Pipes for hidden electrical wiring in a wooden house. Wiring in a wooden house

Light, heat, work of engineering and household equipment - everything is tied to electricity. Therefore, the level of comfort depends entirely on the uninterrupted and, importantly, safe operation of the electrical network. Any defect or mistake made during the installation of electrical equipment and electrical wiring can lead to sad consequences - fires or fires.

The topic of correct installation of electrical wiring for wooden houses is especially relevant. due to discrepancies in the interpretation of the PUE (Electrical Installation Rules) and the SP (Set of Rules), confusion and a lot of disputes arise. Therefore, in this article we will answer the following questions:

What are the basic principles of wiring in a wooden house.
How is electrical wiring installed in a wooden house in accordance with the rules of the PUE and SP.
Technical features of the installation of hidden electrical wiring.

Proper wiring in a wooden house

Wood is a building material with a long history. Both small guest houses and large cottages are built from it. With all the advantages of both log and frame houses, which are based on wooden racks, many believe that such buildings have an increased fire hazard. But one important point is missing.

Regardless of what the house is built of - brick, aerated concrete, timber or logs, upholstered furniture, curtains, curtains, interior items, household appliances, etc. burn first of all. Those. - "stuffing" of the house, made of combustible materials.

In a stone house, the electrical wiring going from the switchboard to the consumers is mounted in fireproof material (the cable is laid in strobes, which are then sealed and plastered, etc.).

In this case, the developer faces a difficult choice - the wiring in a wooden house can be outdoor , the cable can be run inside the wooden walls or between the studs of the frame.

How to lay a cable in a wooden house.

Consider all these ways of laying wires in a wooden house. If in the first case the electrical wiring is visible, which affects the speed of detecting an emergency situation (cable overheating, etc.), then in the second case it is hidden behind the cladding or in a solid wood. Accordingly, what happens to the cable is not clear. Hence the developer's fears and doubts: “What if something happens to the electrical wiring? Will it light up or not?

Practice shows that the “weak” point in the electrical network is not the cable itself (we do not consider cases of gross violation of installation, the use of a cable with an underestimated section, on which a large load was “hung”, “twisting” on electrical tape on the route to splice the cable), but connection points - junction boxes, leads for connecting consumers, i.e. sockets, switches, etc.

Modern power cables, with the abbreviation VVGng, etc., do not support combustion.

There is constant debate about where it is safer to run the cable - outside or inside the walls, whether open wiring is acceptable in a wooden house. There is an opinion that if we lay the wiring along the wall, this will give us time to see and react to an emergency and make the right decision on how to proceed. Put out the fire or evacuate.

Simply put, to smell the smoke immediately, and not later, when the flame has already spread to the structural elements. If the wiring is mounted in the wall, even in a steel pipe, then this may not save you from a fire either.

Semik FORUMHOUSE User

I can refer to my experience as a firefighter and the experience of an electrician in an emergency gang. Steel pipes are more needed for mechanical protection of wiring from the "fool", the teeth of rats, which can even gnaw through a metal hose and damage the cable. I have seen more than once how a steel pipe, with wiring shorted inside, was red-hot. If this happens in a wooden wall, a fire is inevitable.

According to the user, the first thing to think about when installing electrical wiring is the competent calculation of all cable sections and the choice of electrical equipment for protection. That is, figuratively speaking, it makes no sense to install a 100 A circuit breaker on a wire with a cross section of 0.75 square meters. mm with a distance to the consumer in kilometers.

Hence - a safe electrical network is a balanced system, where each element, from circuit breakers to the cross section and length of the cable, as well as the end user, are matched to each other. Hoping that by stretching the cable through a metal pipe in a conditional wooden wall, we have already protected ourselves from fire is a delusion. The rules for laying cables in a wooden house are a rather vague thing, so far we have solved only part of a difficult task, which will be discussed below.

PUE and SP: standards and rules for installing electrical wiring in wooden and frame houses

We repeat once again that we have left outside the scope of this article the external wiring in cable channels. We also do not consider the so-called. retro wiring. This option, both in design and in terms of financial component, is not suitable for everyone.

Therefore, we set the task - it is necessary to install hidden electrical wiring in a wooden or frame house in a safe and regulated way.

What wire to use for a wooden house

It seems that everything is simple - you need to open the PUE (seventh edition of 07/08/2002) and read paragraph 7.1.38, which says:

Electrical networks laid behind impassable suspended ceilings and in partitions are considered as hidden electrical wiring, and they should be carried out: behind ceilings and in the voids of partitions made of combustible materials in metal pipes, having the ability to localize, and in closed boxes; behind ceilings and in partitions made of non-combustible materials - pipes and ducts made of non-combustible materials, as well as cables that do not spread combustion. It must be possible to replace wires and cables.

Now we are opening a document for frame builders, namely SP 31-105-2002 "Design and construction of energy-efficient single-family residential buildings with a wooden frame." We read paragraph 13.5.1:

Wiring should be arranged by passing cables (sheathed wires) through voids or spaces filled with insulation inside the walls and ceilings of the house, as well as through holes in the wooden elements of the frame of walls and ceilings. Pass such cables and wires through the structure of the house it is allowed to arrange without the use of bushings and tubes.

And paragraph 13.5.2:

For wiring sheathed insulated wires must be used or cables sheathed in flame retardant materials.

A cable is two or more insulated conductors joined together and covered with insulation.

A wire is a solid or stranded conductor with or without insulation.

Cable for wiring in a wooden house.

Accordingly: due to inconsistencies in the PUE with the joint venture and the vagueness of the wording in the PUE, many users have a question - how to properly install electrical wiring for combustible materials. As prescribed in the PUE - laying it in a steel pipe. Or as it is written in the joint venture - using a cable that does not spread combustion, without additional protective sheaths. On this basis, there is a lot of controversy.

Vitalik1985 FORUMHOUSE User

I think that laying cables in steel pipes- this is a redundant solution. The probability that the cable will break through is scanty, fires often occur due to a spark in the outlet. It is better to pay more attention to circuit breakers, connections, terminal box, switches, etc.

Danil117 FORUMHOUSE User

It must be done in such a way as to eliminate the very possibility of a wire fire. We choose the correct cable section, we select high-quality machines. That is, we do not hope that a steel pipe is a panacea for ignition and fire.

We will also consider opposing views.

Sollara FORUMHOUSE User

I think that wires for a wooden house should be in a metal pipe with localization ability. If a wire catches fire, it will burn inside. If it is shorted out, the arc will not burn through the pipe. We put metal junction boxes connected to the pipe.

A steel pipe for electrical wiring in a wooden house must be grounded.

Also interesting is the opinion of the user of the portal with the nickname Ivanov Kostya.

By laying the cable in a metal pipe, we solve two problems: we protect the cable from possible mechanical damage and we protect the tree from possible ignition of the cable.

Moreover, the first point is of key importance in relation to our construction conditions. Workers can, while mounting drywall or drilling something, pierce an unprotected cable with a self-tapping screw or a nail. The cable insulation can be damaged by the sharp edge of the metal profile. The cable can be gnawed (as an option) by rats or mice. In addition, the accumulation of wood dust during a spark or insulation breakdown can lead to a rapid spread of flames inside the walls.

It seems that such a solution is redundant, but in this way we protect the cable from force majeure, including the common situation: "forgot where the cable goes in the wall, hung a shelf / picture and damaged it."

Although, in order to avoid such situations, we do not lay the cable as we have to, but along strictly defined and marked cable routes, if necessary, taking photographs with an attached tape measure.

Is corrugation acceptable for electrical wiring in a wooden house

From the foregoing, it becomes clear that a part of FORUMHOUSE users believe that electric cable in wooden houses, with hidden wiring should be only in metal pipes. Let's emphasize - in steel pipes, and not in a metal hose, plastic self-extinguishing corrugation or steel corrugated pipe.

Corrugation for wires in a wooden house with hidden wiring is not good!

The short circuit arc (short circuit) burns through the steel corrugated pipe, and the plastic corrugation, due to its fragility, will not save the wiring from mechanical damage.

Others believe that it is a metal pipe for electrical wiring in a wooden house that is redundant and rely on foreign experience, which fully allows a cable in a log. In a classic frame using North American technology, an electric cable is pulled straight through wooden racks, in drilled technological holes, without corrugations, metal pipes, etc.

In the "Finnish" version of the frame, the electric cable is usually pulled in the inner layer of counter-insulation embedded in a wooden counter-lattice.

It seems that the technology is available for repetition, because it has stood the test of time, but, as you know, the essence lies in the details.

“Across the ocean”, grounding is necessarily done, and double - one goes to the street line, to the shield, the second is independent, connected either to copper pins driven into the ground or to the central water pipe. Plus, there is also a “zero” bus, and each line and electrical appliance (sockets, lamps, etc.) has its own independent grounding.

Roracotta Member of FORUMHOUSE

4 thick cables go to the house underground to the meter. Earth, zero and two phases. In addition to this ground on the cable, the central shield itself and the meter must be grounded by a separate ground or to a copper pipe when entering the house, or with two 16 mm copper pins 2 meters long, or a special copper plate buried in the ground to a depth of about a meter.

In a three-core "foreign" cable, the copper wire - "ground" goes without a braid. This ensures the operation of the RCD at the slightest damage to the insulation of the wires "zero" and "phase" throughout the route. While in our country the ground wire is insulated and provides protection only to end users.

Roracotta

In Canada, a rule has been introduced - all lines that feed sleeping rooms must be equipped with special automatic machines that are sensitive to sparks on the consumer (plug, socket, etc.). If a spark jumps somewhere, the machine knocks out. It's expensive, but it needs to be done.

And this is only part of the nuances that ensure electrical safety. Having decided to run a cable in a steel pipe in houses built of timber, we remember that a tree shrinks over time. Moreover, depending on the moisture content of the source material, this value can be significant. This means that it is necessary to think in advance how to ensure the necessary movement / independence of the steel pipe with the cable so that the beam does not “hang” on it in 2-3 years.

Condensation may form in the steel pipe, and moisture may enter the socket or junction box due to the slope of the route. Another "headache" is how to drive tracks in wooden houses of a large area. It is one thing to lay steel pipes in a wooden cottage of 100-150 sq. m, but a completely different task in complexity - in houses of 300-500 sq. m. In addition to increasing the estimate, special requirements are imposed on the qualifications of workers involved in the installation of electrical wiring in steel pipes.

Therefore, examples of the practical implementation of wiring cables in metal pipes are interesting.

Ivanov Kostya Member of FORUMHOUSE

I installed the electrical wiring in the wooden floor of the attic floor, in a steel square pipe 15x15 mm, with a VVGng cable with a section of 3x2.5. Turns and branching - a metal hose with a diameter of 20 mm, it is well pushed onto the pipe.

A square tube is more convenient to install than a round one.

Installation of wiring in a timber house

Also interested in wiring in a wooden house , performed by a user with a nickname Serg177. To do this, he bought a pipe 15x15 mm 300 meters long and a metal corrugation with a diameter of 2 cm, as well as staples (they are used to fasten corrugations with a diameter of 1.5 cm) to fix pipes on the walls. Next, we carry out the installation of wiring, not forgetting to pre-clean the edges of the pipes from burrs!

Most of the houses being built cannot boast of the environmental friendliness of the materials used in their structure. For interior decoration, chemistry and synthetics are increasingly being used.

Despite the availability and prevalence of artificial materials, more and more owners prefer to build wooden houses. Such buildings are attractive from the outside, cozy inside, and most importantly - environmentally friendly!

Having decided to build a wooden house, future owners will inevitably face a difficulty: what are the rules for laying wiring in a wooden house?

As you know, wood is an easily flammable, fire hazardous material. For safety reasons, you should follow the rules for electrical installations, especially if you are not a professional.

Do's and Don'ts

Problems often arise from violations of instructions on how to wire. All technologies and methods relevant for laying electricity in stone or concrete walls are not suitable for wooden buildings. It is absolutely impossible to fasten an unprotected cable to a beam or lining!

The main line is not sewn up and not hidden under flammable interior elements. The domestic electrical network must not be subjected to overvoltage. Protective insulation should be protected from moisture, steam, dust and cable deformation.

A mouse can easily gnaw through a wire, and wiring damaged inside the walls will inevitably lead to a fire. From practice: even a small hearth of fire is extremely difficult to extinguish.

Choose the type of wiring

There are the following types of wiring in a wooden house:

Open. This option involves laying wires in special protective channels. It has a number of advantages. Quick access to wiring. Better cooling of laid wires. There is a possibility of laying a new line. This method is more preferable for flat walls. It would be at least inappropriate to lay such, albeit decorative, boxes on walls made of timber.

Note! Protective cable channels are available not only in white, but also in woodgrain color.

On insulators. The principle of installation is quite simple. First install ceramic insulators. After that, the installation of the wiring itself is carried out. A great option if you plan a retro design.

For retro wiring, you can choose special wires of the desired color and texture. To appreciate the newly resurgent style, pay attention to the photo of retro wiring in a wooden house.

Hidden. The advantage of the open method is the possibility of installation upon completion of finishing work. Concealed wiring is laid at the construction stage.

The wiring is placed in metal corrugated hoses and pipes.

All wiring is hidden. According to its characteristics, it is considered a more reliable option. Among the minuses are the high cost of work and more complicated installation.

The choice of the type of installation is influenced by two factors: the price of the issue and the design.

Making a wiring diagram

When drawing up a wiring diagram in a wooden house, it is necessary to adhere to the requirements of GOST.

The key points of the scheme are electrical nodes - a meter, sockets, switches and junction boxes. During the drawing up of the scheme, all of the listed points are placed in places of quick access. This will simplify further operation and repair.

Switches are located depending on the needs and preferences, there are no strict requirements for the placement of these points. Universal solution - one meter from the floor. This placement is convenient for most people.

Sockets are located as close as possible to electrical appliances. This minimizes the need for extension cords. Mounting height - from 250 mm to 400 mm from the floor.

The number of outlets in the room is calculated based on the quadrature of the premises. For every 4 square meters - one outlet. In the hallway - 1 socket for every 10 squares. There are more outlets in the kitchen than in other rooms.

Power lines are located strictly vertically and horizontally. Top and bottom wiring is allowed. Regardless of the option chosen, the distance from the floor or ceiling will be 150 mm. All cables are brought together and connected to junction boxes.

Power cable entry

Another important aspect is the input of the power cable. There are two input options.

Underground. A more thorough and safer way. The cable is reliably protected from external influences. Minimal risk of mechanical damage. The depth of laying the power cable into the ground is 800 mm. The ground part is marked with a warning sign.

The cable passing under the house is reliably protected by a sleeve made of durable metal. This method is carried out at the stage of starting construction work.

Air. SIP cables are used. They are characterized by durable insulation resistant to weather influences. The service life of the cable is up to 30 years. According to the requirements, the power cable does not start in the house. From the switchboard, a VVGng cable is launched into the room, laid in a corrugated sleeve. At the entry point, a sleeve (metal) is installed in the wall for cable entry.

Material selection

When deciding which wiring to use, you need to take into account a number of features of the future home. Will standard 220V be enough, or will 380V be required. Electric stove - if it is electric, at least 8.8 kilowatts of power will be required.

Calculation tables are used to calculate the required wire cross section. In wooden houses, wires VVGng, VVGng-P, VVGng LS, VVGng-P LS and cables made according to German NYM technology are used. These are copper cables with solid cores, and at least double insulation. The outer insulation is fireproof, flexible and at the same time strong. Temperature mode of operation from -50 to +50 degrees.

The electric meter is selected according to the accuracy class, but not less than the second class. Options are available with different pricing. Standard single-tariff and economical two-tariff.

Sockets in most cases are selected according to the design and type of wiring. Preferably switches and sockets with a ceramic base, bronze and brass contacts.

Mounting

Wiring can be done by hand. The action plan is as follows:

The first stage is the installation of wiring cables. The wires are cut according to the number of future sockets and switches with a margin of 200 mm for each point. Depending on the type of wiring chosen, they are laid in cable channels, internal wiring systems, mounted on ceramic insulators, fixed on brackets.

The second stage is the installation of junction boxes.

The third stage is the installation of switches, sockets. External installation of switches and sockets is carried out through aluminum or asbestos gaskets. Wires are connected with color marking.

The fourth stage is the installation of chandeliers and lighting shades. Chandeliers and ceiling lamps with a metal base are ideal for a wooden house.

The fifth stage is the installation of the electrical panel. The electric meter is mounted in a plastic or metal shield. It is better to choose a shield with a small margin of free space. Ground loop: the optimal diameter of the reinforcement for the loop is -16 mm per 3000 mm length. The cross section of the wire taken from the ground bus must match the cross section of the input cable.

Installation of concealed wiring

More complex process. Wiring previously hidden in metal sleeves or pipes is laid behind walls or under the floor.

It is important to minimize the appearance of corrosion in the places where the wiring runs. To avoid this, all structures are painted over with resistant paint.

The sharp edges of the cut pipes and sleeves that protect the wiring are smoothed out. Alternatively, use plastic plugs. If the house is not planned to maintain a constant temperature, the pipes are mounted at a slope. This technique allows the condensate to drain and evaporate.

A wiring diagram with additional marks can be pasted inside the switchboard - for memory.

Wiring done according to the rules will become a safe and reliable source of energy for many years to come!

Photo of wiring in a wooden house

Agree that a private country house, completely made of wood, is, of course, cool and beautiful. A wooden structure has many advantages. It is warm and durable, with an ideal level of humidity, and in terms of ecological balance, no building material can even be compared with natural wood. But with all the advantages, such a house has one significant drawback, firefighters call such buildings “combustible material”. And since electricity often becomes the cause of fires, the most urgent problem was, is and will be wiring in a wooden house. According to the statistics of fire organizations, it accounts for half of all fires in buildings built of wooden beams.

The main requirements for wiring

Installation of electrical wiring in a wooden house has special requirements. Due to the fact that wooden buildings are classified as fire hazardous, the conditions for laying power cables and wires are completely different. Therefore, you should not think that since you know how to distinguish “phase” from “zero” or change sockets with switches, then all the electrics in a wooden house with your own hands will be on your shoulder.

It is desirable that the entire scope of work (from supplying electricity to the house and up to the installation of the last lamp) is performed by professional electricians. But since there are also a lot of hacks among the people of this profession, it will be useful for every owner of a private wooden housing construction to know the basic principles, requirements and rules for installing electrical wiring in order to later evaluate the quality of the work performed.

The wiring of a household electrical network in a wooden house is carried out with a cable that has a non-combustible sheath and a low level of smoke emission. You can easily distinguish such a cable by marking, its abbreviation necessarily contains the letters "ng" (non-combustible). Its outer shell is made of non-combustible polyvinyl chloride, this quality is achieved through the use of special plastic compounds in the manufacture. Conductors of this type have a reduced level of smoke emission, which is a particularly dangerous factor during fires, because the smoke screen impairs light transmission and interferes with rescue operations.
Wiring must be carried out in such a way as to completely exclude the possibility of electric shock to people and pets.

It is forbidden to lay electrical wiring in a wooden house near heated surfaces (chimneys, stoves, fireplaces).
It is necessary to completely exclude the possibility of cable ignition and fire transfer to wooden surfaces in case a short circuit occurs.
Installation of hidden electrical wiring in a wooden house is carried out only on fireproof structures.
Conducted cables and wires, as well as installed switching devices, must be of such performance characteristics as to have a sufficient margin for the total power consumed.
Heating of conductors and connecting electrical units is not allowed.

Important to remember! It is not necessary to improve the interior design of wooden housing construction by reducing the level of security. Trying to solve aesthetic problems can have disastrous consequences.

Main stages

Step by step, the entire process of installing electrical wiring in a wooden house can be divided into several basic steps:

Calculation of the total power that will be needed for all consumers of electricity (household electrical appliances, power tools, lighting network).
Before you make wiring in a wooden house, it is mandatory to draw up a schematic design.

click to enlarge

Based on the scheme and calculated data on the load, materials are selected and purchased (wires, cables, switching devices, protection elements).
Performing input from the main power line to the house.
Installation and assembly of the switchboard.
Installation of internal wiring (in a wooden house, options for hidden and open laying of conductors are used).
Installation of switching equipment and lighting elements (sockets, junction boxes, switches, chandeliers, lamps, sconces).
Installation of protective grounding and RCD.
Laboratory tests, verification of the operation of the household electrical network and execution of relevant documentation.

Project

Do-it-yourself wiring in a wooden house begins with the preparation of a project.

In fact, this should be a plan of the house, which indicates all the elements of lighting, installation locations for sockets and switches, as well as household electrical appliances that require an individual line (air conditioner, hob, oven, water heater).

It is advisable to indicate the maximum power of electrical appliances on the drawing.

The lighting load is connected by a separate line to an individual machine (if the house is very large, there may be several of them - for each room or for each floor). It is necessary to provide a separate machine for courtyard lighting.

click to enlarge

Also, individual lines are powered by sockets in different rooms. If the house is small and there are few rooms, all sockets can be connected from one machine. The exception is the kitchen, it has so many powerful household appliances that a separate line is required.

Thus, you divide the entire household electrical network of your house into groups, now calculate the maximum load for each of them. To do this, the power of all electrical appliances that can be turned on at the same time is summed up. Based on the figures obtained, the power of the input and output automata is selected.

Entering the house

The introductory section, from the main power line to the switchboard, is considered the most critical. There are two ways to properly bring electricity to the house.

Cable laying in the ground

This is a more reliable method, because the conductor is completely hidden and not exposed to any external influences. In addition, in the event of a short circuit and fire, there is no possibility that people or property will suffer. Due to such a high fire safety, underground entry is especially recommended for wooden housing construction. In addition, it does not spoil the appearance of the site at all.

At the same time, significant costs will be required. It will be necessary to dig a trench with a depth of at least 0.8 m. If the passage to the house is through the foundation, a thick-walled metal sleeve will be required. Yes, and it is desirable to protect the cable itself from the chemical effects of the soil, microorganisms and rodents, the pressure of the roots of vegetation. To do this, it is not just placed in a trench, but is pre-stretched in a metal pipe or corrugation.

It is advisable to use the underground method at the stage when a new house is just being built, so you can consider the passage of all communications in advance.

Air cable routing

If the building has already been erected, then an overhead line would be a cheaper, more convenient and easier option. A tap is being performed from the nearest support of the main power line.

Remember the main thing! Neither you nor your friends, even those with the highest electrical engineering education, have the right to climb this support to make connections. This work is done by electricians from the staff of the power supply organization serving this power line (they have a special permit for this).

Its insulating layer is made of a material that can withstand temperature extremes, sunlight and precipitation. Under the insulation layer, the SIP wire has not only conductive wires, but also a steel cable, which will provide a good stretch. If another cable is used, it will need to be fixed with clamps on an additional supporting cable, also stretched between the support and the house.

Another important nuance. If the span is more than 20 m, then an additional support must be installed, otherwise the sag will be large, which increases the mechanical load on the wire.

An air inlet is brought into the house through a hole drilled in the wall, into which a piece of metal pipe is mounted. It is very important that there are no tall shrubs and trees, outbuildings in the path of the wire.

Distribution board

Now Energonadzor requires two switchboards to be installed in private country houses. One of them should be located outside the house, an electric energy meter is mounted in it. This is done so that the controller can come and check the meter readings at any time.

The second shield is located inside the house, it is connected to the one outside by an electric cable. It will contain input and outgoing automata, RCD protective shutdown devices.

In wooden buildings, hinged switchboards should be installed, which must be protected from moisture and dust. The shield must always be freely accessible.

Exposed internal wiring

Open wiring in a wooden house (otherwise called outdoor) can be done in three ways. Let's briefly consider each of them.

Corrugated electrical pipes

Now it is not a problem to buy corrugated flexible pipes. The material of their manufacture is a special plastic that does not support combustion. It is necessary to conduct a cable in them, and two, and if necessary, more conductors can be placed in one pipe.

Open wiring in a wooden house is quickly and easily done by hand, but it has significant drawbacks. It is unlikely that a few rows of corrugated pipes will add aesthetics to your room. And taking into account what loads are now, and how many different household electrical appliances there are in the house, there can be five or more such rows.

In addition, when you already stretch the cable into the corrugated pipe, it will practically not be possible to lay it evenly, it will not be stretched like a string, anyway, sagging will appear in several places. Such curves also do not look very pretty.

Another drawback is that the corrugated pipe perfectly collects dust on its surface, which can only be removed with a vacuum cleaner, but this is not convenient to do everywhere.

Electrical box

Such electrical boxes are also called cable channels in another way. The most widespread boxes are made of plastic, which does not support combustion, and does not emit harmful substances when melted. They are affordable, have different colors, come in one or more sections (in these you can lay several cables at once that go in the same direction).

Another advantage of the boxes is that with the help of them, do-it-yourself wiring in a wooden house is done without any problems and labor costs. You do not need any special tools, fixtures, experience and skills. Electrical boxes can be glued to the wall surface (most often liquid nails are used for this) or holes can be drilled and fixed with self-tapping screws. After that, conductors are laid in the cable channels and closed from above with a snap-on lid.

But there are also enough shortcomings in electrical boxes. The most important is due to the fact that a wooden house will inevitably shrink over time. This will lead to squeezing of the boxes, as a result, the covers will fly off, and the cable channels themselves will crack.

To carefully install the boxes, you will need all sorts of additional details - turns, joints, corners, plugs. And it cannot be said that this gasket will decorate your room, the view still turns out to be somehow boring, similar to an office one.

open cable

Open wiring in a wooden house, made with an unprotected cable directly along the wall surfaces, is considered the best option. But such an appearance turns out to be completely dull, because it is necessary to mount a metal or asbestos gasket under the cable.

You can comply with all safety requirements and at the same time make the room original with the help of retro wiring, which has recently been gaining popularity. A special cable is laid on porcelain insulators, it turns out beautifully, especially if your interior design matches the retro style.

Concealed internal wiring

In fact, hidden wiring in a wooden house is not recommended, but if you comply with all the requirements and standards for fire safety, then this method is quite acceptable. It should be noted right away that it will cost more in terms of material costs. But if you are not experiencing financial difficulties, you can use one of two hidden wiring options.

metal pipes

The most important advantage of metal pipes is that in the event of a cable fire, they reliably protect wooden surfaces and structures from fire.

They are laid in hidden cavities and voids behind the lining of walls and ceilings. Or recesses are drilled in the wall surfaces in the form of channels, into which pipes are then laid. And already inside them a cable or wire is stretched.

It is advisable to use galvanized pipes to protect them from corrosion as much as possible. And in order not to damage the insulating layer of the cable on the sharp edges of the metal pipe when it is pulled, it is necessary to use special plugs made of plastic, or clean and grind the cut points well.

Copper pipes are considered the most technologically advanced, they bend well without a special tool.

This is especially true if the hidden wiring in a wooden house has a complex branched circuit. But here, as they say, a double-edged sword - installation is simplified, and the price increases several times, copper pipes are far from cheap. However, it should be remembered that it is better to spend money on high-quality electrical wiring once than to calculate the losses from a fire later.

Under plaster

There is another way of hidden wiring - under the plaster. Now it is being used less and less. The technology is painstaking - it is necessary to fill the shingles crosswise on the timber (these are such wooden laths 3-5 mm thick), and on top throw a layer of clay plaster with a thickness of at least 10 cm. Then cables are laid in corrugated pipes and another layer of plaster on top to hide the wiring . About 30-50 years ago, this method was popular, it is unlikely that now the owners of wooden buildings made of beautiful timber will want to throw thick layers of plaster on it, at least it will look strange.

Remember the main thing! Installation of hidden wiring in wooden houses through voids and ceilings in corrugated pipes or plastic boxes is prohibited.

There are two good reasons for this:

During laying, the insulating layer of the conductors can be slightly disturbed.
Rodents can damage the corrugated pipe along with the cable insulation (believe me, it is not difficult for mice to gnaw through PVC material).

Both of these cases will result in the exposure of conductive wires. And when you begin to operate the wiring at full power, in places where the insulation is damaged, the cable will begin to overheat, which will lead to a short circuit and a fire.

Selection of switching devices

When choosing switching devices for a wooden structure, their fire safety should be the first criterion. Maybe it will turn out to be expensive and not quite fit into your design, but think again about the consequences that come with the slightest spark in the outlet when there is only one tree around.

Sparking in switching devices must be excluded, so buy quality products from well-established companies.

It is undesirable to install switches and sockets in wooden houses, the working part of which is fixed on technical porcelain. This ceramic dielectric is cheap, does not burn, but is very brittle.

When turning on and off the switching device, it periodically heats up and cools down, that is, it experiences temperature-dynamic loads. In this case, the porcelain is covered with cracks and at some point may burst. Due to this, the working part becomes mobile, which entails a deterioration in contact, the formation of sparks and even an arc.

Therefore, buy sockets and switches, the working part of which is mounted on heat-resistant plastic, it is resistant to dynamic influences and does not deform over time. Try not to buy a fake made of cheap plastic, which begins to melt in case of emergency heating of the outlet. High-quality heat-resistant plastic can easily withstand temperatures up to 130 degrees.

Protective earth

Electrical wiring in a wooden house must have a protective ground. This work can be done by hand. Below is a step-by-step instruction for grounding installation:

Dig a hole in the form of a triangle with equal sides of 1 m, a depth of 30-40 cm will be enough.
At the corners of the triangle, drive metal pins or corners at least 3 m long into the ground.
Using pieces of a corner 1 m long, connect these pins to each other by welding.

Drill a hole in one of the corners, and use a bolted connection to secure the ground conductor.
Bring this conductor to the switchboard and connect to the ground bus. You will then connect all grounding conductors to the same bus.

According to the operating conditions, such grounding is required by most household electrical appliances, the body of which is made of metal.

Test work

Do-it-yourself electrical wiring in the house necessarily requires a set of test work. You will need to call specialists, and they will make all the necessary measurements and tests:

perform insulation resistance measurement;
load the machines;
make a measurement of the resistance of the grounding conductor;
check the phase-zero loop;
perform an RCD test.

After all the tests are completed, they must issue a protocol indicating the values of all measurements and a verdict that the wiring is suitable for further operation. This protocol will be needed for representatives of the energy supply organization when they come to seal the electricity meter.

Clearly about the nuances of electrical wiring in a wooden house in the video:

As you can see, the power supply of a wooden house has a number of special requirements and nuances. Therefore, even if you are well versed in electrics, do not rely only on your knowledge and strength. At some points, professional advice is simply necessary.

A log cabin or a cottage made of timber: any building made of wood, regardless of the impregnation of the material with flame retardants, is a fire hazard, and many owners are wondering if hidden wiring in a wooden house.

Is hidden wiring possible in a wooden house?

In an apartment of a high-rise building, in order to lay an electrical network in the premises, concrete walls are subjected to chasing, that is, shallow grooves are machined. Brick is often easier to do by simply hiding the wiring under a thick layer of plaster. In buildings made of logs or timber, things are somewhat more complicated. Even the highest quality cable can easily burn out due to an accidental short circuit, which is why there is a high probability of a fire. Of course, there is an optimal way out - to lay the network so that all the wires are visible. But to many, this option will seem unaesthetic.

Is hidden wiring allowed in a wooden house? Quite if you use special channels that must fit into the walls. The main requirement is to exclude cable contact with wood. The fact is that even without short circuits, the metal core hidden in the insulation tends to heat up at a high load on the network, which occurs when several household appliances are turned on. It is necessary to take care in advance that the wooden walls do not heat up from the wiring, and this is achieved with the help of special boxes, sleeves or pipes laid in the walls.

Choosing a channel for pulling the cable

So, in order to hide all the wires in the thickness of the walls, you will have to gouge recesses, grooves, cavities, through holes and so on in logs or timber. However, as already mentioned, even an insulated cable should not come into contact with wood. As a precautionary measure, many use metal sleeves, which are completely unsuitable for this purpose (due to poor thermal insulation properties), they are designed to pull the external network. For laying cables inside wooden walls, special metal tubes are designed, in extreme cases - non-combustible or plastic, which tend to fade without external intervention. Let's consider both options.

Metal cable channels are preferable for the simple reason that they are completely non-flammable. In addition, wall shrinkage should be taken into account, due to which plastic pipes, unlike copper pipes, are easily deformed. On the other hand, the channels must bend in the corners, and in this case, if you are working with copper, you should be patient. The fact is that first a wire is pulled into the tube, after which it should be carefully bent on a special pipe bending device. In this case, the place of the bend must be with a certain radius, otherwise there is a possibility of damage to the cable.

Plastic channels are less preferred, although they are more cost-effective and save a lot of money when laying the electrical network. It’s best to simply place them in the grooves knocked out at the ends of the logs that limit the doorway, in extreme cases, use them to pull wires through the walls. It is better not to lay plastic tubes in the thickness of the partitions between rooms, remembering the shrinkage of the crowns. The grooves with cable channels are closed with plugs cut from a board or a bar, which are later closed with platbands or masked with a special wood putty, followed by surface grinding, as well as stain and varnish.

The easiest way to hide the power grid in a log house

The layout of the premises is best done not along the walls, but either under the floor covering or under the ceiling sheathing. Since this placement of cables is considered secretive, we lay copper pipes along the logs (or under them, if on the floor), connecting them in special junction boxes, which in no case should come into contact with the tree. It is desirable to separate such intersections of highways from the sheathing with asbestos or metal sheets. In the wall, at the end of each groove for a network branch, we hollow out a recess for the mounting box, on top of which a socket or switch is attached. The diameter of the pipe and the thickness of its wall is selected depending on the cross section of the wire.

Wire strands, even those covered by junction boxes, must be insulated with caps, especially in places where wood is located in close proximity. If you plan to sheathe the walls with clapboard, you can run cable channels directly along their surface without gouging grooves. Just in this case, non-combustible plastic pipes are most appropriate, and, regardless of the material, the wires must be completely hidden in them, especially at the junction points with junction boxes. Alternatively, a combined scheme is possible, when the mains are hidden in metal gutters and pipes under the wall, floor and ceiling sheathing, and the point-to-point wiring is performed half-open, in boxes.

Open wiring in a wooden house as part of the design

It is not at all necessary to hide the cables if the walls are not planned to be hidden under the crate with subsequent finishing with plaster or under wallpaper. It will be perfectly combined with log partitions between rooms, in a wooden house this solution can become part of the design. However, if it seems to you that the electrical network stretched along the walls and ceiling will not be combined with paintings and rugs, it can be laid in plastic boxes that will fit into any environment.

It is also allowed to lay cables in special channels of decorative skirting boards, which is convenient for renovation when you don’t want to make an apartment look like an office using boxes. Some homeowners use plastic corrugated tubing, which is flexible but does not protect the wiring at all and does not have an aesthetic appearance. In non-residential premises, cables are often mounted using metal brackets, this option is appropriate in the bathroom or in the bath, as well as in the workshop, garage, cellar or barn.

An external electrical network is convenient in that it is easy to find and repair damage caused by a short circuit or for another reason.

The most interesting is the open one, made in the "retro" style, when copper insulated wires twisted with a pigtail are pulled straight along the wall, fixed with ceramic insulators. In stores, you can often find models of sockets and switches in the style of the 30-40s, with massive cases (although there will almost certainly be a ground contact in the sockets). The only condition for organizing such a network is to observe a gap of 10 millimeters between the cable and the wall. However, this type also has disadvantages, in particular: open access for children to wires (in case they want to cut them with scissors), as well as the high cost and lack of ceramic rollers for fastening a two-wire twist.

Despite the undoubted advantages of wooden houses, they have one significant drawback inherent in the materials from which they are made, namely, low resistance to fire. In such buildings, a fire can occur not only due to an error in the operation of heating equipment, but also due to illiterate hidden wiring, laid in violation of the requirements of the EMP. Especially dangerous are wires laid openly in cavities or on the surfaces of wooden walls and placed close to combustible substances (see figure below).

In case of neglecting the requirements of the PUE, laying electrical wiring in a log house can lead to serious consequences that can only be prevented by special protective measures.

Wiring arrangement features

Open mounting method

When laying electrical wiring in a round log house, for example, it is very important to take care in advance of compliance with the relevant requirements regarding the organization and placement of it in internal spaces.

Important! The provisions of building standards (easier than GOST) categorically prohibit open cable laying on any log coverings, even if it is placed in plastic cable ducts, boxes or corrugations.

If the wires are damaged and a short circuit occurs, plastic materials may ignite, which is explained by many factors that cannot be taken into account in advance. These should include:

Increased dustiness of the internal cavities of protective boxes and channels used in the arrangement of open wiring;
Large temperature differences, often observed in normal living conditions in a private house;
Significant deformations of the logs, possible during the shrinkage of the log house and capable of destroying the insulation of the wires;
The instability of the supply voltage, especially noticeable in rural areas.

Add to this the possibility of using flammable and combustible materials when decorating walls in houses where open electrical wiring is laid.

Concealed gasket

According to clause 7.1. PUE, hidden wiring in wooden houses should not be mounted in the internal cavities of structures, in addition, it is forbidden to lay it in corrugated pipes and plastic boxes. This is explained by the fact that in the case of high temperatures, neither one nor the other can protect the insulation of electrical wires from destruction.

Additional Information. The use of plastic shelters is also dangerous due to their possible damage by rodents and the accumulation of fine and combustible dust.

The only acceptable way to lay hidden electrical wiring in a wooden house involves placing it in metal pipes laid on top of the walls (as shown in the figure below).

In this case, the main requirement for power supply systems in suburban conditions is met - the practical impossibility of the impact of such destructive factors as mechanical deformation and the intervention of rodents. The risk of exposure to high temperatures when laying in metal pipes on wood is also noticeably reduced.

The main indicator by which the reliability of protection is evaluated in this case is the ability of the pipe walls to withstand a short circuit (SC) without any damage for a time interval sufficient for the electric arc to decay.

Materials used

Channels for laying

Hidden electrical wiring in a log house is arranged in pre-prepared channels made of refractory materials that can localize any fire in the interior spaces. At the same time, attention is paid to its aesthetics and attractiveness, as well as the cost of the installation work itself and the quality of materials, according to the residual principle.

Important! In this case, the principle of safe wiring is put forward in the first place, and only then attention is drawn to the decorative features and technical characteristics of the system.

Taking into account these conditions, a material is selected that is suitable for arranging wire lines laid along the wooden walls of the building in metal casings (boxes) or in pipes of the same structure.

The most suitable, from the point of view of the security of wires hidden in free niches and voids and laid on wooden structures, are the following materials:

Standard steel casings (boxes) and metal pipe runs;
Pipe products based on copper;
Mounting boxes (casings) and corrugated pipes made of fire-resistant PVC materials with concrete or alabaster plugs installed at their ends.

The thickness of the safety plugs (gaskets) is selected in accordance with GOST, and must meet the requirements of the PUE regarding the issues of wiring security.

The advantages of copper pipes include the ease of forming a bend of the required radius (without the need for special devices and tools). This is especially important in cases where the laying of an extensive network of electrical wires with many branches is organized.

When using steel pipes, certain difficulties may arise in terms of installation and labor costs for molding, but their cost, in comparison with copper counterparts, will be significantly lower.

Note! Sharpened edges of tubular blanks and conduits can damage the wire insulation and lead to undesirable consequences. That is why, when preparing channels, you need to carefully monitor the condition of dangerous edges and cut the original blanks only with a special cutting tool.

Wire selection

At this stage of work, it is necessary to determine the brand of installation wire suitable for direct laying in steel boxes or pipes. According to the requirements of GOST and the standards specified in the PUE, the use of the following types of cable products is considered optimal for wooden buildings:

Wire VVGng (A) or its variety under the name VVGng-P (A);
Two more types of cable products related to the same series are VVGngLS and VVGng-PLS;
Modern wires from a foreign manufacturer NYM.

The multi-core (up to five cores) wires listed in the list with the VVGng marking have reliable double insulation. In accordance with the rules of the PUE, one of the insulating layers (internal) is made on the basis of PVC and has its own color for each core individually.

Additional Information. Generally accepted color standards make wiring much easier, especially when connecting wires to junction boxes, lighting terminals and sockets (see photo below).

Outside, the VVGng cable has a common insulating coating made of a flexible composite - plastic, which makes it possible to operate it in the temperature range from plus 50 to minus 50 ° C.

The characteristics of products under the names VVGng LS, VVGng-P LS almost do not differ from those already considered, except that the insulation of these wires does not emit substances harmful to human health when heated. The cable called NYM is manufactured in accordance with GOST 22483, and has three insulating coatings.

During its production, each of the individual cores is first isolated individually, after which their total assembly is placed in a sheath of composite material, and finally, all this is protected by a coating of non-combustible PVC.

Mounting order

Preparatory operations

Before you start installing electrical wiring on your own, you should carry out a number of preparatory operations, namely:

Free the walls from all unnecessary objects and things;
Mark the laying route and installation locations for distribution boxes;
Mark out the points of installation of sockets, switches and lighting fixtures.

Additional Information. Regardless of the method of laying metal pipes, installation products (sockets, boxes and switches) are either recessed into the thickness of the wall or mounted on special sockets.

The appearance of these products can be found in the figure below.

The marking of the future route for electrical wiring must be carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of the PUE. The latter prescribe when laying wires to make as few changes in its direction as possible.

In cases where the structural features of the walls do not allow for a continuous line of laying, additional junction boxes should be installed at certain points.

Installation requirements

Before you do the wiring yourself, in accordance with current regulations, first of all, you need to decide on the installation locations of the junction boxes. In addition, the PUE stipulates the following important points for the upcoming work:

When installing the boxes, they are not allowed to be covered with any elements of decorative wall decoration, which significantly impede access to them if repair or maintenance is necessary;
When pipes are buried in the body of wood (in accordance with the requirements of state standards), the strength indicators of walls and other structural elements of buildings should not be violated;
The cross sections of pipes (ducts) used for installation and the thickness of their walls must correspond to the characteristics of the selected cable;
In a situation where a decision is made to hide the cable in a pipe or box, it will be necessary to ensure that it does not occupy more than 40% of the volume of their internal space and easily fits along the entire length of the wiring;
When placing several cables in this space, the volume occupied by them should also not exceed 40 percent;
Before laying any cable, it is recommended to check the insulation resistance again.

Accounting for this indicator is necessary for complete confidence in the compliance of its characteristics with the requirements of GOST (since during storage, transportation and preparation for installation, the possibility of damage to the insulation is not ruled out).

Placement of installation products

In the event that it is decided not to use special socket boxes during installation, but a hidden wiring socket is used, sockets are drilled at the installation sites with a diameter slightly larger than that of the prepared product.

Note! For these purposes, it is most convenient to use an electric drill with a special nozzle called a “crown” (see photo below).

Metal boxes are first inserted into the nests drilled in this way, which serve to place the installation products themselves in them. When installing them, it is necessary to comply with the requirements of the standards prescribing the obligatory observance of building technologies. They relate to the production of work on the connection of metal products into a single system, which requires a welding unit. Combining these elements of the system into a single whole will subsequently organize a reliable grounding of the electrically conductive network.

If there is continuity of the metal connection, such protection is displayed on the electrical panel, from the central grounding bus of which it can be connected to a grounding device prepared near the house. The appearance of the memory can be found in the figure below.

When operating a remote ground loop, it will be necessary to carefully monitor the condition of all elements included in the design, preventing corrosion of electrically conductive tires and conductors.

Installation of sockets and switches

The above description of the organization of installation work refers to the case when the owner of a private wooden house has his own welding machine. However, in a suburban economy, not all users have a device that allows you to connect pipes and junction boxes by welding.

In the absence of a special unit, the following methods of arranging a reliable connection of all metal parts of the system are allowed:

In the event that the supply to two-socket sockets and separate 2-pin switches is carried out through copper pipes, their open edges, which are joined to the installation boxes, must be carefully flared;
When using steel tubular products, for their reliable fixation in metal walls, a nut or bolt connection can be used instead of welding (photo below);

It can be seen from the figure that threads are cut on the pipes, after which the bodies of installation or junction boxes are screwed onto them, which are subsequently fixed in a given position.

To avoid possible deformations and corrosion damage, the place of their articulation is securely fixed by means of a nut of the appropriate size, and then lubricated with a protective compound.

Installation boxes (they are also called "technological"), as well as all other mounting products, according to the provisions of the Electrical Installation Code, in terms of their protection from external destructive influences, must comply with the IP-54 class. This class for electrical installation equipment guarantees reliable protection of all installation products from the penetration of moisture and dust into their internal spaces.

Testing and cable laying

Upon completion of the installation work associated with the installation and fixing of pipes and boxes on the walls, it will be necessary to test the system for compliance with the requirements of the Electrical Installation Code for resistance to current spreading. The need for this is explained by the fact that all metal parts of the electrical wiring must be connected to a ground loop, together with which they form a circuit for draining emergency current into the ground.

And only after the compliance of this value with the requirements of the PUE (no more than 30 Ohms) is practically confirmed, it will be possible to start laying the cable of the selected type. When laying it, it is necessary to take into account the following recommendations of specialists:

Cable sections laid in the spans between the boxes should be cut with a small margin, ensuring the possibility of their connection to electrical installation products;
When arranging the electrical network in modern buildings, during the construction of which a log or timber was used, it is desirable to use cable products with three or five cores;
One of these cores (in yellow-green insulation) will be used to connect to the re-grounding system, and all the rest will be used for their intended purpose.

The appearance of such a cable is shown in the figure below.

The remaining unused strands of the connecting wire may be required to organize a three-phase power supply line to 380 Volt consumers (professional electricians recommend taking this perspective into account).

In the final part of the review, we will touch on the issue of organizing a separate branch of the wiring, designed to connect three-phase consumers. In accordance with the requirements of the PUE, in this case, the same wires should be used for laying, but with a slightly larger cross section of the phase and neutral conductors, designed for a specific load of 380 volts.