ᐅ Electrical outlets: Always prepare in groups of five? What is the best approach?
Created on: 31 Jul 2019 12:52
C
Christian K.
Hello everyone,
We are doing the electrical installation ourselves, and I had planned to drill boxes for five outlets each, but only use, for example, two of them. The rest would be covered and plastered over. The advantage would be that if I later need more outlets, I can remove the plaster and expand the outlet.
Now I’ve heard that making this flush with the wall is problematic. I would have to use spacer rings or similar. Also, the effort to simply drill new boxes later wouldn’t be any greater. In other words, the effort is higher if I drill more boxes in advance.
What do you think?
One more point that came up later: We are running NYM 7x2.5mm² cables per room for the outlets. The idea is to be able to measure and switch five outlets, and the rest are constant power. The problem is that connecting a 7x2.5mm² cable inside a device box with an outlet is not possible due to limited space. My idea is therefore that if, for example, I have a double outlet, I will install at least one additional empty box nearby to make the cable connections.
So more specifically, my questions are:
a) Is it worth pre-drilling?
b) What should I keep in mind during installation so that it is not visible later?
c) Do you have a better solution for cable connections in an empty box?
Cheers
We are doing the electrical installation ourselves, and I had planned to drill boxes for five outlets each, but only use, for example, two of them. The rest would be covered and plastered over. The advantage would be that if I later need more outlets, I can remove the plaster and expand the outlet.
Now I’ve heard that making this flush with the wall is problematic. I would have to use spacer rings or similar. Also, the effort to simply drill new boxes later wouldn’t be any greater. In other words, the effort is higher if I drill more boxes in advance.
What do you think?
One more point that came up later: We are running NYM 7x2.5mm² cables per room for the outlets. The idea is to be able to measure and switch five outlets, and the rest are constant power. The problem is that connecting a 7x2.5mm² cable inside a device box with an outlet is not possible due to limited space. My idea is therefore that if, for example, I have a double outlet, I will install at least one additional empty box nearby to make the cable connections.
So more specifically, my questions are:
a) Is it worth pre-drilling?
b) What should I keep in mind during installation so that it is not visible later?
c) Do you have a better solution for cable connections in an empty box?
Cheers
C
Christian K.31 Jul 2019 15:27Lumpi_LE schrieb:
Either I misunderstood him, or you misunderstood me, or vice versa.
As I understand him, he wants to connect the sockets after about 5 years. Not exactly. In some places, I currently think a triple socket box is sufficient. Therefore, I would like to install a triple box but drill five holes right away so that, for example, in 5 years I can easily convert the triple box into a five-gang box.
C
Christian K.31 Jul 2019 16:04seat88 schrieb:
But you still have to close the two remaining holes. At least for now...
That means you'll have to drill again in, for example, 5 years anyway... That's why I think it's pointless. Yes, the opinion on this is clear. I will therefore not do it. Your arguments are understandable.
But I will have to install a junction box for the connection, right, or do you have another idea?
I see the greater challenge now or later not so much in drilling, but in managing the future outlet boxes. The cables to these boxes should already be installed at this stage. Considering the need for some individual circuit control, this creates quite a tangle of spare capacity, for which I expect that a "multi-gang box" will be necessary just to accommodate everything. Compared to the option of installing "all five ports immediately," I think the only difference you save is between two box inserts and two blank covers. For me, streamlining the extension cord mess is one of the main reasons for electrical upgrades in general. However, it is hard to predict what the future will hold: in twenty years, we might have many small devices that use a successor to the current USB standard.
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Christian K. schrieb:
Yes, the opinion on this is quite clear. I will not do it that way. Your arguments are understandable.
But I will have to use a blank junction box for the clamping, right, or do you have another idea? You should use deep mounting boxes and do the clamping in one of the boxes that are already there.
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