1st fix electrics and stud walls

[Lincolnshire Ian]

Hi all

We have the electrician on site in a couple of days to start the first-fix. He is a super-polite guy, and I want to make his job as easy as possible.

Our stud walls are up, but I don't have any plasterboard fixed (some walls are strengthened with OSB board, but not all).

Do electricians usually do first-fix in stud partition walls which already have plasterboard on one side, and maybe noggins to support the back box? Or, is it normal for electricians to lay first-fix with just the partition stud-work in place?

Just wondering how much humble pie I will need to eat

Thanks

 

[Oz07]

Normal as it is. I'd say it would be unusual to plasterboard 1 side first. They will bang their own noggins in as needed. No stress

[JohnMo]

1 hour ago, Lincolnshire Ian said:

and maybe noggins to support the back box

Aren't you using this sort of back box with plasterboard, so no additional supports are needed?

 

[Mattg4321]

24 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Normal as it is. I'd say it would be unusual to plasterboard 1 side first. They will bang their own noggins in as needed. No stress

This. 
 

Dry lining/plasterboard boxes are not as good as metal knockout boxes and nogs in my opinion. 
 

If one side is already boarded it can sometimes make it slightly trickier to wire, so prefer not. 

[ProDave]

It's a personal thing but I like dry lining boxes.  Buy the Appleby ones like the picture above, they are good and reliable.  Some other makes with different methods of locating them can be dreadful. 

 

My top tip.  Run socket cables horizontally around the room at socket height all the way round, with a bit of slack in the cable every now and then.  Then in the future you can cut an extra hole in the plasterboard anywhere and add an extra socket, you know the one you forgot you might need.

[Thorfun]

29 minutes ago, ProDave said:

My top tip.  Run socket cables horizontally around the room at socket height all the way round, with a bit of slack in the cable every now and then.

This is a top tip that I followed. And not only for the you say it also saves a lot of cable by not going up and down to the ceiling every time!

[ProDave]

Tip No 2.  If you have a stud wall that is OSB boarded one side (for racking), BEFORE you fit the plasterboard, cut a hole in the OSB bigger than a socket box.  Then cut the correct size hole in the plasterboard once fitted.