Dismantling electrical wiring is one of the simplest but most dangerous jobs in apartment renovation. Also, dismantling the electrical wiring with your own hands will allow you to understand the electrical wiring of your apartment, which will help with a new installation.
Dismantling electrical wiring is life-threatening
Important! Any work with the apartment’s electrical system, including dismantling the electrical wiring, must be done when the apartment’s power supply is turned off.
Sequentially turn off the circuit breakers, then turn off the input circuit breaker. After disconnecting, walk around the apartment and check with a tester, or better yet, with a test lamp in a socket with wires, that there is no voltage in all sockets, and also check that the lighting is turned off. After checking, you can begin dismantling the electrical wiring.
Prepare the removal tool
Prepare for work standard set electrician's tools:
- Screwdrivers;
- Pliers;
- Wire cutters;
- Assembly knife;
- Sampler;
- PVC insulating tape;
- Heavy hammer and scarpel.
Dismantling electrical wiring - start
Get started dismantling electrical wiring by removing all sockets. If wiring is done in plastic boxes along the edge of the floor, series of houses P-3, then after removing the sockets, dismantle these boxes. Aluminum wires will be laid in the boxes, which are dismantled along with the boxes.
Dismantling electrical wires
Hidden in concrete walls There is no need to remove the wiring. Only after removing the sockets, bite off the exposed ends of the hidden wires and, just in case, insulate their ends.
Removing lighting wires
Take your time to remove the lighting wires. If the lighting is embedded in the cavity ceiling tiles, old wires can help retighten them. To do this, you need to find junction boxes in each room. Most likely they will be in the door area. Open the box, unwrap all the twists and find the wires going to the lights.
If the old wires are laid in the cavities of the slabs, then by hooking up new wiring to them, you can re-tighten the wiring.
Re-wiring in slabs
If re-tightening is not possible, then dismantle the old junction box, insulate the hidden wires and leave them in the wall. Then simply seal the installation areas of the old junction boxes with plaster mortar.
Removing the electrical panel
If there is an electrical panel in the apartment and you want to completely change it, then the old panel is dismantled. If the panel was recessed into the wall, then the old place can be used for a new panel. If the shield is installed openly, then dismantling the shield will not cause any difficulties at all.
If the circuit breakers and the input circuit breaker (or batch switch) are installed on the floor, then the old circuit breakers can be dismantled later, when you replace the old circuit breakers with new ones.
Old circuit breakers in the floor panel.
Some nuances of dismantling electrical wiring
Speaking of complete dismantling electrical wiring, I want to note that by removing all the old wiring, the apartment will be left without electricity, which is not very good, especially since they will be renovation work. There are two ways out of this situation.
First option. Do not dismantle one or two outlet circuits. Accordingly, do not dismantle the circuit breakers of these circuits.
Second option. Completely dismantle the electrical wiring, and build so-called temporary shelters for work needs. A temporary structure is temporary electrical wiring from old or already installed new circuit breakers. Temporary wiring is done openly, with protected cables. True, according to safety regulations at construction sites, temporary lighting wiring is done from a 36-volt step-down transformer, and power sockets are located only in power panels and tools are powered through extension cords. If desired, this approach to temporary wiring can be applied in an apartment.
When renovating an apartment, it may be necessary to replace the electrical system. Preparatory stage is the dismantling of wires and sockets in the kitchen and rooms. Study the wiring diagram to easily locate the wire in the wall and disassemble the electrical panel.
Electrical wiring in residential premises gradually deteriorates. Some problems may indicate the need to replace the wiring:
- non-working sockets, and they can fail one by one;
- increased fragility of aluminum wires, which can be noticed when replacing lamps or switches;
- the presence of sparks when turning on and using various electrical appliances;
- unpleasant smell of burning plastic.
It is worth replacing the electrical wiring in an apartment after 10–20 years of its operation.
In all cases, replacement implies removal old wiring.
Dismantling tools
Set for dismantling electrical wiring terminals and other elements electrical system comprises:
- screwdrivers different sizes: flat and cross-shaped;
- pliers;
- electrical tape;
- indicator screwdriver (multimeter);
- grinders and hammer drills;
- flashlight;
- rubberized gloves;
- detector hidden wiring.
Dismantling procedure
Before work, be sure to turn off the power in the house or apartment.
Lighting wires
It is not necessary to dismantle the old wiring as the first step. First, you can install new wires. They can be pulled through the cavity of the slabs. To do this, find a junction box, which may be near the door or in the corner of the room.
Open it, unroll all the twists and determine which wires go to the lighting sources. If they run along the ceiling, new wiring can be attached to them.
If this is not possible, then the junction boxes are dismantled, and all hidden wires are insulated and left in the wall. The places where these boxes were located are sealed with plaster. You can remove the old cable in the wall later.
If the wires are in the kitchen, the separation may go into the hallway or bathroom, depending on the location of the rooms.
Removing the electrical panel
Before starting work, you need to prepare a kit for dismantling electrical wiring terminals and check whether the electricity in the apartment has been turned off. After this, you can proceed directly to action:
- after a power outage in the bathroom or kitchen, the voltage on the panel is checked separately. To do this, you can take an indicator screwdriver. If you attach it to the upper terminals, then regardless of the location of the machines, it should light up on phase, but not on zero. The indicator on the lower terminals should not light up when the machines are turned off;
- you need to unscrew the clamps on the lower terminals, and then remove the wire strands from them. Similar work needs to be done on plugs, that is, protection devices;
- after that, remove the fasteners that held the electrical panel and the panel itself;
- Carefully inspect the insulation of the wires behind the shield and, if necessary, restore it.
Sockets and switches
Removal of sockets and switches is carried out in the following sequence:
- remove the device;
- remove the installation box;
- cover up the resulting hole mortar. You can use plaster or gypsum;
- After a day you can glue the wallpaper.
If such electrical installation work is carried out on plasterboard wall, then from similar material you need to cut a piece slightly larger than the hole itself. It needs to be glued to the wall and additionally screwed with self-tapping screws.
After this you can delete hidden electrical wiring, since finding it in this case will be much easier.
Chandeliers and lamps
The process of dismantling chandeliers and lamps occurs as follows:
- de-energize the device - turn off the circuit breakers and RCDs;
- remove the chandelier from the mounting strip or hook. Before doing this, you need to check again with an indicator screwdriver to see if there is voltage. Disconnect the wires from the chandelier;
- After removing the lamp, the wires must be insulated to avoid electric shock.
Disassembling the electricity meter
Before dismantling the electricity meter, you must obtain permits. Equipment disassembly is done in the following sequence:
- de-energize the meter by turning off the switch. Check for voltage;
- disconnect the wires from the clamps, first remembering their location. For convenience, you can mark them with a marker;
- pull the counter down and then forward to remove it from the bar.
Important nuances
If dismantling electrical wiring It is performed in a residential apartment or in a house; it is impossible to leave the premises completely without electricity. You can get out of this situation as follows:
- do not dismantle one or two socket chains and the corresponding bags;
- perform complete dismantling of electrical wiring, but install temporary wires - temporary wires coming from old or already installed machines. They are being made open method, while all cables are protected. There are safety requirements for temporary sheds: the use of a step-down transformer from 36 V is allowed. The location of power sockets is possible only in power panels, and it is better to use extension cords to power tools.
Not all electrical work can be done independently.
Wiring in a house or apartment can last about 25 years. After which it needs complete or partial replacement.
Replacing electrics in an apartment should begin with dismantling the old electrical network. At first glance, it seems that removing sockets, switches and the cable itself from the wall is quite simple, but even in such an undertaking, difficulties may arise. For example, not everyone knows how to find a wire running in a wall, but it is also advisable to remove it before laying a new line.
Step 1 – Prepare the tools
First you need to collect tools that may be useful during de installation work. At a minimum, you should have on hand:
- Screwdriver Set
- Pliers
- Insulating tape
- An indicator screwdriver, or better yet, a multimeter
- Grinder and hammer drill
- Flashlight
- Rubberized gloves
- Hidden wiring detector
Regarding the latter, it would hardly be advisable to purchase a detector for a single case.
Step 2 – Dismantling work
When all the tools are collected, you can proceed to dismantling the old wiring yourself. First of all, turn off the power in your house or apartment. To do this, we turn off the input circuit breaker in the panel, as well as the group packages, if any (just in case).
Use the indicator to touch the two connectors and make sure that the light is not on. The multimeter should show no voltage in the network.
When the power is turned off, we proceed directly to dismantling. We begin removing the old wiring by disassembling the switchboard - disconnect the wires after the introductory circuit breaker and remove all group circuit breakers and RCD (for sockets, lighting, individual electrical appliances). When the shield is disassembled, we move on to dismantling sockets and switches.
There is no need to explain for a long time how to remove old switches and sockets. Simply unscrew the screws, remove the housing and disconnect the wires from the clamps.
Don't forget about chandeliers and wall sconces, they should also be removed when dismantling the wiring.
Lastly, dismantling is carried out electric cable. It is good if the electrical wiring is carried out in an open way. In this case, the cable is simply removed from the box, and a new one is pulled in its place. You can simplify the process even further by attaching the end of the new cable to the old one. During pulling, the new wiring will replace the old one.
As for the electric meter, if you want to dismantle it (move it to another place or replace it altogether), then first of all you need to obtain the appropriate permission from management company, because To dismantle the electricity meter, you will have to remove the seals.
Things get more complicated when you need to dismantle hidden wiring in the wall. In this case, the first thing to do is find where the old power line runs. The easiest way is to visually inspect the walls. Where prominent plaster seams will be visible, it will most likely pass cable line. If there are no visual differences, you will have to use a detector that will show where the old electrical wiring runs that needs to be dismantled.
We draw your attention to the fact that if you change the wiring diagram, it is not at all necessary to remove the electrics located in the wall, especially if they are located in voids panel house. It will be enough to simply insulate the ends and wall up the line, and draw a new one in another place. This will simplify the dismantling process.
If you nevertheless decide to dismantle the old electrical wiring with your own hands, then after finding the route for laying the cable, use a grinder and a hammer drill to cut through the plaster and take out the laid cable line.
All the actions described in this article can be performed by yourself, but, as we have already said, it will be better if they are carried out by qualified electricians who know all the rules for carrying out installation work, as well as safety precautions
There are often situations when it is necessary to replace the electrical wiring of an apartment. However, for this you need to know a lot and understand many things. To carry out work on replacing the wiring, you must either contact specialists or do this work yourself.
Reasons for the need to replace wiring
Naturally, there may be other reasons why a wiring change is required.
Stages
- dismantling the old wiring (which they prefer not to do, simply “burying” the old wiring in the wall);
- installation of new wiring;
- Finishing work.
Removing old wiring
To dismantle the old electrical wiring of the apartment, no special effort, but care and caution will still be required. Let's start with a list of the tools needed for this job. To do this, first of all, you will need the following:
- rubberized gloves;
- pliers;
- indicator screwdriver;
- insulating tape;
- flashlight.
Before starting work, you need to turn off the power supply to the apartment. To do this, you need to open the entrance power supply panel and turn off all the circuit breakers that power the apartment.
It would not be superfluous to explain how the electrical panel is disconnected. This is done like this: the supply cable goes from the riser to the central (main) machine. This cable is always located at the top, and the wires leading to the apartment groups go from below.
First of all, it is necessary to turn off the main circuit breaker, thereby de-energizing the rest of the circuit. However rest, it’s also best to turn it off.
Before disconnecting the wires, you need to check the absence of voltage on them using an indicator screwdriver (phase indicator). If the phase indicator shows no voltage, then you can disconnect the wire, but if not, then you will have to look for the error.
In order to ensure the safety of work, it is necessary to check everything with an indicator screwdriver, without rushing to take the wires with your hands. Before removing the apartment group machines, you must carefully ensure that there is no voltage.
As a result, there should be only one machine left in the switchboard to which the cable is connected: the main one. All circuit breakers and jumpers must be removed, only the wires going inside the apartment should remain.
This applies only to phase wires, since neutral wires are connected directly to the panel body. Just in case, after disconnecting and removing, you need to check with a phase indicator for the absence of voltage on all sockets and switches.
If there is no voltage anywhere, then you can begin dismantling the wiring, starting with dismantling switches, sockets and lighting fixtures. You don’t have to remove old wires by simply “burying” them in the wall and removing unnecessary protruding ends (or by properly insulating them).
If you need to remove the old wiring completely, then you will need just one device - a device for detecting hidden wiring. With its help, you can detect the route of passage, after which, turning off the power, use a wall chaser to open the route and, having removed the old wiring, lay a new one there.
This is how work is done to dismantle old wiring in an apartment. The main thing that needs to be remembered is the need to comply with safety regulations and the mandatory care and caution when carrying out such work. Information on installing new wiring was included in a separate article.
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What to do if the wiring in the house is faulty or needs to be replaced to be able to use powerful equipment? Dismantling will be required, which is done by “biting off” all the cables coming from distribution box and current-sensing elements. It is possible to cope with this task and home handyman provided you have a small list of tools and the necessary knowledge. If the work turns out to be more complicated than it seemed at first glance, it is better to call an electrician.
Features of dismantling electrical wiring in the house IN modern buildings increasingly prefer open wiring, which simplifies access to the cable. You can replace it very quickly, but with the wiring closed type everything is more complicated. To get out old wires embedded in the wall, the technician will have to use a wall chaser or a hammer drill. You can, of course, leave them under the plaster, but where is the guarantee that they will not interfere with the installation of new wiring? Another disadvantage is possible oxidation of the cable, which will lead to stains on the repaired surfaces of the walls and ceiling. Not every home has a diagram that clearly marks where the wires go. Dismantling is carried out by cutting them off from the de-energized electrical panel in advance. You can learn more about the features of dismantling work in the section http://elektrodoka.ru/demont. You can also call a specialist there if you can’t handle it on your own.
What tools will be needed for dismantling work? All types electrical installation work require the use of almost identical tools. This universal kit for dismantling electrical wiring includes: - electrical wire cutters for cutting wires;
- pliers;
- indicator screwdriver;
- cable knife;
- voltammeter;
- screwdrivers (flat and Phillips). You will also need more expensive equipment - a hammer drill or wall chaser. With these devices you can quickly get to the wires running in the walls. Some craftsmen try to tear out the cable without using a hammer drill, but this is fraught with severe damage to the plaster and breakage of the current-receiving elements. Eliminating the consequences of such actions can be more expensive than buying or at least renting a power tool.
Remember about safety precautions: a reminder for the home handyman If a person decides to dismantle the electrical wiring on his own, rather than turning to specialists, he must know the basic safety rules:
Before starting dismantling work with the wiring, it is necessary to disconnect it from the power supply and make sure that the wires are no longer energized (this can be done using an indicator or a voltammeter);
- prohibited use insulating materials, which were not specifically designed for electrical work;
- availability of special tools and protective clothing is mandatory;
- when subsequently replacing the wiring, you should use cables that are suitable in their parameters for the planned load.
Compliance with the rules is the key to safe and correct execution work on dismantling old wiring.
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