How to make an outlet in the floor

The owners of small-sized Soviet-built apartments are hardly familiar with a similar problem. They are used to the fact that sockets are located on the walls. Well, in fact, where else? On the wall it is both accessible and safe - it will not flood with water and no one will kick or step with a foot.

But imagine some room in a luxurious country house with an area of ​​100 square meters or more. Let us suppress the impulses of, of course, white envy (and, perhaps, sincere hatred of luxury?) And imagine, let’s say ... a synthesizer. A synthesizer that fits perfectly into the interior according to the design idea. Maybe it's some kind of electronic organ. And at the behest of the omnipotent designer, this body should stand precisely in the middle of the room, not at all against the wall.

Needless to say, the idle extension cord stretched to the instrument from an outlet in one of the walls will completely destroy all the pathos of the interior in such a situation? And how to power this damned synthesizer? The only solution that may come to mind is floor mounted outlet.

Regardless of the type of flooring, an outlet in the floor must be planned before the interior decoration. The best option is to extend the cable of the required section in advance plastic or grounded steel pipe. The pipe can subsequently be filled with a screed or simply covered with adjustable floors on the logs.

In the pipe, of course, not one cable can pass, but a whole bundle. Indeed, in the center of the room can be a real media center, which may require a telephone connection and an Internet cable. Perhaps there will also be cables for the speakers.

After laying the flooring, we outline the place for installing the outlet and proceed to the most interesting. Which outlet should I prefer? It is clear that the socket for outdoor installation is not suitable - do not stumble then about it!

Therefore, some install on the floor a conventional socket for hidden wiring. If there is empty space under the floor, then a wall socket is placed for hollow walls, and if the floor is a concrete screed, then a wall socket is installed for solid walls. The hole for the second type of socket is hammer drill with crown, and the podrozetnik itself is attached with alabaster. Since they can spill water at any time on the floor, the outlet is selected with curtains. Whatever it is - but protection.

Only this protection will not be very. If there is a puddle on the floor, then the water will inevitably penetrate into the space of the undergrowth, causing a short circuit there. The socket itself, in any case, rises somewhat above the floor surface, which means that it can be stepped on or hit and broken by the fragile plastic of the body.

Therefore, it is best and safest to install not the sockets for hidden wiring we are used to, but special sockets for installation in the floor. Similar sockets and fittings for them are produced by some well-known manufacturers of electrical products, such as Legrand, Simon Electric.

Their products are often a rotating hatch, on the inside of which there is a 220-volt outlet and, for example, an RJ45 network connector. This whole structure is mounted in a prepared hole in the floor. When the sockets are not needed, they simply retract inside, closing the hatch completely in the sweat at the level of the floor covering. When there is a need for sockets, they can easily be brought out by lightly pressing the hatch.

The degree of protection against various influences on floor-mounted sockets is not very high - IP 41 or IP 44. But, nevertheless, they are much more reliable than traditional sockets, because liquid cannot collect in their mounting hole (if there is a space under the floor is empty), and the side mechanical shocks to these outlets are not scary as long as they are closed. Moreover, the case of “floor” outlets is often made of metal.

Some companies, for example, Ecoplast, produce floor mounting boxes for a certain number of modules. They are good in that you can put in them the most ordinary sockets for hidden wiring for a total of up to 12 pieces.The lid of such a box can be matched to the floor, and when closed, the box can not even be seen.

Alexander Molokov

See also: Retractable Outlet Blocks: Usage and Connection Practices