasing for electrical wiring, you need to consider some rules and recommendations:

The strobe in the wall is laid only in a horizontal or vertical direction, without making oblique furrows.
It is desirable that the strobe laid between two points has no more than 1 turn. Too many kinks increase the risk of overheating electric cable, and this can lead to its damage and the occurrence of fire in the wall.
The dimensions of the furrows have acceptable limits. Their width cannot exceed 30 mm, their depth must not exceed 25 mm, and maximum length is 3 m.
When laying strobes, you need to retreat at least 40 cm from radiators and gas pipes. It is desirable to lay a furrow at a distance of 10 cm from the ceiling, floor and doorways.
It is impossible to lay wiring in reinforced concrete partitions in panel buildings - this is fraught with a decrease in structural strength and the appearance of cracks. If there is no other way out and reinforced concrete has to be ditched, the depth of the grooves should be minimal, and the reinforcing mesh should maintain integrity.

Tip: in panel houses it is impossible to lay communications in floor slabs, but if it becomes necessary to mount wires in the floor, it is better to make an additional screed there and provide furrows for electrical wiring in it in advance.

Let's consider some more subtleties of the process:

When chasing interior partitions it is advisable to carry out the furrow as close as possible to the level of the floor or ceiling - this will help reduce the load on the wall.
For making recesses in concrete or brick structures, it is better not to use a grinder with low power. Such a tool will not allow you to achieve the desired result, but it can quickly become unusable..
Before starting gating, it is imperative to check whether previously laid electrical wires remain in the walls. If you do not plan to change the wiring completely, the old wires must not be touched by a working tool..
When laying a strobe under the ceiling, do not use a stepladder. Working with a heavy tool on such an unstable structure is inconvenient and dangerous.
Do not start chasing without first checking the serviceability of the tool and all its parts.

During overhaul or redevelopment, we always face the question of laying wiring, pipes, laying cables, moving switches and sockets. All these works are connected with wall chasing. Let's try to find out what kind of work it is, why it is needed and what tool is needed for wall chasing.

So, gating is the gouging of grooves in the walls and ceiling for laying electrical wiring, piping systems. To lay and hide electrical, antenna or telephone wires and cables, we also use gating.
When we install the air conditioner, the wall also needs to be ditched.

If you need to hide the existing wiring, we make a channel (strobe) in the thickness of the plaster or concrete, lay the wires or cable there and putty it.
Shtrobim walls and when you need to mount internal models electrical sockets or switches.

Such models are built into the wall, so you need to cut a round hole that matches the size of the switch or outlet.

Choosing a tool depending on the wall

Chasing is carried out using special tools, the choice of which depends on the material of the wall in which the channel needs to be made. For this, a grinder, a puncher, a wall chaser, a chisel and a hammer are used. We can make gates on concrete partitions with a grinder, a puncher, and a wall chaser.

The panel wall is processed in the same way as a concrete wall. But you can not do diagonal chasing. The maximum depth of the channel should not reach the reinforcing cage, so as not to damage the structure. If the depth of the channel reaches the reinforcement, then it is better to make an additional layer of plaster or level the surface with drywall. IN brick wall we make grooves with a wall chaser.

Bulgarian

This is a manual angle grinder, which is used when chasing hard concrete walls, when you need to punch many long grooves for wires. We install a special disk for concrete work on it, for example, diamond disc.

The thickness of such a disk is usually sufficient to obtain a strobe of the desired size.
If the width of the channel should be greater, then we make two channels in parallel at a distance of at least 5 mm, and then we hollow out the gap with a perforator.

It is impossible to expand the strobe by moving the grinder disk perpendicular to its plane: the machine is not designed for this, and this is very dangerous.

When making strobes, we use heavy tools, the power of which exceeds 500 watts, and high-quality concrete discs. When working with such a tool, do not forget about the safety rules. We work carefully, we hold the car firmly in our hands.

You can't drop the tool either. Although it will turn off, the rotation of the disc will not stop immediately, and the surface of the floor or even the legs may be damaged. Tighten the disc fastening nut tightly so that the cutter does not fly out during operation. This also happens, and it is extremely dangerous. Shtroblenie with a grinder - perfect option. The only drawback of this tool is a large amount of dust.

Perforator

We use this tool if we need to make strobes in concrete. Working with a puncher, we insert a "shovel" into it. This is a nozzle, the shape of which allows you to gouge a narrow and elongated hole corresponding to the shape of the strobe.

Do not forget that when making a direct cut, the blade cannot be placed across the basting, since pieces of wall material may break off. If you need to make a recess for the socket, we use, in addition to the “shovel”, the “bayonet” nozzle. We mark the hole with a bayonet, and with a spatula we make it wider.

Performing wall chasing with a perforator, we can use another method. We insert a drill with a diameter of 6 to 10 mm into the puncher and set the mode of the impact drill. We drill holes along the channel at a distance of 10 mm, then insert the spatula, set the bumper mode and punch the gaps between the holes. We do the same when making seats for sockets or switches.

To get a hole of the desired depth, on the drill (at the required distance from the tip of the drill) we wind electrical tape, which will be the mark of the desired depth.
I must say that the channels punched by the perforator may be uneven, and they will have to be processed additionally.

To make wall chasing with a puncher quickly and easily, you need special skills, so using this tool, you need to be careful and careful. The rotary hammer makes a lot of noise during operation.

wall chaser

This tool is designed specifically for chasing any wall and is considered the best tool for punching grooves. Using a wall chaser, we make recesses for electrical wiring, for water supply or heating systems. It works on the same principle as the grinder, but differs from it.

In the wall chaser, there is not one, but several diamond discs, the distance between which can be adjusted. It is possible to adjust the depth of the strobe. The tool is equipped with a dust collector that directs the waste into the vacuum cleaner or takes it to the side.

Starting to make channels and holes, be sure to check the thickness of the walls. If the wall is thin, we take into account the loads and make strobes closer to the ceiling or to the floor, so that there are few of them on the wall itself. If the wall thickness is more than 10 cm, we cut the grooves along the shortest distance, saving time and effort. Also, don't forget to check if there is electrical wiring on this area.

Chisel and hammer

The cheapest, but also the most time-consuming option. These hand tools use if you need to make short channels in plastered walls. Hammering concrete or brick by hand is impractical.

If you still have to hammer the wall with a hammer and chisel, then we perform simple rules:

first we make a recess along the marked edges;
we make a cut across the future recess, and then with a hammer we punch the desired groove by 5-10 mm;
we go deeper to the same depth, and as a result we get the desired channel.

Knowing about the features of using tools for chasing, you can choose the right device and do all the work yourself.

Modern repair is difficult to imagine without carrying out or replacing engineering systems. Aesthetically beautiful, and practically convenient if the pipes do not occupy free space kitchen or bathroom, and the wires do not interfere underfoot and do not catch the eye. To mask pipes and wiring, strobes are used - special recesses in the wall, closed by the selected decorative trim. How to properly ditch the walls, I will tell in this article.

Wall chasing rules

The process of chasing walls is not complicated, it is difficult to break the technology. However, there are general rules wall chasing, as well as private, relating to a specific repair site and the purpose of chasing. Compliance with such fundamentals has two goals: the safety of the operator and the stability of the structure in the future. During work, use protective equipment: goggles on your eyes will save you from small litter and chips, and a respirator will not allow you to inhale dust, which forms a lot during the chasing process. Before starting work, draw a plan for laying pipes and wiring, distribute furrows in accordance with regulatory documents and the rules for chasing walls. I recommend saving the resulting plan, it will come in handy for the next repair. If the repair in the apartment is not the first time, compare the plan with the old wiring using the previous diagram or detection device. Remember to de-energize old wiring and shut off pipes to protect yourself during work.

How to ditch walls

Depending on the purpose of chasing, select the depth and width of the furrow. Chase walls for electrical wiring with lines parallel to the main structures of the building (horizontal and vertical). Shtrobleniye at an angle is admissible only in attic rooms. Place horizontal strobes close to the ceiling or floor, vertical strobes directly below or above the outlet. The length of the strobe does not exceed 3 m, the depth for the electric cable is 25 mm. Turning the cable 90 degrees is allowed 1 time on the way from the junction box to the outlet, not counting the corners of the structure.

Don't neglect to transfer the chasing path from the plan to the wall with a pencil, this will make the job easier. Upon completion of the cable laying, carefully mask the strobe with a cement-sand mixture or plaster. Chasing walls for pipes differs in the parameters of the strobe. In addition, often this type of work is forced to be performed on a load-bearing wall. To avoid weakening the strength of the structure, it is important to follow the rules of gating on such walls:

The depth of the strobe is not more than 1/3 of the width of the wall or not deeper than the reinforcement tab;
Seal the furrow after laying pipes with particular care, avoiding voids.

Ways of chasing walls

Wall chasing methods depend on the chosen tool for this type of work.

Chisel and hammer. Long and physical is not an easy way. Of the advantages of the method - there is no need to buy a power tool in its absence. Of the minuses - the cost of time and effort, in addition - it is impossible to get an even furrow, the material crumbles under impact.
Drill and chisel. A method similar to the previous one, only the task is simplified with a drill. Drill holes of the same depth along the path of the strobe at a distance of 1-1.5 cm from each other. Use a chisel to knock out the remaining gaps.

. The speed of work with the grinder will increase several times. The cut is even, not crumbling. But this method also has disadvantages. Chasing the walls with a grinder is a rather dusty and noisy job. Each furrow will have to be passed 2 times: first one side of the strobe, then the second. And the main disadvantage is that there is no way to control the depth of the furrow, it all depends on the feelings of the operator. To use the grinder, install the diamond blade on the tool.

Many of you in your childhood rested with your grandmother in the village. In almost every collective farm house, electrical wiring was laid overhead: using insulators, at some distance from the wall. The wire was used high-quality, with cloth insulation: it’s not scary to touch.

This method is still used today: wooden houses and baths, and just like that, "in retro style."

However, from the point of view of rationality, the laying method is not the most reliable. Firstly, there is a possibility of damage to the wiring by any sharp object. And if there are small children in the house, or pets with strong teeth, the wires turn into a source of danger. Secondly, the aesthetics are, to put it mildly, controversial.

In wooden houses, the problem is solved quite simply: there are special mounting boxes for wiring. Different colors, sizes, with fire protection. But what about in houses with concrete (brick, plaster and other) walls?

Cable laying in strobes

Regardless of the method of wall decoration (drywall, plaster, curly wallpaper ...), the cable, which contains life-threatening voltage, should be hidden in the main wall. When building typical panel houses, electricians did not have a headache at all about the wiring. Recesses were organized in the walls in advance: lay the cable, grab it with alabaster, and you can plaster.

What about when building a new house? You can pre-design cable routing routes, and even mount them in brickwork cable channels. This is a progressive method that ensures the strength and safety of electrical wiring.

But in reality, the cable is laid after construction is completed, before fine finish walls (and often after it). The situation is the same if you bought new furniture, and the closet traditionally covered the outlet.

Another reason to shift the wires: repairs in the apartment. In old houses, the power cables in the walls have an aluminum core. It’s not that it’s completely bad, but given the old age of the wires and the new requirements of the PUE (electrical installation rules), it is better to lay other wires with strong insulation and a copper conductor. And the standard arrangement of sockets-switches, to put it mildly, is far from perfect.

The purchase of powerful electrical appliances, such as a boiler, air conditioner, electric stove, requires a power line to be connected.

So, do-it-yourself wall chasing for wiring - how realistic is it?

Important! Laying the cable to the depth of the plaster is unacceptable. The requirements are violated fire safety(if the wiring ignites, they can “take up” paper wallpaper), and the likelihood of damage from the outside increases. Only inside the wall.

Proper wiring in strobes

Security Notes:

If desired, you can lay the cable in the corrugation. This will make it possible to replace the wiring without opening the wall.

Ways of chasing walls

Homemade dust collector for grinder

Of course, there are ready-made devices on sale that turn your angle grinder into an effective wall chaser. That's just the cost of such nozzles is approaching the price of the angle grinder itself.

Again, the decision is made based on the amount of work to be done.

However, there is no reason to be upset. A homemade dust collector can be made literally from construction debris.

A few scraps of laminate, a piece of plastic sewer pipe, and a household vacuum cleaner (preferably a cyclone type).

You can even adjust the wheels, the scope for creativity is not limited. In addition to the main purpose, the nozzle (even if homemade) increases the safety of work. Modern cutting discs no longer scatter to the sides, as they used to. And they don't break often. But the stones flying out from under the grinder can injure the operator.

With a dust collector, chasing will be comfortable and safe.

Cable laying and installation of junction boxes (sockets, switches)

We figured out how to properly ditch the walls for wiring: of course, it all starts with the correct markings.

Tip: when marking the places for installing boxes, try to take out the lines as far as possible. After chasing, all your hole center markings will disappear.

Now consider how to properly lay the cable.

After the strobe is formed, it is cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. Then, with a gloved hand, or by applying a thin rail, the uniformity of the depth and the absence of protruding parts in the strobe cavity are checked. This is important: if the wire sticks out above the wall, security will be compromised in this place.

It makes no sense to install boxes in advance if you have to finishing walls (thickness will change). Therefore, the wires are laid first, but before entering the niches for the boxes, 10-15 cm of cable free play remains, without putty. For installation, leave 15-20 cm of wire. You can’t save money, if something goes wrong, you will have to do the installation again.

The wire itself can be fixed traditionally, using asbestos (gypsum), or fixed with special clips inside the strobe.

Then putty is made to the level of the wall. At the same time, the free running of the cable in front of the installation site of the boxes is maintained.

Tip: before laying the cable, mark the ends (where you came from, where to connect), especially if several wires are put into the box. When laying several cables in one strobe, they are laid in parallel, and not on top of each other. It is not allowed to twist one wire around another.

Before final grooving, draw a laying plan, with accurate measurements in relation to the corners.

This will avoid problems when drilling walls in the future.

Important! All work related to the supply of voltage to the cables is carried out only after the putty (plaster) has completely dried. Before applying the top coat, also wait for the putty to dry completely in the strobes.

Gating rules

Chasing walls for wiring is possible only at right angles and nothing else

Installation of wiring in a strobe is a closed way of laying wires. After laying the wire, as a rule, there remains a space that is sealed, flush with the wall gypsum mixture, for further finishing with finishing materials. As a result, when the repair is already over, and a couple of years have passed, it will be difficult for you to determine exactly where exactly the wires go. If we regard this situation from an aesthetic point of view, then it’s really good when you don’t see any wires, but only smooth walls. On the practical side, in the future, when we suppose, we have to drill a hole in the wall, it will be necessary to remember that, somewhere in the thickness of the wall, wires are hidden and a strobe passes. Modern life does not stand still, now in every hardware store you can buy a wiring detector that will show exactly where the wires lie. The wiring is laid by professionals from the Mania Repair company, always goes in predictable places, and is laid in compliance with all the rules and regulations, which we will discuss below.

All strobes are made straight strictly horizontally and vertically, if your room has sloping walls, then in this case the strobes are made parallel to the slope.
From all kinds of networks, such as pipes through which water flows or gas passes, the grooves must be at least 45 cm away.
When installing a strobe under the ceiling, they recede down at least 25 cm. If another branch is required during operation, it is also lowered to the same distance.
From the corners - openings, doors and windows retreat at least 15 cm.
The dimensions of the strobe depend directly on the thickness and number of cables that must pass through it, usually a groove of 25 * 25 mm is enough in the standard version, provided that the wire passes without a corrugated pipe. If the project provides for the presence of a corrugated pipe or cable channel, the groove must be deepened and expanded to the required size.
In reinforced concrete walls at a depth of 4-5 cm, a mesh of metal reinforcing wire passes, it is not recommended to violate its integrity. With a standard groove depth of 25mm, it is almost impossible to get to it.
In the event that the wall is leveled, during the repair process it will also be covered with a layer of plaster - of sufficient thickness. Wires can be laid in a corrugated pipe in the thickness of the plaster. It will take much less time than making a strobe.
For switches and sockets, the depth of the strobe is increased - this is done so that the wire goes into the socket without problems, which is mounted in drilled hole walls, for fixing switches and sockets in it. Even in this case it is impossible to violate metal mesh from reinforcement in the wall.

Tools used for chasing walls

There is one old proven method that does not require electricity, but it is very long and labor-intensive - this is a chisel and a hammer. Due to the blows inflicted by the hammer on the chisel, it drives it into the wall, thereby picking off its upper layer. This procedure is repeated until the strobe meets the desired requirements. Power tools are used to make the job easier.

The most suitable tool for chasing walls is called a wall chaser. It is equipped with two cutting discs, by adjusting which you can set the parameters of the future shtraba. In one pass, this tool saws through two parallel lines, between them there is a middle of the material from which the wall is made. The middle, in turn, is easy to remove with a perforator and a chisel (special nozzle). There are several advantages to working with a wall chaser - a smooth shtraba, the ability to connect construction vacuum cleaner to remove dust.
In second place among the tools is the grinder, unlike the wall chaser, it is equipped with one disk, so it makes only one cut in one pass, which is not very convenient. In addition, working with it is quite dangerous, if the tool breaks, it can lead to serious injury.
The puncher closes the top three - its use is justified only together with a grinder or a wall chaser. Using a puncher as the main tool for making grooves in the wall is ineffective, the strobe turns out to be curved, and it is very difficult to adjust the depth.

Chasing brick and concrete walls

If we are talking about laying wiring in a new room that has not yet been in operation, most likely the walls will be covered with a layer of plaster. The minimum layer thickness fluctuates around 3-4 cm, this is quite enough to lay the electrical wiring without gating, and cover it with a layer of plaster on top.

If for some reason this method is not suitable, the markings are transferred to the wall according to the scheme, where the strobe will pass and switches with sockets will be mounted. Further, the entire room in which work is performed is de-energized to prevent accidents, and work is carried out according to the markings. Depending on the tool used, 2 parallel grooves are cut, the dimensions are selected depending on the thickness of the wire and the quantity. The core between the two grooves was hollowed out with a perforator.

These procedures are identical for walls made of solid materials such as brick, concrete, and various modern building blocks.

Shtroba in a wooden wall

In principle, all of the above tools are suitable for this work, except for a puncher; instead of it, it is better to use a chisel and a hammer. The theory is the same as when working with concrete - two parallel cuts are made, the core is removed with a chisel. There are two more tools that will help you work with wood:

Circular saw - with good skills in working with this tool, all the work can be done only with it. The work is done in several passes, with each new repetition the cut gradually expands to the desired size.
Milling installation - for laying neat strobes, use manual frezer. According to the markings, a flat bar is fixed on the wall, and a power tool is driven along it like a guide, gradually expanding and deepening to a strobe.

Can or can't ditch load-bearing walls

Bearing walls can be ditched if necessary. Only the depth of the strobe is limited, up to the thickness of the reinforcing cage, which is located in the concrete load-bearing wall. If bearing wall made of brick, then there are no restrictions on the depth in reasonable aisles.

In theory, before starting work, a project is being developed that takes into account all the walls, their location, whether they are load-bearing, and the possibility of laying strobes in them. Further, the project is coordinated in the relevant authorities, and only after that work begins.

Safety precautions for wall chasing and work procedure

Wiring work is carried out according to certain rules, which are written in this article above. First, a plan is drawn, it can be drawn both on a regular piece of paper and in special programs for drawing. During its development, all the subtleties and the location of future sockets and switches are carefully thought out.

Then the plan is transferred to the wall, dots mark the places where switches, junction boxes, sockets and chandeliers will be located in the future. Then all the points on the wall are connected into a single system of lines, along which the strobe is laid.

If gating occurs in an old room that was in use, those places through which the wiring will pass are examined using a special detector that is able to determine whether there are previously laid routes in these places. Only after completing this procedure, you can start working on the wall chasing.
The hole for the installation of switches and sockets is best done with a special nozzle on a puncher called a crown. Crowns come in different diameters, so before starting work, you need to choose the size that suits you.
Chasing the walls of the procedure is not only dirty, but also very noisy, all work must be done strictly within the allotted hours, designed for noisy work.
If wall chasing occurs in one room, and not in the entire apartment, then before starting work, it is better to hang the doorway with a wet cloth, so it will be possible to avoid the spread of dust and dirt throughout all rooms. All work must be carried out strictly in a respirator, goggles on the eyes and gloves on the hands. In the process of work, a lot of various particles, and small fragments from the walls fly in unpredictable directions, so you should not neglect your own protection measures.
The wiring diagram that we talked about earlier should be saved at least until the next repair. If you have to drill or gouge something, after checking the plan, you will clearly know whether it is possible to do work in this place or not.

How to drill a wall for wiring. Tips on how to ditch walls for wiring without dust. grinder, angle grinder

Shtroblenie: the main methods, pros and cons

Nuances before starting work