Two-room apartments are the most in-demand residential space. As a rule, their sizes and prices are the most reasonable. A family of four can easily accommodate here. However, as practice shows, the layout of 2-room apartments is imperfect, and in order to achieve maximum coziness and comfort, you still have to change something, especially for old buildings.

In Soviet times, houses were most often built without taking into account the needs of residents, so one could only dream of rational distribution. As a rule, these are tiny kitchens, narrow but combined bathrooms or separate but small ones, and much more.

Modern houses, as the layout diagram of a 2-room apartment shows, are more comfortable, but, unfortunately, they also have shortcomings. Most often, they are based on the factor of individuality, which is why many resort to redevelopment. However, in order to avoid problems with moving interior partitions later, you will need to legalize these actions in the relevant organization (BTI). It’s also worth paying attention to one more very important nuance: Under no circumstances should any manipulations be carried out with the load-bearing walls, as this may lead to the destruction of the entire building.

Disadvantages of planning two-room apartments

In order for the living space to be as comfortable and rational as possible, it is necessary to try, as far as possible, to neutralize all the disadvantages at the initial stages. It should be noted that some of them are visible immediately, while others (hidden) emerge only after the work is completed.

So, let's try to figure out the disadvantages of two-room apartments:

Where does redevelopment begin?

The standard layout of a 2-room apartment is indicated in the documents for this housing. There is information about the exact dimensions, location of communications, etc. Naturally, before starting work it is necessary to fully study and analyze all these parameters. It is also worth taking into account the wishes of all people living here. A reliable option is to entrust the drafting to qualified professionals. This will help you completely avoid common mistakes.

Below we will consider four types of the most common layouts of two-room apartments.

Stalinka

Houses that were built in the 40-50s are called “Stalin buildings”. Their layout is enviable: high ceilings, large rooms, convenient location. As a rule, load-bearing walls are only external, and this opens up great possibilities when choosing a design. Often the layout of 2-room apartments in such houses allows you to modify the room without much damage, for example, dividing one large bedroom into two smaller ones. This solution will make it possible to arrange a nursery or office.

Brezhnevka

The houses built during the years of L. Brezhnev's rule have somewhat decreased in size compared to Stalin's times. However, this is not the worst option for old buildings. The rooms are not gigantic, but quite spacious, separate bathroom, kitchen 7-8 sq. m. m. This layout of a 2-room apartment is quite acceptable. If necessary, you can move some partitions, but it is worth considering that in these houses load-bearing walls can extend inside the apartment. Therefore, it is recommended to consult the design organization before carrying out work.

Khrushchevka

An interesting fact is that Khrushchev-era buildings were built as temporary housing, but today this type of house is one of the most common. They are considered the most inconvenient and problematic. This is a critically small kitchen, a small combined bathroom, a narrow corridor, walk-through rooms, etc. The list can be endless, since the layout of a 2-room apartment in Khrushchev has more disadvantages than advantages. However, do not get upset ahead of time. Modern designers offer many successful projects that will help radically transform the interior of such an apartment. The main points of these works:

If you decide to replace the old wiring in a Brezhnevka or Khrushchevka, we recommend viewing two typical wiring diagrams in a two-room apartment panel house. Next, we will not only provide modern designs for placing sockets, switches and junction boxes, but also recommendations for drawing up an electrical circuit with your own hands.

How to draw a plan yourself

If you want to independently draw a plan for the placement of sockets, switches and junction boxes in each room of a two-room apartment, we advise you to consider the following points:

1. There is no need to connect the entire group of sockets or lighting line to one circuit breaker. It is advisable to “split” the power and lighting lines into several groups yourself. For example, one machine is responsible for the light in the hallway and bathroom, and the second is responsible for the lighting in the living room, kitchen and bedroom. At the same time, the socket line diagram in a 2-room Khreuschevka building should be similarly distributed into several groups. We talked about this in a separate article.
2. In order to independently draw a design diagram for electrical wiring in a two-room apartment, use a photocopy of the housing plan. IN this document All room sizes are maintained according to actual values, so later, during installation, you will not have any difficulties with marking the walls.
3. and switches are not regulated by GOST standards and rules, so you can choose the most suitable distance from the floor for your conditions.
4. Each room must have its own electrical box, with the exception of the bathroom. Due to the high humidity in the bathroom, it is better to place the junction box in the corridor and from there carry out the wiring for sockets and lamps.
5. As a rule, developers do not provide electricity to the balcony. This is already done by the homeowner himself. If you decide to do it yourself, you can bring out a separate wire from the junction box of the next room, and not directly from the apartment panel.
6. The panel must be equipped with automatic protective equipment - an RCD and a circuit breaker, which will protect the wiring in a two-room Khrushchev house from short circuits, current leakage and overvoltage of the electrical network.
7. If the room is winding (like the hallway in the second of the diagrams we provided below), it is better to install several lamps controlled by a two-gang switch. Otherwise it won't be good enough.

Ready-made examples

So, for your attention, the wiring diagram for a 2-room apartment in a panel and brick house:

As you can see, for a long and winding corridor it is really better to install several chandeliers that will make the lighting better. As for sockets, there are most of them in the kitchen, because... here you need to connect many household electrical appliances: hood, electric stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, kettle, etc.

To create a wiring diagram yourself, we recommend studying the following articles:

1. How to arrange sockets in an apartment:
2. Correct placement of lamps on the ceiling:
3. How to draw up a wiring diagram before repair:

You may also find the switchboard assembly diagram useful (one of the options):

The only difference is that in your case there will be more single-pole circuit breakers, because Most likely there will be more groups of outlets. Or there will simply be more consumers on one machine if the load does not exceed 3.5 kW per machine. As we indicated in the recommendations, the sockets were divided into several groups, and the wiring was additionally protected by an RCD and. The latter will protect the apartment from overvoltage and equipment failure if the neutral wire breaks, which is a common situation in old housing stock.

We hope that the provided drawings were useful to you. If you have any difficulties when drawing up an electrical wiring diagram in a two-room apartment in a panel house, be sure to ask our specialists in the “” category! Visual photos and video examples electrical installation work You can see in the article: do it yourself.

An important condition when purchasing housing is its layout, which determines the convenience of living in it for all family members.

When purchasing, as a rule, the functional arrangement of rooms, a spacious kitchen, and a sufficient number of window openings are taken into account.

Let's consider popular ideas for planning 2-room apartments, the most popular among consumers.

Features of the layout of two-room premises

Apartments consisting of two living rooms are the most affordable option on housing market, since its total area and cost allows you to equip all the premises necessary for comfortable living.

As a rule, every owner wants to make his home cozy and multifunctional, resorting to redevelopment of the space, regardless of which housing market, secondary or primary, the apartment was purchased on. This is far from a simple and quick matter.

Drawing up a plan for the reconstruction and layout of 2-room apartments requires observing and taking into account some nuances:

• room area;
• location of residential premises;
• location of door/window openings;
• the presence of a loggia;
• presence and location of load-bearing walls,
• features of the passage of communications;
• the number of residents, taking into account the individual distribution of personal space;
• choice of style for the apartment;
• registration of planning permission.

The decision to redevelop the premises you own will be agreed upon and legitimized by the relevant authorities (usually the BTI).

To do this, you need to prepare the following package of documents:

• apartment passport (technical or cadastral);
• property registration certificate;
• reconstruction project plan;
• a detailed description of the actions to redevelop the space, issued in the form of an application on a special form.

These requirements are the same for all citizens living in the Russian Federation without exception.

Disadvantages and advantages of planning

There are residential premises of the secondary and primary (modern) market. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The latter are mainly present on the secondary housing market, built in the Soviet era and represented by standard layouts of 2-room apartments.

Consumers identify the following disadvantages that require reconstruction of such premises:

• small apartment area (especially important for Khrushchev buildings);
• a small hallway, often with a narrow long corridor, which can be changed using original design solutions;
• shared bathroom (some consider this an advantage);
• low ceilings (not related to Stalinist buildings);
• tiny kitchen;
• features of the location of gas communications that prohibit redevelopment due to increased fire hazard.

In modern premises you can encounter the following inconveniences:

• number of apartments on the staircase: as a rule, these are small families with a corridor system, but it is also found in elite buildings;
• isolated rooms;
• a freight elevator borders the largest apartment;
• lack of window openings (especially in large rooms);
• parallel (opposite) placement of bath and toilet;
• poor proportions of the premises.

Due to the high competition in the housing market, developers are trying to make the layout as convenient and multifunctional as possible.

Modern homes therefore have a number of advantages.

These include a spacious kitchen with a ventilation system located outside of it:

• the presence of utility rooms and storage rooms, in luxury buildings - dressing rooms;
• optimal ceiling height;
• large balcony/loggia;
• absence of non-functional areas.

A good trend has become the ability to independently choose the design project of an apartment at the construction stage. Developers offer buyers 2-3 layout options.

The best housing planning option

Among standard requirements modern ideas for planning a two-room apartment are considered the most optimal:

• the number of residential premises should be proportionate to the total area of ​​the apartment (about 70 m2);
• non-residential premises (halls, corridors, dressing rooms) should not exceed 20% of the total square footage;
• A kitchen of 12-14 m2 is considered functional;
• the presence of a protruding part of the visit (bay window) with large window openings;
• the presence of a balcony/loggia;
• ceilings from 2.8 m high;
• windows facing different sides;
• the presence of storage rooms or other necessary utility rooms.
• the presence of bathrooms equal to the number of bedrooms.

In modern premises, the number of bathrooms should be equal to the number of bedrooms.

Varieties of layouts for two-room apartments

The most common options undergoing reconstruction are premises in panel houses and the so-called Khrushchev buildings, which are standard layouts of 2-room apartments.

Standard planning of a residential space (more detailed options can be seen in the photo of the layout of a two-room apartment presented below) comes down to increasing the total area by excluding utility rooms or reducing the square footage of the kitchen, corridor, balcony, pantry.

This distribution of space often does not suit tenants and requires redevelopment of standard premises, regardless of the type of building (panel or monolithic) in which they are located.

As a rule, they resort to combining a bathroom (or vice versa, dividing it), increasing the kitchen space (recently the trend is to create a living room by combining a kitchen and a living room), dividing one large room into two, as well as including a loggia (balcony) in the living area or complete dismantling of walls (apartment - studio).

Let's take a closer look at the most popular types of standard layouts of premises undergoing reconstruction:

The panel houses present the layout of 2-room apartments p44t with a total area of ​​50 - 58 m2.

The premises have two living rooms and a kitchen measuring 8-10 square meters. There is a balcony and a storage room, a separate bathroom. Most often, reconstruction comes down to combining a bathroom and reconstructing a balcony to expand the living space of the room.

New buildings such as I-155 and KOPE-M have a more favorable internal location. The kitchen area ranges from 10 to 12 m2 and depends on the location of the apartment in the house. The total area of ​​the apartment is 50 – 75 square meters.

Among the apartments there is a vest, the layout of a 2-room Khrushchev-era apartment, which is considered the most successful option.

With an area of ​​46 m2, it consists of symmetrically located rooms relative to the bathroom, kitchen and pantry. Convenience lies in the complete isolation of large rooms. Redevelopment is convenient. If the apartment is located at the end of the house and has two on different walls, it is possible to divide this space into two small areas.

A mini-improvement, a two-room Khrushchev house with an area of ​​44.6 m2, is also subject to frequent reconstruction.

The existing pantry with a door opening into the hallway allows you to enlarge the kitchen due to the bathroom, which is moved to the place of the pantry. You can move the partition between the bathroom and kitchen by combining the bath and toilet.

Each tenant decides independently how to improve their living space. An invariable condition when choosing a living space is multifunctionality, convenience and proportionality of the location of the premises, and good natural lighting.

Photo of planning ideas for a two-room apartment

The modern electrical wiring plan for a two-room apartment differs in many respects from previously used diagrams. The fact is that modern loads are simply incommensurate with the loads of the 70s and 80s, when most panel houses.
Back then, the main consumers were a few light bulbs, a TV and sometimes an iron. A modern apartment has a significantly larger number of electrical appliances and, accordingly, needs other power supply schemes.

Open wiring

So:

• Before developing a wiring plan for a two-room apartment, we should decide on its basic parameters. One of these is the method of laying it. On this moment two options are used - open and hidden.
• Open wiring has certain advantages:
  1. To install it, there is no need to trench the walls. That is, you can completely replace all wires without subsequent repairs throughout the entire apartment.
  2. Open wiring is installed very quickly. And with the proper skill and availability of workers, it can be completely installed in literally a day.
  3. If you need to connect new electrical receivers or carry out repairs, you do not need to break down the walls.

• Installation of hidden wiring is carried out in special boxes. In this case, the wire in the boxes usually has additional protection in the form of metal or self-extinguishing corrugated pipe. You can, of course, install it without using special boxes, but this option is more suitable for utility rooms and sheds, but not for apartments.
• Branches to sockets and switches are also made using a special box. And the sockets and switches themselves must be designed for an open circuit.
• An electrical wiring diagram can also be used in a two-room apartment with its installation in baseboards. But this method has significant limitations on the number of wires used and is often used only for wiring in individual rooms or for laying to individual electrical receivers.

Hidden wiring

So:

• More common is the wiring diagram in a two-room apartment using hidden electrical wiring. This method has the following advantages:
  1. Due to the fact that all elements of such wiring are hidden from prying eyes, it has a more attractive appearance
  2. Doesn’t take up free space in our already small apartments
  3. Hidden wiring has higher throughput and overload capacity due to better heat transfer.
  4. Due to the lower requirements for protection from mechanical damage, the price of the necessary materials is noticeably lower.
• Installation of hidden wiring is carried out directly in the structural elements of your apartment. To do this, small recesses are made in the wall - grooves. Wiring is laid in them, followed by plastering.
• To install sockets, switches and distribution boxes, recesses are also made in the wall. They are then installed with sockets and switches designed specifically for the hidden circuit.

Calculation and selection of power supply scheme

Posting calculation

So:

• Before we begin directly calculating our electrical wiring, we need to decide on the number of electrical receivers. To do this, it is necessary to accurately determine the number and location of each outlet and lamp. Without this clear plan, further calculations are impossible.

Note! You should not deliberately overestimate the number of outlets or lighting you require. You only need those outlets to which you know exactly what will be connected. Installing sockets and lighting circuits just in case, significantly increases the cost of your electrical system and increases your labor costs.

• Now having a clear idea of ​​the number of electrical receivers, we can proceed directly to the calculations of the required wire. But the capacity of the wires in clause 1.3 of the PUE (Electrical Installation Rules) is indicated in amperes, and the power of all our devices is usually indicated in watts.
• Using Ohm's law, which everyone should know from school, we recalculate: where P is the power of the device in Watts (W), U is the voltage of your electrical network in volts (V), for a single-phase network the voltage is 220V, and I is This is the current that will flow in the wires in amperes (A).

• Having made a simple calculation, we find that when connecting a 1000W device, a current of 4.55A will flow in our wire. Our instructions advise rounding this value to 5A to create a certain margin and simplify calculations.
• Now let's start choosing the wire. It can be made of copper or aluminum and is insulated with polyvinyl chloride or rubber. The choice should be made in accordance with clause 1.3 of the PUE. It includes a conductor depending on laying conditions, insulation, humidity and some other parameters.
• But all this is quite complicated and with small apartment loads it is not always justified. Therefore, if you are not a design office and are replacing the wiring yourself, then we advise you to use a simplified calculation. According to it, a copper wire with a cross-section of 1 mm2 in normal mode passes a current of 10A, and an aluminum wire with the same cross-section - 5A.

Selecting a wiring diagram

So:

• Having calculated all possible loads, we should divide them into groups. In this case, we will be guided by clause 6.2.2 of the PUE, which states that group lines must be protected by circuit breakers for a current of no more than 25A. At the same time, if you create a separate group for the lighting network, it is usually equipped with a 16A circuit breaker.
• When dividing the load into groups, the power of consumers should be taken into account separately. These include electrical equipment with a power of 2 kW or more. These are usually heating and heating devices. If you have any, then they should be powered by a separate circuit breaker with the appropriate rated current.

• Without taking into account powerful consumers, your wiring plan for a two-room apartment should have two to three groups. One of which is the lighting network and one or two groups are power sockets.
  If you end up with two groups feeding outlets, then it is advisable to form groups in adjacent rooms. That is, one group powers the sockets in the kitchen and hallway, and the second - in the bedroom and living room.

Note! According to clause 7.1.37 of the PUE, installation of sockets in the bathroom is permitted only when connected through an RCD. If you are installing an outlet in the bathroom, it is advisable to include it in the group that powers the kitchen outlets. After all, although sockets in the kitchen do not require the mandatory installation of an RCD, this protection device in the kitchen would be most appropriate.

• Separately, I would like to dwell on the cross-section of the wires used. For groups with a 25A circuit breaker, the copper wire must have a cross-section of at least 2.5 mm 2.
  Accordingly, for groups of 16A, at least 1.5 mm 2. But in any case, the cross-section of the wire feeding a separate group is not advisable to make more wires on the input machine.

In two-room apartments of old panel houses, one often has to deal with imperfect electrical wiring that is not able to sufficiently withstand the load of modern electrical appliances. In such a situation, it is important to replace it with new wiring.

Either completely new apartment You should also take care of the wiring of electrical cables.

Stages of cabling throughout the premises of a two-room apartment

Cable distribution throughout the premises of a two-room apartment should be carried out in the following stages:

• drawing up a wiring diagram;
• calculation of the number of required materials, electrical fittings;
• marking, as well as gating of walls;
• fastening cable wires;
• installation of switches, sockets, and distribution devices;
• assembly of the input panel;
• testing the assembled line using a multimeter.

Let's take a closer look at drawing up the diagram. The wiring diagram for the electrical wiring in the apartment can be drawn up with your own hands, taking into account some recommendations.

An example of wiring layout in a two-room apartment

To draw up a wiring diagram with your own hands, you can use a copy of the apartment plan, where it is very convenient to mark the connection points of lamps, switches and sockets.

various designation elements on the diagram

The starting point of the diagram is usually taken to be the location of the distribution panel, which is often located in the corridor near the front door. When drawing up a diagram with your own hands, we recommend using the following tips:

1. It is customary to run electrical wiring lines in an apartment strictly vertically or horizontally, which helps reduce the risk of damage when drilling walls for various purposes.

   do wiring horizontally or vertically

2. It is better to lay the electrical wiring line 20 cm from the ceiling or along the floor using a special electrical plinth.
   
3. It is recommended to conditionally divide the lighting line and power line into several groups with a separate circuit breaker connected to each group. For example, one circuit breaker will be responsible for lighting the bathroom and hallway, and another will be responsible for the light in the kitchen, bedroom and living room. The layout of the line of sockets in a two-room apartment should also be divided into groups.

   Example wiring diagram and single line diagram with different connection groups

4. Each room (except the bathroom) must be equipped with its own distribution box. It is recommended to install electrical wiring in the bathroom from a distribution box located in the hallway.

   in the diagram you can see the blue circles marking the distribution boxes for each room

5. If the apartment owner wants to make the balcony lighting with his own hands (since the developer does not expect this), you can remove a separate cable from the distribution box located in the next room.

   example of wiring arrangement in a two-room apartment and power supply to the balcony

6. In the case of a large winding room, lighting is best done using several lamps, which will be controlled from a two-key switch. If this condition is not met, then the lighting in the apartment may be insufficient.
7. During installation, it is usually recommended to place sockets 30 cm from the floor level, but they can also be located at a higher height (for example, above the working surface of a table). It is recommended to install at least one socket for every 6 m2 of room. And in the kitchen it is better to make as many sockets as there are household appliances (usually 5-6 pieces).

   location of sockets in the room

8. Before drawing up a wiring diagram with your own hands, carefully plan the future arrangement of furniture and appliances in the rooms in order to subsequently avoid the furniture blocking sockets or not reaching cords from household appliances to power sources.
9. The wiring diagram requires mandatory turn on the RCD (residual current device) rated at 30 mA. For a bathroom, it is better to install an additional RCD with a current of 10 mA. It can protect cables from overheating in the event of a short circuit, current leakage or network overvoltage.

   An example of a single-line diagram of an apartment with a protective RCD after the meter

To draw up a diagram of the electrical wiring in an apartment with your own hands, you first need to take into account the possible load.

Single line wiring diagram is divided into several groups

The calculation of this load has no rules and regulations, but is carried out independently, taking into account the needs of the apartment owners.
Let's consider, as an example, the possible load on the electrical wiring in the living room. There may be an air conditioner, a TV, a computer, and also other electrical appliances (iron, hair dryer, etc.) may be temporarily connected.

The sum of the powers of each of these devices will be approximately 3 kW. In addition, there is a lighting network in the living room. This could be a chandelier with a power of 400 W and 6 lamps with a power of 60 W each. A total of 760 watts.

It turns out that the total power required for the living room is 3760 W. Then we make the same approximate calculation for other rooms of the apartment and add up all the obtained values.

Total can be about 10 kW, if not more.
This total power is obtained when all electrical appliances in the apartment are used simultaneously, which is extremely rare. This calculation will be required for further distribution of possible loads among groups.

An example of wiring in an apartment with cables of different sections

Choosing a power plan for an apartment

After calculating the power of the possible load in the apartment, it is necessary to begin distributing the loads into groups. But this requires knowing the electric current instead of power. Based on Ohm's law, where P is power, and U is the network voltage (that is, 220 V), we find that an electrical device with a power of 1000 W will consume a current of 4.55 A.

An example of the electrical wiring layout of a two-room apartment divided into groups of sockets and lighting

For the safety margin of the cable, we round the value to 5 A.
Now you need to distribute the loads. Based on clause 6.2.6 of the PUE, circuit breakers rated for a current of no more than 25 A must be used to power the lighting network and sockets.

At the same time, according to clause 6.2.3 of the PUE, it is not permitted to supply more than 20 sockets and lamps from one circuit breaker. As a result, the lighting group is often powered from a machine designed for a rated current of 16 A.

It is worth noting that it is not necessary to distribute the outlets and lighting into groups. During the installation process, many distribute them among rooms. The main thing in this is uniform connection of loads.

It turns out that 1 or 2 groups of lighting will be powered from a 16 A machine and 2 or 3 groups of sockets from a 25 A machine.

Do-it-yourself rules for distributing load groups

1. Firstly, since the socket in the bathroom must be installed through an RCD, it would be more expedient to connect it to a group of sockets in the kitchen.
2. Secondly, if the apartment provides connections for heating devices with a power of more than 2.5 kW, it would be more expedient to power them from a separate circuit breaker of the required power.
3. Thirdly, if there is a three-phase network, it is better to power different groups from different phases. It is better to do this yourself if there is no chance of confusion. If you are not very confident in your knowledge, then it is better to power it from one phase.

The DIY electrical wiring diagram for a two-room apartment is not that complicated and provides for up to 4 groups of loads. For this reason, confusion may arise during the installation process, so the groups must be mounted one at a time.