The subtleties of installing outlets in drywall

The advantages of gypsum plasterboard walls are undeniable: they are heat resistance, sound insulation, and environmental friendliness, in addition, the optimal price and speed of construction. At the stage of initial finishing, for the most part, electrical wiring is mounted in the wall, switches and sockets are installed. The regulations for installing sockets into a wall made of gypsum plasterboard are not significantly different from their installation in walls made of concrete or brick. Nevertheless, drywall has some peculiarities and this should be taken into account before performing work.

Of course, installing outlets in drywall is much easier when compared with other materials, but, with all the advantages, it also has imperfections. In particular, it crumbles extremely easily and when working with it, the use of ordinary self-tapping screws is not allowed.

Also, when working with drywall, it is unacceptable to use an impact power tool. - all work is carried out using a drill and a special tool for drywall (for example, knives or jigsaw files).

When mounting outlets in drywall, you should use specialized installation boxes, called socket boxes (glasses). Installation boxes for plasterboard walls differ from concrete auxiliary equipment by the presence in their design of special fasteners that are pressed against the plasterboard.

Socket boxes for drywall are produced, as mentioned above, with a special mounting method. Outwardly, they look like a plastic glass. There are 4 screws on the front side. Two of them are above the others. They are necessary for attaching specifically to the steel frame of the outlet itself.

The other screws, which are located just below, are responsible for mounting the socket itself into the drywall. At the bottom of the glass there are specialized holding presser feet. Their location can be adjusted with these cogs. When the screw is tightened, the foot is attracted to the gypsum board. Such a device ensures reliable installation of the socket outlet and guarantees that the socket will not jump out of the wall at the first opportunity.

Two methods are practiced for arranging electrical wiring and sockets in the gypsum board:

• at the stage of construction construction;
• at the stage of finishing works.

For the process to proceed easily and quickly, you need to worry about auxiliary tools:

• The main tool is an electric drill with a specialized crown, which not only speeds up the process, but also makes all the work easier. The standard crown diameter for this type of work is 68 mm.
• Tape measure for measuring the location of future outlets.
• Building level for monitoring the correct installation.

• Marker or pencil for marking.
• Phillips screwdriver - used both for mounting the socket box and for securing the socket core. It also fixes the electrical wires.
• A simple indicator to determine if there is voltage on the electric wires or not.

When determining the location for switches and outlets, not only must the instructions and building specifications be followed, but also the purpose of the outlets. In other words, the places where household electrical appliances will be located in the future: refrigerator, split system, TV, etc.etc., it is necessary to organically fit into the general atmosphere of the room.

Today, when installing outlets, many use European building regulations, the recommendations of which take into account the distance of the outlets from the floor:

• from the floor level in any room - 30 cm;
• above the working area of ​​the kitchen (countertop) - 120 cm;
• for a washing machine or dishwasher - 100 cm;
• for switches - 80 cm (the level of the pubescent hand);

The distance from the wiring to be laid to door and window openings should not be less than 10 cm.

Basically, such an arrangement is convenient, however, at times you have to deviate from these principles.

For example, it is customary to mount sockets in the kitchen (usually double, triple) directly above the countertop. This arrangement makes it possible to quickly connect and disconnect household appliances without bending over again. In parallel with the electrical outlets in the kitchen, you can install a water socket.

The procedure is as follows:

Before embedding a socket into the drywall, you need to drill a hole for the glass:

• with the help of a pencil, a place is outlined where the socket will be fixed;
• an electric drill or a screwdriver with a crown on drywall is taken;
• the sharp segment of the crown is placed in the center of the marked mark;
• a hole is carefully drilled (if there is no drill, you can use jigsaw files);
• holes for switches are made in the same way.

Once the hole is made, materials and all tooling are prepared, installation work can begin. Depending on the installation technique, the sequence of work is also different. If the electric cable is fixed in the wall, all that remains is to put in the socket and connect.

And if electrical wires are supposed to be routed along the outer side of the wall, a groove (cut) is cut in the drywall, an electrical wire is drawn and fixed with a quick-hardening compound (for example, alabaster). The ends of the wiring are brought out at a predetermined level in the required places.

The following stages of installing the socket with your own hands are as follows:

• We mount the socket box. Before installing the glass, you need to cut a hole for the wires with a knife on its back surface. If you look at the body of the glass, you can see 4 screws, 2 of them are needed to secure the socket itself, and 2 to adjust the spacer legs. First, we remove the electrical wire from the hole and pull them through the glass. Then we mount the glass in drywall, fixing it with the bolts on the opposite side with the clamping lugs.

• We putty. Usually, after installing the socket and testing the system for serviceability, it is the turn of the initial finishing. Only after the starting and final layers of the putty have dried, the subsequent installation of the socket is carried out.
• We connect the power supply to the outlet. Before making the connection, make sure that there is no voltage in the line (you can check using a conventional indicator). We connect the phases "ground" and "zero" to the proper contacts on the socket housing and tighten the wires tightly so that after a while the electrical contacts do not weaken and the plastic housing does not start to melt.

• We mount the socket into the glass.The rosette is mounted in the glass and fixed in it with the appropriate screws. After that, we install the plastic frame and front cover. We check the fit to the wall; if necessary, we loosen the screws of the pads of the shoe and carry out the adjustment.

In some cases, instead of the well-known socket with hidden electrical wiring, overhead-type electrical outlets are used. For them, you do not need to drill holes in the walls and mount installation boxes (glasses). And the wiring itself is not carried out under a drywall structure, but along its top.

This method is not very attractive from an aesthetic point of view. The overhead socket is massive. Wires running along the walls do not add consistency to the interior of the room. But in some episodes this is justified, in particular, when the distance between the GKL structure and the concrete wall is too small - less than 45 mm, and there is no perforator at hand.

Also, electrical wiring laid outside and overhead models of sockets are often used in design ideas when decorating rooms in a loft, retro or steam-punk style. In such cases, specialized fire-resistant electric wires in stable non-combustible insulation are used. They can also be in a corrugated sleeve.

The electrical wiring is fixed to the wall by means of clips, and the socket is simply screwed to the drywall by means of screws, like an overlay. The advantage of this location is that at any time you can change the location of electrical household appliances and the socket together with it.

In order for the installation of outlets in drywall to be carried out as correctly as possible, it is advisable to adhere to the following recommendations:

• Take into account the presence of empty space between the drywall and the main surface of the wall (it must be at least 4.5 cm and the glass must be freely placed in the base). You can deepen the base base with a hammer drill or chisel.
• Even at the stage of mounting the structure from the gypsum board, in the place of the planned installation of the outlet, it does not interfere with bringing the wiring outside with a margin of 20-30 cm.
• When installing multiple devices, use the building level for correct striping and installation of outlets.

• It is necessary to conduct electrical wiring inside the structure only to protect electrical wires from possible mechanical influences (in a corrugated sleeve) in order to minimize their damage during installation or operation.
• It should be borne in mind that when creating holes, you can bump into the metal profile on which the gypsum board is based. Use a powerful magnet to prevent this from happening. Attach it to the wall, and guide along the surface, so find out if there is a metal profile behind the overlap.
• If, nevertheless, contact with a metal structure occurs, then you should not despair. Since you do not need to transfer the holes for the sockets to another place. A fragment of the profile that hindered the work is cut off with scissors for the iron or knocked out (bent) with a simple chisel.

• Making repairs, you, most likely, have thoroughly calculated everything. But after a certain period of time, it may be necessary to install an additional switch, you will need to hang a picture or change the location of wall lamps. And then, chaotically laid wiring can be a fundamental problem. Since with a hammer drill or an electric drill, you can safely damage the hidden wiring and make a short circuit. To avoid such surprises, arrange electrical wiring parallel to the floors, adding a few 90 degree turns. It is advisable to fix the gasket scheme: sketch out a plan, sketch, or just take a picture at least on the phone.Then, in a few years, you will be able to drill walls at any point without obstacles and doubts without any undesirable consequences for electrical wires.

Mounting an outlet into a plasterboard wall is quite simple and can be done by hand. Following all of the above recommendations, a procedure such as installing electrical outlets in a gypsum plasterboard wall will be implemented most correctly and in the shortest possible time.

For information on how to choose and install a socket in drywall, see the next video.