ᐅ Basement: Surface-Mounted or Flush-Mounted Wiring?

Hello everyone,

Our new build is currently under construction, being delivered as a turnkey project. All electrical wiring in the basement is installed surface-mounted, which is quite common for basements.

However, I am considering converting one basement room into a home office in a few years, and I would like it to have a more finished, “livable” appearance. Therefore, I want to ask how complicated it is to later change from surface-mounted to flush-mounted installation. I am especially thinking about the ceiling light outlets and electrical sockets on the basement exterior walls.

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Baunovize

If this is your plan, have it built that way now. The staircase isn’t really the issue, but the light outlet will come from the ground floor. Ask your electrician and have the critical points prepared now; later on, it will be (planned) patchwork!

Thank you for your response. You hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, for various reasons, I can no longer intervene in the planning. I would be interested to know how the lighting outlet is handled if it does not come from the ground floor. At first, I thought of a suspended ceiling, but with a ceiling height of 2.30 meters (7 ft 7 in), that probably isn’t an option.

Normally, the cables are already laid within the precast concrete slab, but in your case that will be too late. Alternatively, if you don’t have a floor structure on the ground floor yet, you could drill through the ceiling and run the lamp cable over the ground floor to the switch.
If you don’t want to do this now and later cannot lower the ceiling due to ceiling height, the only option left is surface wiring.

Surface-mounted wiring is not necessarily unattractive. Have you ever seen the switches in old Tuscan villas? There, the cables are also surface-mounted, and the look is very cozy and aesthetically pleasing. For example, take a look at Gi Gambarell or other manufacturers that are not listed in the standard electrician’s catalog.

Baunovize schrieb:

Sockets in the basement exterior walls

If the basement is constructed as a waterproof concrete shell (white tank), I would avoid that. If necessary, only install sockets on a drywall partition in front of the exterior wall or use surface-mounted sockets, for example mounted on skirting boards.

Indirect lighting using continuous wall mouldings (with a light-colored painted ceiling) can also create a very cozy atmosphere, or alternatively several large floor lamps.