The chance of hitting a line while drilling in the wall is not statistically very high. But if you hit one, the damage is huge. Good that there are ways to locate a cable in the wall. We’ll show you how to find power lines in the wall.
How to find wall studs: 8 ways
Find power lines in the wall: here’s how
Before drilling, you should be sure that there are no pipes or lines in place
When drilling holes and a power or water pipe is hit, this is not only annoying and the repair consuming, but can also be life-threatening. Especially in rental apartments, it can be a problem if you do not know about the laid lines. It is best to first find out where the cables are going before you hang a picture on the wall, for example. But how do you find power lines in the wall.?
Attention: If a power line has been damaged, you should always inform an electrician to correct the damage properly.
If you do not have an electrical installation plan with the wiring drawn in, look closely at the wall. Where are sockets or light switches? They will help you find power lines in the wall.
Normally, power lines always run horizontally or vertically in the wall. If a professional has laid the cables, they run according to this scheme and at a distance of 30 centimeters to the ceiling and floor. Here you will learn how to install flush-mounted cables professionally.
In a properly built house, you can actually find the location of electricity and water pipes with a spirit level by going out from the sampling point and then measures towards distribution box or main water line. Do not drill on these horizontal or vertical lines!
However, there is no guarantee that the power lines will be in these locations. Especially in old buildings, which date back to before 1950, the cables were partially criss-crossed. Cables were expensive and material was saved. Therefore, it may also be good that in this case a flush-mounted bridge was laid diagonally and by the shortest route in the wall. So if you live in the old building and are not sure, you should definitely resort to a licensed electrician if not an electronic helper – the line finder or line seeker.
Find power lines with the line finder
A line finder works much like a metal detector. If you drive over the wall with this device, you will see where the cables are. The tracking devices are available from as little as 20 euros in the hardware store, branded products can cost up to 100 euros, but are still cheaper than a professional repair. Here we have tested different cable finders for you.
This is how the line finder works
In many cases, the pipe finder not only has a metal detector, but other measuring instruments. A so-called “multi-locating device” combines three detectors:
Metal detector: An inductive sensor evaluates differences in its coil voltages, which are caused by metallic objects. The metal changes the magnetic field of the coils.
Detector for non-conductive objects such as wood or plastic: This locates the “capacitive sensor”, which measures the surrounding electric field and its change by a non-conductor (dielectric).
The antenna sensor detects electric fields (50/60 Hz) of live power lines. The sensor will only strike when current is flowing.
Gerhardt Richter is a writer and a trainer at trade technical colleges, specializing in carpentry, plumbing, mechanics and construction.
