Cut a channel into chimney breast

[bernardgreen]

i always wondered...

when they have those bricks with 3 holes in them, why can they not be made so the holes line up when laid? this would make it ideal to put a conduit down to run the cables in the walls..

Difficult as the mortar clogs the holes as it is intended to make a keyed joint between bricks.

if they know the locations of sockets and light switches they could even use special "half bricks" to put the back boxes into whilst building the wall..

I have seen that done

if ever i get enough cash to build my own house from dirt to smoke then I'm gonna look into it..

For self build I would advocate a non brick method.

 

[Trazor]

If you are determined to install your plasma with hidden wiring, install a false front to your chimney breast.

 

[stevesey]

i always wondered...
when they have those bricks with 3 holes in them, why can they not be made so the holes line up when laid?

Because they have 3 holes

If you wanted them to stand a chance of lining up they'd need to be 4 hole brick.

When we had our extension built I did all the wiring and plumbing. Went out each night and angle ground channels in the brickwork they'd done that day (and drilled joists, bent pipes etc). Also got them to miss the odd brick out for shower/tumble drier vents etc.

 

[apj101]

what i may do is just chisel 2-3 small grooves for the wires directly, the wall has been plastered at some point in the past so there may be a few cm to play with there and may not need to dig into the brick too far

I know that i will have to hack the wall again in 3-4 years when i upgrade technology, but i mean itll be due for decoration again in 3-4 years anyway.

 

[apj101]

If you are determined to install your plasma with hidden wiring, install a false front to your chimney breast.

I thought about that, but then you have the problem were the built out wall meets the picture rail/coving what do you do around the coving.

 

[davelx]

If you are determined to install your plasma with hidden wiring, install a false front to your chimney breast.

I thought about that, but then you have the problem were the built out wall meets the picture rail/coving what do you do around the coving.

You remove it first, put the false front right up to the ceiling then install new picture rail/coving to suit.

 

[apj101]

If you are determined to install your plasma with hidden wiring, install a false front to your chimney breast.

I thought about that, but then you have the problem were the built out wall meets the picture rail/coving what do you do around the coving.

You remove it first, put the false front right up to the ceiling then install new picture rail/coving to suit.

I like the idea, but where will i get this old Victorian coving. Its huge.....id love to be able to find some....any ideas?

 

[ColJack]

plaster of paris, some old hessian sacks and some of that stuff they make dental impressions out of...

I was at one job where they had to fix a ceiling that had been cut when they previously made one room into 2..
they just made moulds of the coving and all the detail work and made their own out of plaster of paris with hessian in it for strength.. ( scrim i believe it is called..)

as for the 3 hole bricks.. the center hole goes over the joint of the bricks below but the outside holes could meet up.. they might need to adjust the brick mould a little to get them to match up exact..