No matter if you build a new home or renovate your current one, it is better to have greater accessibility to your electrical system. There are many reasons why you would want to have accessible electrical wires, and there are plenty of ways that you can make it happen. The following are some considerations for you to make when it comes to the electrical wiring in your home.
Benefits of Making Your Cabling Accessible
When fuses keep blowing, or electrical equipment doesn’t operate properly, you will ultimately want to check the electrical wiring in your home to identify the problem. Unless your wires are highly accessible, however, then this will suddenly become a very tedious task. Not only that, but if you want to maintain, upgrade, or replace existing electrical components in your home, you will need to have easy access to them.
Easy access to electrical panels is also important for the safety of employees, construction workers, or even your own family members, so they should never be blocked or inaccessible. In fact, in a workplace, obstructing electrical panels – such as behind a shelf or table – is actually a violation of Health & Safety regulations.
Lay Out an Electrical Plan
To ensure your electrical wires and panel remain accessible, it’s important that you make a detailed electrical plan for your home before you start renovating or building. Choose a site where the panel is least likely to be disturbed, such as in a closet or basement – but that is easy to access. Consider how you will route the wires through your home, so that they end up at the panel itself, and take note of where any switches, power points, or other devices will be located.
If you’ll be staying in portable buildings throughout the duration of the remodelling or building of your home, then you will also want to devise a plan for how you will direct some electricity from your home to your temporary dwellings.
Concealing Accessible Wires
Although it’s generally good to have accessible wires and cables, you will want to keep them concealed for aesthetic and safety reasons too. You can unobtrusively run wires on the outside of a wall by threading them behind baseboards or, if necessary, behind the casing of a doorjamb.
Drawbacks of Having More Accessible Cables
While the pros generally outweigh the cons, you still need to be aware of safety concerns associated with cables that are too accessible. You should keep them concealed, especially if you have pets, young children, or if your wires are in danger of becoming exposed to the elements. The cables on the outside of your home are in particular need of cover, mainly from the elements and theft.
Get Help from an Expert
If you’re ever unsure about whether your electrical system plan is laid out right or if your cables are in a safe place or not, it’s always a good idea to hire an electrician to look things over for you. Electricians can make sure the job is done correctly from the start, and they can also help make your electrical cabling both accessible and safe.
