How to Renovate Water and Electricity in Prefabricated Slab Houses
Renovating water and electricity in prefabricated slab houses requires careful planning, with a focus on wiring safety, material replacement, and construction methods. The key points are as follows:
1. Wiring Design Should Avoid Structural Risks
The floor slabs of prefabricated slab houses are prefabricated components. Horizontal grooving can easily damage the internal steel reinforcement structure, leading to a decrease in the load-bearing capacity of the floor slab. For lamp wiring, vertical grooving should be prioritized, with construction carried out along the base of the wall or the skirting board. The groove depth should be controlled between 1.5 and 2 centimeters to avoid cutting the load-bearing steel bars within the prefabricated slab. If new circuits are required, it is recommended to route wires from the floor to the wall, threading them through newly opened holes to the target location to reduce direct damage to the prefabricated slab. If the house is planned to have a suspended ceiling, all wiring can be hidden within the ceiling. Threading pipes through holes in the ceiling eliminates the need for grooving on the surface of the prefabricated slab. However, it is important to note that the wiring pipes should be arranged in a radial pattern to avoid localized stress concentration caused by concentrated perforations. For prefabricated slab walls that are already tiled, running wires along the ceiling is a safer option. This requires threading pipes through holes in the floor slab, but the area of the wire grooves will increase by about 50% compared to a standard floor-running scheme, so a plan for covering the wall decorations in advance is necessary.
2. Safe Construction Requires Enhanced Fixing and Protection
When renovating water and electricity in prefabricated slab houses, if old flooring materials are removed, open pipes can be laid directly and fixed. Use metal clips or dedicated pipe fixing components to reliably fix PVC pipes or metal water pipes to the floor or wall, with a spacing of no more than 80 centimeters to prevent pipe displacement. If the floor needs to be restored, tiles can be laid over the open pipes, or a mixed mortar can be used for leveling followed by the installation of wooden flooring, ensuring that the pipes are completely covered and have no exposed parts. It is strictly prohibited to directly cut horizontal grooves on the surface of the prefabricated slab. If horizontal wiring is absolutely necessary, the wires should be wrapped in waxed tubes, and the groove depth should be controlled to no more than 0.5 centimeters. At the same time, the grooves should be filled and reinforced with cement mortar.
3. Material Replacement Requires a Complete Upgrade
Prefabricated slab houses are mostly built in the early stages, and the original water and electricity pipelines may have problems such as aging and rusting. It is recommended to replace all wires and water pipes in the house during renovation: For wires, choose flame-retardant BV wires or BYJ low-smoke halogen-free wires, with specifications selected according to power consumption needs (e.g., 2.5 square millimeters for lighting, 4 square millimeters for sockets, and 6 square millimeters for air conditioners). For water pipes, prioritize PPR pipes or stainless steel pipes to ensure corrosion resistance and service life. When replacing, the main valve should be closed, and old pipelines should be removed section by section to avoid residual hazards. If water circuit renovation is involved, the water pressure should be retested to ensure no leakage; after circuit renovation, the insulation resistance should be tested with a megohmmeter, and the grooves can only be sealed after passing the test.
