Sockets in stone walls

[littlebandit]

HI everyone

 

At Easter I will be installing a kitchen in a traditional stone cottage and my question is the best way to 8 fix electrical sockets.

Is it best to surface mount to sockets with the cable in the mortar

Should I chisel out the stone to sink sockets into the wall (I'm reluctant to deform the stone)

Or is there anything such as a large trunking that the sockets could be installed in then the trunking screwed to the wall. I would like to add and dosn't look horrible.

I'm not a permanent resident at the moment so I don't know what's about

Regards

Littlebandit

[AnOther]

I don't think cable in mortar is acceptable. I believe French reg's require all wiring to be in conduit, or gaine I think it's called.

One option you might like to consider is retractable sockets, something like THESE for instance, but not 13A of course !

They are available in France but not sure where.

[Alex H]

In our kitchen and bedroom, we have stone walls. The electrician who rewired the house used a diamond saw to cut channels in the stone and fit the wires in plastic 'gaine'. These were then plastered over with lime plaster. You can just about make out where the channels are if you look hard. If you have exposed stone, however, this method would look terrible [:(]

[Anton Redman]

I would install an wooden false back or upstand to the worksurfaces with a shelf scribed to the wall on top then run the cables in gaine through the space you have created. Shhelf should be thiner and therefore easier to scribe than the worksurfaces.  

[carnige]

No it does not if it is done well. I raked out the joints for the gain and picked an appropriate spot for the socket. The sparky then fixed the back box with some adhesive but obviously not proud of the stone. He then completed the wiring and after I repointed the gain and around the the socket to match with existing lime mortar. Hope this helps

[raindog]

I've run gain through stonework at our place. The gain will often have to make tight bends round stones so pull the wiring through first! For the sockets I first fixed the 'boitiers' in place with plaster, slightly proud of the stonework, then built up a neat square surround, with the same mortar as the joints, to make them flush. (hope that makes sense)[:)]

[littlebandit]

Thank you everyone that has responded, running the gain won't be a problem, the mortar is very sandy and crumbles when you look at it. I think my problem is that I want to fit 8 sockets and to get them level so that they look good is going to be difficult unless I cut the stone away whch I don't really want to do. So I was fishing for ideas

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="littlebandit"]Thank you everyone that has responded, running the gain won't be a problem, the mortar is very sandy and crumbles when you look at it. I think my problem is that I want to fit 8 sockets and to get them level so that they look good is going to be difficult unless I cut the stone away whch I don't really want to do. So I was fishing for ideas[/quote]

If that is the case, then I'd go for Antons idea (which I have used myself a couple of times) - can't think of much else.

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

Just a variation on Anton's suggestion would be to mount all the sockets on 'plank', such as a piece of recovered floor board, attached to the wall at a suitable height above the work top. His idea sounds neater and easier to do but this might fit better with the style you are trying to achieve.

[George]

Another idea would be to install the sockets under the wall cupboards if you have them of course.  I have seen it done, literally fixed flat to the underside of the cupboard and thought it a clever idea.  the cables then run in conduit inside the cupboards.  One problem with that is if the cupboards aren't full length of the run, another is the trailing cables might not look too good, but a thought anyway.[:)]

 

[BIG MAC]

depends on the worktop yo are using but another trick is to cut a section of the same and use it as a splashback upstand with the rear routered to recieve containment sockets can then be set surface or rebated and the upper edge of the upstand filled with a mortar fillet to make the distance back to the stonework.