Outlets on the plinth: mounting features

Types of plinth outlets

Today, we with a respected reader will have to figure out how practical plinth sockets are. We will weigh the pros and cons of the solution, find out when it can be used, and when it is better to give preference to other methods of electricity distribution, and learn about the technology of wiring installation. So go.

What it is

1. When do we need sockets in the plinth?

They are used if electricity is installed inside the baseboard with a cable channel. Sockets can be mounted both above the baseboard and directly on it.

The wiring is removed into the channel inside the plinth

pros

1. How convenient is the installation of the outlet in the plinth or above it in combination with the plinth wiring of electricity?

Here are the arguments in favor of the wires in the baseboards:

• Under the wiring does not need shtrobit walls. The amount of dusty work is reduced to a minimum (in fact, from the list of them, only the drilling of holes for dowel-nails remains with a perforator). “Wet” work (with building mixtures) is completely absent;

Practical consequence: wiring in the cable channels (including baseboards) can be performed after finishing the finishing room.

Dirt when installing wiring? No, not heard

• You do not run into old wiring or wires to the radio when installing outlets. Directly above the floor, engineering communications are not divorced;
• If you need an additional socket in the plinth - its installation will take no more than half an hour and, again, will not be accompanied by dusty or wet work. At the same time you are not limited in choosing the place of its installation: the plinth is mounted around the entire perimeter of the room;
• Wires of household appliances will not spoil the appearance of the walls, as is the case when installing outlets on a standard height of 90 cm for houses of Soviet construction.

Hanging wires are dubious wall decorations.

Minuses

1. What is inconvenient outlet in the baseboard and wiring in the cable channels?

The author is a sincere fan of this solution and installed the wiring in his house in exactly this way; however, he has to admit that the plinth layout still creates several problems.

• Wires are more vulnerable to mechanical damage. Thin polyvinyl chloride protects them from accidental strikes much worse than a layer of plaster;

Specify: wooden and MDF-made baseboards with channels for wires protect them more reliably than plastic. However, unlike PVC, wood and materials based on it support combustion. In addition, they are much more difficult to mount.

• The heat sink also suffers. Wiring hidden in strobes is less prone to overheating;

However: this is relevant only if the calculation of the wire cross section is incorrect. Heating the wiring indicates an understated cross-section or exceeding the nominal load on the outlet (16 amperes, or 3.5 kW).

Consequences of exceeding the rated load

• When flooding an apartment (for example, when there is a rush of plumbing), a plinth with sockets and wires can become a serious threat to your health and even life: the connections of the wires to the pads are leaky;
• Finally, the plinth outlet becomes available to the child from the moment he began to crawl. Height from the floor of 90 centimeters pushes the moment of close acquaintance with electricity for at least a year.

By the way: from the dangerous manifestations of children's curiosity can protect plugs or sockets with covers.

Cap to protect the outlet from children

Restrictions

1. Is it always possible to make wiring in baseboards?

Not. The rules of electrical installations (PUE) prohibit the laying of wiring in plastic corrugations and cable channels inside wooden houses. They can use only metal pipes (steel or copper), as well as metal hose.

The wiring is laid in metal hoses

Why? You see, when closing inside a plastic box, its walls instantly burn through, which often leads to the subsequent ignition of adjacent wooden structures. But the metal walls are ways to withstand the temperature of the circuit for a time sufficient to trigger the machine.

Installation Tips

Now let's find out what is needed to do the plinth electricity with your own hands.

Tool

1. What tools need to prepare for the start of work?

The author uses the following set for installation:

ImageDescription

The puncher with the drill and the terminator

Perforator. It is necessary for drilling holes for dowel-nails, which are attached plinth and sockets.

Bulgarian - the best tool for cutting plastic

A grinder with a cutting wheel set over stone or metal. It is an ideal tool for cutting plinth made of PVC: the cut is smooth and free from burrs.

Doboynik will help you to hammer in the expansion bolt shield nails, without having jammed plastic

Hammer with doboynik for fixing plinth and rosettes dowel-nails.

Marking tool for cutting lines

Pencil and square for marking.

Universal wire stripper

Special stripping tools or, in his absence, scissors or side cutters - for stripping wires.

Phillips screwdriver with magnetic blade

Screwdriver for tightening the terminals.

Materials

1. What is mounted plinth wiring?

We will need:

ImageDescription

Typical size and shape of the section

Skirting with cable channel. Its standard dimensions are 55x22 - 70x22 mm, however, plinth ducts of a larger section can be found on sale.

Plugs, corners and connectors

Plugs on the ends of the plinth (they are placed on the junction of the openings), connectors, internal and external corners.

Three-core cable VVGng (in a non-burning sheath)

Three-core (in the absence of the ground line - two-core) copper single-wire cable with a cross section of 2.5 mm2 (VVG 3x2.5 or 2x2.5). Cable meter price - 25 - 40 rubles.

Baseboard socket: view from the rear

Rosette for plinth or ordinary outdoor. The first is mounted with a full or partial overlap of the plinth cable channel, the second - directly above it.

Technology

1. Does the installation of plinth wiring any features?

Here are the basic installation rules:

• Fasten the baseboard in increments of no more than half a meter. On uneven walls, the step should be reduced, otherwise there will be a gap at the junction;

Use additional mounting points on uneven walls.

• Drill holes in the wall and drive plastic dowels directly through the baseboard with the cable channel cover removed. This instruction will allow you to get rid of the time spent on marking holes;

The dowel is inserted into the drilled hole directly through the rear wall of the plinth

• Do not fill the cable channel with wires of more than 40% of the cross section, otherwise you will receive overheating of the wiring at the peak consumption;

Avoid dense filling of the cable channel.

• Lay cable with excess (with slack at least 5 centimeters per wall). The stock is useful to you when installing additional outlets that are not provided by the original project;
• If you use regular overhead sockets, make in the plinth with a grinder cutouts for them to the top of the cable channel. This way you can completely hide the wires and make the connection neat enough.

On the photo - the socket in the children's room in the author's house

Conclusion

We hope that this material will be useful to you when choosing a method of wiring in your own housing. To learn more about how the socket is mounted on the baseboard and in what cases its installation is justified, the video attached to the article will help. Successes!