Hello everyone,
During my research on home construction, specifically regarding "how much and what kind of electrical work is needed in a house," I came across Ewl-Instakit.
Their business concept is that the homeowner carries out the electrical installation themselves, with only certain parts performed by professionals or, afterwards, having the system inspected and approved by a certified electrician. The inspection of the electrical system is a mandatory requirement for subsequent insurance coverage.
One possible wall construction design we are considering includes an installation level between the exterior wall insulation and drywall, as well as interior walls built with timber stud framing.
Especially with this installation level, it should be relatively easy to route the necessary cables into the future rooms and distribute them within the drywall partitions. Therefore, we are currently thinking about whether the option to pull the cables ourselves and then have them connected and inspected by professionals could represent a potential cost-saving measure. Besides EWL, there are certainly other electrical contractors who might be open to supporting a partial installation, especially when the components are purchased from them.
a) Are there any recent experiences with EWL?
b) Has anyone here done more electrical work themselves with a local electrical company than just chasing cable ducts?
c) What is the general opinion in this forum regarding this approach? Are there any insights on how much effort cable pulling involves for a 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) house?
I look forward to the discussion.
During my research on home construction, specifically regarding "how much and what kind of electrical work is needed in a house," I came across Ewl-Instakit.
Their business concept is that the homeowner carries out the electrical installation themselves, with only certain parts performed by professionals or, afterwards, having the system inspected and approved by a certified electrician. The inspection of the electrical system is a mandatory requirement for subsequent insurance coverage.
One possible wall construction design we are considering includes an installation level between the exterior wall insulation and drywall, as well as interior walls built with timber stud framing.
Especially with this installation level, it should be relatively easy to route the necessary cables into the future rooms and distribute them within the drywall partitions. Therefore, we are currently thinking about whether the option to pull the cables ourselves and then have them connected and inspected by professionals could represent a potential cost-saving measure. Besides EWL, there are certainly other electrical contractors who might be open to supporting a partial installation, especially when the components are purchased from them.
a) Are there any recent experiences with EWL?
b) Has anyone here done more electrical work themselves with a local electrical company than just chasing cable ducts?
c) What is the general opinion in this forum regarding this approach? Are there any insights on how much effort cable pulling involves for a 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) house?
I look forward to the discussion.
C
Christian14425 Oct 2020 09:12T_im_Norden schrieb:
The first question is: can you do it, and do you feel confident working with electrical systems?
The second question is: how long will it take you compared to a professional electrician, and what happens if you don’t meet the schedule and other trades have to wait?
Also, I would use 5-core cable instead of 3-core. Good morning, I definitely feel confident, but I want and need someone experienced to advise me. There’s a reason this profession requires three years of training.
And the second point I’m still considering is the concern that I might underestimate the time required—especially with electrical work, as you mentioned, everything depends on that timing.
Mycraft schrieb:
a+b) You can’t really say that in a general way. A very common mistake in electrical installation. The length of the cable also has an effect. Roughly speaking, if you exceed 18 meters (about 60 feet) in length, you either need to use 2.5 square millimeter (about 17 AWG) cable or protect it with a 13A fuse, and then you can’t count on having 12 outlets anymore. That’s true. I had always thought the length would only matter from 20 meters (about 65 feet) onward. This was more of a rough guideline. Apart from maybe the living room and kitchen, I don’t see the need for that many outlets. But you’re right, it definitely needs to be planned and calculated carefully, and I am realistic enough to admit that my knowledge as a trained automotive mechanic is certainly not enough.
It also seems that no one here on the forum has experience with that internet company either, so that option is off the table.
C
Christian14425 Oct 2020 09:22danixf schrieb:
Why is an intercompany arrangement absolutely necessary? If we decide to go for it, I would prefer a locally based company. I just know that many are not open to such a project, and the online offer is usually aimed directly at DIY work.
Christian144 schrieb:
If we decide to go with this, I would prefer a local company. I just know that many are not open to such a project, and the online offer is at least directly aimed at DIY work. Sounds almost too good to be true. I played around with the prefab kit calculator. For a standard single-family house, here’s what comes up:
200m (650 feet) NYM 3x1.5 - if you install and wire it yourself, you actually don’t use a 3-core cable but always 5-core. Besides, 200m (650 feet) is far too little.
0m (0 feet) 5x1.5 - interesting that they completely omit the 5-core cable. You can’t control thermostats that way.
25x cable clips - so you can maybe use one clip per groove. With your wall construction this is probably irrelevant, but still an amusing number.
35x sockets - I believe we have around 40-50 just in the living/dining area. Here, 35 are planned for the entire house. Even the most basic work specifications from general contractors/developers nowadays include more.
Sure, you could probably negotiate again with them, but it doesn’t really seem well thought out. You will have to expect quite a bit of extra cost. The €4000 (~$4,300) quoted to me here is almost the same as having the electrical installation done by a professional on site.
Request quotes from local companies. The trades are still booming despite COVID. There will surely be some who can squeeze in a one-day job somewhere in between.
Hello
In my house, I installed 4,500 meters (approximately 14,764 feet) of wiring myself, including electrical, alarm system, telephone, and more. I chiseled all the channels myself, ran a lot of cables under the suspended ceiling, and laid conduit pipes in the basement ceiling with cables pulled through them. I spent about three months working after hours and on weekends (not continuously, as I was also doing other tasks). For example, in my workshop, I installed 64 power outlets, plus one outlet and a switch for three-phase power. I planned everything myself because I know better where I need electrical points than the electrician does.
OK, you need a licensed electrician to approve the work, but it saves a lot of money.
Steven
In my house, I installed 4,500 meters (approximately 14,764 feet) of wiring myself, including electrical, alarm system, telephone, and more. I chiseled all the channels myself, ran a lot of cables under the suspended ceiling, and laid conduit pipes in the basement ceiling with cables pulled through them. I spent about three months working after hours and on weekends (not continuously, as I was also doing other tasks). For example, in my workshop, I installed 64 power outlets, plus one outlet and a switch for three-phase power. I planned everything myself because I know better where I need electrical points than the electrician does.
OK, you need a licensed electrician to approve the work, but it saves a lot of money.
Steven
T
T_im_Norden25 Oct 2020 12:09The NAV does not object to this, as it concerns the area between the meter and the supplier.
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