Once my insulated plasterboard goes up in the garage, do I get sockets and switches done first, or get the plasterer in to skim the walls and ceilings before anything is done with the sockets/switches?
Cheers
JW
JW,
Skimmed first - and then final fix of electrical fittings. Just think of the problems the poor old 'spread' will have going around those sockets, switches and light fittings - and the 'hollows' you will have in the plasterwork when you remove them in the future to change them! ;-)
Unbeliever
You get the electrician in to do "first fix" (back boxes, cabling, etc). Then you get the plasterer in to put up the boards and plaster them. Then you get the electrician back in to do "second fix" (install wiring accessories).
Incidently, I suggest you decorate before second fix. Most painters seem to be incapable of keeping paint off brand new wiring accessories.
Thanks - I imagined that to be the case, but had one of those nagging doubts.
Cheers
JW
Thanks - I did first fix, but a pro will be doing second fix (he agreed to me doing 1st fix). Another pro will do the plastering, but I'll likely be the poor bugger who will be decorating. :-( Think 2nd fix will have to be before that.
JW
In article , John Whitworth writes
You can make life easier for your 'spread' by covering or filling the back box openings before he does his skim. A chap on uk.d-i-y has made some recessed fit plates from plastic and screwed them on with spare fixing screws, I just stuff the box with newspaper and tape over the inside of the box with gaffa tape.
Thanks Fred. The sparky has suggested that I use FastFix boxes. Is the principle the same for those?
JW
In article , John Whitworth writes
I'm not a big fan of dry lining boxes in general, they need the accessory to be fitted and the screws fully tightened to fix them in place which conflicts with the idea of presenting a bump free surface for the plasterer to skim.
If the skim is done with them loose then it can be messy and I've seen plenty of homes with cracks around the flange on the surface of the board.
My advice was for old fashioned metal back boxes which are my personal choice but they take longer to fit and need support behind the plasterboard to fit the box.
Sorry not to have anything specific to offer to improve the fastfix idea.
No problem. I think he suggested FastFix purely so that I could retain some of my insulation that way (55mm Knauf Polyfoam), rather than cutting out a hole, and going right back to the wall.
Cheers
JW
In article , John Whitworth writes
That's handy, hold the FastFix boxes in with some gripfill and that will stop them slopping about during the plastering then you can still use the packing & taping trick to stop them filling with plaster.
OK - thanks Fred.
JW
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