Lay electrical wiring yourself?

Hello

In my house, I have laid 4,500 meters of cables (electricity, alarm system, telephone, etc.) myself. I chased all the slots myself, laid a lot under the suspended ceiling, installed empty conduits in the cellar ceiling and pulled cables through them. I worked on it after work and on weekends for 3 months (not completely, I also did other things during that time). For example, in my hobby room, I have 64 sockets, one outlet and a switch for three-phase power. I planned everything myself. I actually know better where I need what kind of electric installation than the electrician.
OK, you need to have a master electrician who cooperates. But it saves a lot.

Steven

I also did almost everything myself and pulled about 4.5 km of cables in total.
Planning and effort are not to be underestimated. Like Steven, I took about 3 months.
You should have an electrician on hand who can answer ongoing questions,
otherwise it gets difficult. You definitely save a lot. But I would do it again anytime,
because during this time you constantly get more ideas that you implement continuously.

The general sequence was roughly as follows:
1. Planning phase.
The most important phase ever!
The furniture must be drawn into the finished floor plan, and only then do you plan sockets, lighting, network, etc.
Simply putting a double socket in every corner is not, in my opinion, the right approach.
Of course, to be safe, you can put a double socket here and there.
But I find that most sockets should be positioned very individually.
Even the electrician cannot help with that.
I measured and labeled every socket, switch, light outlet, etc. in the floor plan and printed it out for the construction site. Nevertheless, I made some corrections on site here and there.

2. Created a material list for the entire electrical installation (cables, switches, network cabinet, control cabinet (and corresponding components), satellite system, etc. Basically the complete electrical installation.
Here I had support from my electrician. Otherwise, I would have been lost.

3. Requested quotes from several online vendors.
Even here, price differences of up to 30% occurred.

4. Marked the ground floor.

5. Cut out openings for sockets, chased the slots, chiseled and drilled holes.

6. - Pulled cables over the filigree ceiling for the ground floor
- Pulled cables over the filigree ceiling for outdoor lighting, awning control, network, etc.
- For the outdoors from the ground floor only for a few sockets we forgot and for the garden house.

7. Installed flush-mounted boxes and fixed cables.

After that, there was a break until the upper floor was finished being built.

8. The same procedure as on the ground floor, only the cables had to be routed over the floor and ceiling.
The workload was actually less but still more time-consuming because the cables had to be pulled and fastened at the floor and ceiling.

8.1. Attic done in parallel with the upper floor (sockets, lighting, satellite, network, solar, etc.)
Small tip on the side: As long as the exterior scaffolding is still up, I would possibly mount, e.g., the satellite dish and align it with a sat finder, install a weather station if it is located on the roof, set up cameras or install under eaves lighting.

9. Pulled cables for the double garage and workshop (which was only finished being built and roofed later)

Currently, our walls are freshly plastered.
The next tasks are to install and wire the control cabinet and network cabinet (this will be done by my electrician.
Of course, I won’t be there for that).
Install and wire sockets, switches, etc.

I hope I could help a bit

I also did almost everything myself and pulled about 4.5 km of cable in total. Planning and effort are not without challenge. Like Steven, I also needed about 3 months. You should have an electrician at hand who can answer your questions continuously, otherwise it gets difficult. You definitely save a lot. But I would do it again anytime because you always get more ideas during this time that you continuously implement.

The approximate sequence of the process was roughly: 1. Planning phase. The most important phase ever! The furniture must be drawn into the finished floor plan, and only afterwards do you plan sockets, lighting, network, etc. I don’t think just putting a double socket in every corner is right. Of course, you can put a double socket here and there to be safe. But I think most sockets should be positioned very individually. Even the electrician can’t help with that. I measured and labeled every socket, switch, light outlet, etc. on the floor plan and printed it out for the construction site. Still, I made corrections here and there on site.

2. Created a material list for the entire E-installation (cables, switches, network cabinet, switch cabinet (including components), satellite system, etc. So complete E-installation. But I had support from my electrician here. Would have been lost otherwise.

3. Obtained quotes from several online suppliers. Price differences were up to 30% just here.

4. Marked the ground floor

5. Chiseled, grooved, channeled sockets and drilled holes.

6. - Pulled cables over the filigree ceiling for the ground floor - Pulled cables over the filigree ceiling for the exterior lighting, awning controls, network, etc. - Only pulled a few cables over the ground floor for the exterior for sockets we forgot and for the garden shed.

7. Installed flush-mounted boxes and fixed cables

After that, there was a break until the upper floor was finished being built.

8. The same game as on the ground floor, only that you have to pull the cables over the floor and ceiling. The work volume was less but still more time-consuming because you have to pull and fix cables on the floor and ceiling.

8.1. Done the attic in parallel with the upper floor. (Sockets, lighting, satellite, network, solar, etc.) A little tip on the side. As long as the exterior scaffolding is still up, I would possibly mount the satellite dish, align it with a sat finder, install the weather station if it is located on the roof, install cameras or roof overhang recessed lights.

9. Pulled cables for the double garage and workshop (these were plastered and the roof was put on later)

Currently, our walls are freshly plastered. The next tasks are to install and wire the switch cabinet and network cabinet (to be done by my electrician. Of course, I won’t be involved in this). Install and wire sockets, switches, etc.

I hope I could help a bit

Thanks for the detailed description. - Can you estimate how much time you needed for the preparations, i.e., for chiseling the wall cutouts? - How big is your house? - Did you approach the electrician directly and explain what you were planning, or how did you find your electrician?

Regards and thanks again

Thank you for the detailed description. - Can you estimate how much time you needed for the preparations, meaning for chiseling out the wall openings? - How big is your house? - Did you approach the electrician directly and explain what you planned, or how did you find your electrician? Regards and thanks again

- Once everything is marked, one working day per floor should be enough (maximum 2 days). Maybe a bit more on the ground floor. Marking took me longer, depending on how picky you are and what kind of stone you have. - The house is 190 sqm in size - A very good friend of mine is a master electrician. He supported me.

for chiseling out the wall openings?

Hello Christian Borrow or buy a wall chaser and two good diamond blades for sure. Whether to borrow or buy depends on how much time you have. If you can only chisel slots sporadically, it would be advisable to buy a (good) branded wall chaser. Afterwards, you can sell it again quite well. Steven

I only asked because we will be using timber frame construction and therefore the chasing as preparation will be omitted and the "only" execution in the walls has to be carried out.