ᐅ When is the best time to connect utility services to the house?

Created on: 17 Mar 2022 11:43
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Pinkiponk
Our house (a prefabricated timber frame construction) will, as you know, be assembled next week. In your opinion, when would be the best time to bring the utility lines into the house without damaging walls or tiled floors? We have a utility shaft; electricity, gas, water, sewage, and media lines are already on the property.

I thought it should be done right after the house is assembled (i.e., the shell), but my husband believes it should be done once the interior is fully finished.
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motorradsilke
17 Mar 2022 13:17
At least the plaster should be applied (will you get plaster?), at least the wall where the connections will be installed should be finished. You can’t do anything behind the connections later on.
In our case, water was connected after the interior plastering, and electricity only after the screed, when the first tiles under the radiator were already in place. This was mainly due to the electrician’s delay, who simply failed to apply for the connection in time.
But the question is, have you applied for everything yet? For us, the utility providers then told us when they could come. The electricity connection was done just shortly before moving in.
Mahri2317 Mar 2022 13:59
At our site, the utility connections were installed and connected to the house 1.5 months after the start of construction, shortly before the pipe installation, heating/plumbing/electrical work began. This was scheduled in the project timeline and was carried out accordingly. 🙂
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netuser
17 Mar 2022 16:03
From my point of view, basically as late as possible but as early as necessary.

You already have temporary construction power and water... so the rest should be installed "as late as possible" inside the house. This way, no tiles or similar finishes get damaged, and the cables can be pulled cleanly through the distribution cabinet. Although, it just occurred to me that it might be better to prepare the distribution cabinet (depending on manufacturer/design) before tiling, so the tiles can be installed neatly around it afterward...

Otherwise, it’s beneficial if the utility room is fully prepared (tiled, painted, etc.) before any installations on the walls take place. Otherwise, it becomes tedious and unattractive when the walls have to be painted around all the equipment and pipes.

Ultimately, the exact timing will be dictated by the utility providers. Key points to consider are a “lockable room” and so on.

Good luck and enjoy next week!
We made ourselves comfortable in the garden with chairs and watched the activity with fascination 🙂
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Pinkiponk
18 Mar 2022 10:30
netuser schrieb:

We had made ourselves comfortable in the garden with garden chairs, etc., and were watching the activity with fascination 🙂

We would like to do the same, but I find that a bit too voyeuristic and intrusive. ;-) I was actually planning to stay unnoticed within sight and watch from there, so to speak incognito.
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netuser
18 Mar 2022 10:38
Pinkiponk schrieb:

We would like to do that too, but I find it a bit too voyeuristic and intrusive. ;-) I was actually thinking more of staying unobtrusively within sight and watching from there, so to speak incognito.

Hmm. It seems we have opposing views on voyeurism 😉

The construction workers definitely wouldn’t mind!
Just place a couple of crates of drinks there and maybe treat them to coffee and/or lunch... That’s anything but intrusive and helps create a relaxed, open atmosphere. At least that’s been our experience...
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motorradsilke
18 Mar 2022 11:46
Pinkiponk schrieb:

We would like to do that too, but I find it a bit too voyeuristic and intrusive. ;-) I actually planned to stay unobtrusively within sight and watch from there, incognito, so to speak.

It’s your house, so it’s perfectly normal for you to watch.
Just imagine how often I’ve looked over the tradespeople’s shoulders here.