ᐅ Chases in Exterior Walls – Should They Be Filled with Mortar?

Hello everyone,

As part of routing the wiring for the lamps on the exterior facade, we will need to cut a few grooves into the masonry (Poroton).
They won’t be very deep, of course, but with Poroton, larger pieces can sometimes break out unexpectedly.

Question for the group:
What should I use to fill these grooves after the cables are installed? That is, before plastering.
Regular mortar? Or do I need to consider potential thermal bridging? Are there insulating mortars available?
Or is this not really relevant and will be addressed by the exterior plaster?

Thanks and best regards

Appel2000 schrieb:

Or is that not really relevant and regulated by the exterior plaster?

Do you want to run the lamp cables on the outside? Usually, you drill a hole from outside to inside and chase a groove on the inside. Then you pull the cable through. Fix the cable with some plaster. The rest is taken care of by the render.

Yes, unfortunately, we have to do it on the outside.
About 30cm (12 inches) per light, no more than that.
But still, it has to be done.

Appel2000 schrieb:

Yes, unfortunately, we have to install it on the outside.
About 30cm (12 inches) per lamp, no more than that.
But still, it has to be done.

Why outside? 30cm (12 inches)? What does that mean exactly? 30cm (12 inches) from what?

Set the router to 0.5–1cm (0.2–0.4 inches). The exterior plaster itself is already 1–2cm (0.4–0.8 inches) thick. Fix it in place pointwise with plaster or nail clips. You don’t need to do more than that.

About 30cm (12 inches) of slot per lamp.
Supply lines pulled outside in protective conduits, over the precast floor slab before it was concreted.
Now the supply lines are naturally at the level of the floor slab, but the client wants the lamps lower.
So I have to chase the wall downward.

I thought to set the wall chaser as shallow as possible.
However, I am more concerned about the larger pieces that tend to chip off the stone during chasing.

Appel2000 schrieb:

About 30 cm (12 inches) slot per lamp.
Feed lines pulled through protective conduits to the outside, over the precast concrete slab before it was cast.

Does the protective conduit run from the distribution box or switch all the way to the end?

Appel2000 schrieb:

The feed lines are now, of course, at the level of the floor slab, and the client wants the lamps lower down.

Classic...

Appel2000 schrieb:

I am more concerned about the larger parts that unfortunately tend to chip off the block sometimes when milling.

If a large piece really gets damaged, you can use some mortar. Grade Mg 2 should be sufficient. But anything smaller than a fist size can typically be repaired by the plasterer.