Old chisel
Masonry or whatever the wall is made of
Better use a steel flush box.
Here're a couple of pics of my home-made patch panel which goes over a door and is hinged.
Help me out with my re-wiring project? (Ethernet)
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Old chisel
Masonry or whatever the wall is made of
Better use a steel flush box.
Here're a couple of pics of my home-made patch panel which goes over a door and is hinged.
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Hi,
Looks like this wall is made of brick or blocks with plasterboard essentially glued to the surface of it. It's called dot and dab. Owain is saying you hit a blob of glue and it does look that way so you need to make the space for the box using elbow grease, a hammer and a chisel.
Try to go slowly and take your time, you can take more block out, but can't easily put it back in. Essentially you will be knocking lumps out of a wall until your box, or a suitable alternative fits.
For a hole the size you are making there is no real risk the wall will fall down, it's just going to be messy and time consuming and noisy. You should really wear safety glasses or just be careful. Drilling holes in bricks makes breaking them out more accurate. Drilling a line of chosen depth holes would make this much easier.
Good luck
Graeme
Looks like this wall is made of brick or blocks with plasterboard essentially glued to the surface of it. It's called dot and dab. Owain is saying you hit a blob of glue and it does look that way so you need to make the space for the box using elbow grease, a hammer and a chisel.
Try to go slowly and take your time, you can take more block out, but can't easily put it back in. Essentially you will be knocking lumps out of a wall until your box, or a suitable alternative fits.
For a hole the size you are making there is no real risk the wall will fall down, it's just going to be messy and time consuming and noisy. You should really wear safety glasses or just be careful. Drilling holes in bricks makes breaking them out more accurate. Drilling a line of chosen depth holes would make this much easier.
Good luck
Graeme
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Okay, cool. Thanks, guys.
One more question, I want to run a cable from under my brother's floorboards to the socket I've installed. I successfully avoided the vertical stud (which is just to the left of where the back box is fitted, around 1.5cm away), but there is a joist between the bottom of the division and the floorboards. Is it safe to drill through that, as it's a structural joist? Also, there is an electrical wire running fairly close to the area where I am working, as my mother has a socket on her wall a few inches away from where the socket is on my brother's side of the wall.
I think the power cable runs on the other side of the stud or something, as there is no sight of it when I looked into the hole I made for the back box.
Basically I can't get the cable up the hollow (except studs) wall, as there is a joist at the base of the wall.
One more question, I want to run a cable from under my brother's floorboards to the socket I've installed. I successfully avoided the vertical stud (which is just to the left of where the back box is fitted, around 1.5cm away), but there is a joist between the bottom of the division and the floorboards. Is it safe to drill through that, as it's a structural joist? Also, there is an electrical wire running fairly close to the area where I am working, as my mother has a socket on her wall a few inches away from where the socket is on my brother's side of the wall.
I think the power cable runs on the other side of the stud or something, as there is no sight of it when I looked into the hole I made for the back box.
Basically I can't get the cable up the hollow (except studs) wall, as there is a joist at the base of the wall.
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Ah and can I put a dry lining back box into the wall if it's dot and dabbed? (If we chisel the dab out)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009S50H9C It's one of those. Single gang 35mm. I'd prefer it to be sinked into the wall rather than protruding from the wall, to be honest.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009S50H9C It's one of those. Single gang 35mm. I'd prefer it to be sinked into the wall rather than protruding from the wall, to be honest.
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Ok, I've bought a chisel (30mm), and I'll use a hammer and chisel to go through the (mortar?) dab.
The only boxes I have ever fitted to a brick wall were steel boxes. Not even sure if a dry lining box would fit.
Chisels are for wood so this one is going to get pretty much knackered hitting brick. I used a cold chisel (different from a chisel) to remove a brick.
Anyways, I guess the plan is to remove all the material behind the box to allow it to be fitted. If this is the case then it's just a matter of carefully chipping away at it. It's going to take some amount of tapping or drilling to do it.
Wear goggles, take it slow and have dust sheets down and a Hoover at hand.
Graeme
Chisels are for wood so this one is going to get pretty much knackered hitting brick. I used a cold chisel (different from a chisel) to remove a brick.
Anyways, I guess the plan is to remove all the material behind the box to allow it to be fitted. If this is the case then it's just a matter of carefully chipping away at it. It's going to take some amount of tapping or drilling to do it.
Wear goggles, take it slow and have dust sheets down and a Hoover at hand.
Graeme
This is the type of box I fitted
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Electrical/d190/Boxes+&+Pattresses/sd2634/Metal+Box+1+Gang/p14570
The 25mm refers to the depth ensure you buy the correct depth
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Electrical/d190/Boxes+&+Pattresses/sd2634/Metal+Box+1+Gang/p14570
The 25mm refers to the depth ensure you buy the correct depth
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Do you have to order it or can you just pop in?
EDIT: Just ordered one - I'm certain 2.5cm will fit just fine! (If not it was only 37p, so not too much wasted ahah)
Thanks for everything so far, @Bilabong007. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow - hopefully it'll all be up and running live within a week or two. :/
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People, is it okay if I drill a hole (big enough for 4 cat5e cables, with room made for a potential upgrade to cat6/cat6a in the future) into the bottom plate of the division wall between my mum's and brother's room? (The wall is a hollow plasterboard wall, other than the studs and plates.).
If it's safe to do this (there are studs across the wall, too, so surely a fairly small drill hole in the bottom plate at the corner (ish) of the wall won't cause any issues with the structural integrity of the house, would it?
If it is not safe to do, how will I get the cat5e cables up from under the floorboards in my brother's room, into the wall and to the back of the wall plate?
If it's safe to do this (there are studs across the wall, too, so surely a fairly small drill hole in the bottom plate at the corner (ish) of the wall won't cause any issues with the structural integrity of the house, would it?
If it is not safe to do, how will I get the cat5e cables up from under the floorboards in my brother's room, into the wall and to the back of the wall plate?
yes.
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So for the socket in my room, I've gone the easy route:
This project is almost finished. All that is left is to run more cables to my brother's and mother's sockets, and also unite all 6 cables under my brother's floorboards. Then the plan is to go down through the porch, through the living room wall, and to the router, where the connections will be made. (Yeah, the sockets aren't actually connected yet).
So what needs to be done is: drill through the bottom plate on my brother's socket, to get the wire from the floorboards up to the socket. My mum's socket is on the other side of the same wall, so can be done at the same time easily.
Then the bit down from the porch also needs to be done. I'll keep you guys posted - thanks for your help so far!
So what needs to be done is: drill through the bottom plate on my brother's socket, to get the wire from the floorboards up to the socket. My mum's socket is on the other side of the same wall, so can be done at the same time easily.
Then the bit down from the porch also needs to be done. I'll keep you guys posted - thanks for your help so far!
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Job done, I'll add more info when I have the time, but long story short all cables connected and it works.
Good job
Well done!
Graeme
Well done!
Graeme
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Yeah that electrician seems to have been a little... I dunno... but he drilled and had to stop because he hit a stud :') Then he moved across a little as if that hadn't happened and carried on, leaving me with a hole to fill ahaha. And no, a certificate of minor works was not issued, at any point.
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UPDATE: I bought a gigabit switch and noticed my brother's ports were only running at 100Mbps as the lights were orange for both of his connections. This was confirmed by Windows.
I am concerned that this is because I used CCA cable for his socket. Mine is operating fine, and is going over a further distance, on pure copper cat5e, with green lights.
Therefore, I've ordered some pure copper UTP cat5e cable (100m) and I plan to replace it, but the carpet in his room is down now. See the following pictures, and captions...
Where the 'cat6' CCA cable comes into my brother's room, from under the floorboards, and to the backbox. The carpet is fitted fully with grippers.
The cabling coming into the porch, from brother's room. Bundled with this is my cabling also. (2 cat5e cables, 2 CCA 'cat6' cables).
Cabling going from the porch into the living room. where the router is. Direct hole through.
The cabling coming into the living room...
And all these wires go into this gigabit switch.
That's the layout, but if you see on the final image... the fourth light is orange! This indicates that the port is not hitting gigabit. The same is true for the fifth light if he is using that port also, but all the others are always green...
This is why I'm wanting to replace the awful CCA cabling, but I do not know how best to do this? I cannot take up the carpet in the bedroom, that's for sure.
Any suggestions, I will be hugely thankful.
I am concerned that this is because I used CCA cable for his socket. Mine is operating fine, and is going over a further distance, on pure copper cat5e, with green lights.
Therefore, I've ordered some pure copper UTP cat5e cable (100m) and I plan to replace it, but the carpet in his room is down now. See the following pictures, and captions...
Where the 'cat6' CCA cable comes into my brother's room, from under the floorboards, and to the backbox. The carpet is fitted fully with grippers.
The cabling coming into the porch, from brother's room. Bundled with this is my cabling also. (2 cat5e cables, 2 CCA 'cat6' cables).
Cabling going from the porch into the living room. where the router is. Direct hole through.
The cabling coming into the living room...
And all these wires go into this gigabit switch.
This is why I'm wanting to replace the awful CCA cabling, but I do not know how best to do this? I cannot take up the carpet in the bedroom, that's for sure.
Any suggestions, I will be hugely thankful.
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