Concealed Electrical Work: Do It Right Before the Wall Is Closed
Electrical conduits and junction boxes embedded within brick walls are permanent installations. Inexperienced electricians frequently cut chases haphazardly, weaken structural walls, or fail to secure boxes flush with future plaster lines. Use this verification protocol before allowing plasterers to start.
1. Wall Chasing & Pipe Placement
- Machine Wall Chasing: Wall chases should be grooved using an electric double-blade wall chaser with vacuum extraction, not hammered manually with chisels which shatters surrounding brick mortar.
- Horizontal Chasing Limits: Horizontal chases longer than 1.5 meters must never be cut into load-bearing brick walls because they structurally compromise the wall's compressive load capacity.
- Depth of Conduit: Conduits must be recessed at least 12mm to 15mm below the brick surface so that a solid layer of plaster covers the pipe. Conduits that sit flush with the brick will cause plaster over them to crack and buckle.
2. GI Mesh Over Wall Chases
Before plastering over any chased conduit, nail a 150mm wide strip of Galvanized Iron (GI) chicken wire mesh over the chased slot. The mesh acts as tensile reinforcement across the groove, permanently preventing hairline cracks from tracing the conduit run.
3. Circuit Segregation & Dedicated Lines
- Heavy inductive loads (Air Conditioners, Water Heaters/Geysers, Kitchen Ovens, EV Chargers) must have dedicated home-run circuits with individual MCB protection (minimum 4.0 sq.mm copper wire).
- Power wiring and low-voltage signal wiring (Internet LAN CAT6, TV coaxial cables, CCTV lines) must run in separate conduits separated by at least 150mm to prevent electromagnetic interference and buzzing noise.