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From: Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: British (european?) kitchen counter electric outlets
Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2024 11:32:55 -0700
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On 6/16/2024 1:16 AM, TTman wrote:
> On 10/06/2024 01:41, Don Y wrote:
>> On 6/9/2024 3:50 PM, TTman wrote:
>>>> Yes, I've seen that.  And, they are *huge* (comparatively speaking;
>>>> a duplex receptacle, here, is a ~1x~3 inch device about an inch thick).
>>>>
>>>> Ours also reside *in* the wall; I seem to remember the ones in England
>>>> were "on" the wall (?)
>>>
>>> In the UK we have slim sockets now.... protruding maybe 2mm from the wall. 
>>
>> So, they fit *into* the wall?  Is the wiring concealed in the wall and
>> routed to the outlet(s) from within?
> 
> Yes. Our 'old'houses have internal walls made of either brick (4" thick) and 
> plastered. it's hard to recess the brick to take power sockets, but quite 
> common. The cabling runs down the cavity (4") between the internal brickwork 
> and external brickwork.

*TWO* brick walls between the occupants and the out-of-doors?

A brick home (here) would tend to have internal drywall walls (or plaster
on lath) furred out off of the exterior brick.  The distance between
brick and drywall can vary (depending on quality of insulation).

Here, for example, the gap behind the drywall is about an inch (no insulation
other than a vapor barrier).  So, outlets (and other junction boxes) in walls
that are along the outside of the building are notched into the brick *behind*
(outside of) the drywall.

Some lower quality builds (e.g., apartment houses) may just have block walls
that are painted (cosmetics) so the interior and exterior are separated
solely by the block wall.

Non-living spaces (garages) often have surface mounted junction boxes with
cables interconnecting them run through EMT (or, rigid conduit for some
commercial establishments).  But, residences have minimal requirements
for electric service *in* the garage (and, power for a garage door opener
will be overhead so no need to deal with a block wall to install that wiring)

Here, for example, I have several retractable extension cords ("cord reel")
mounted on the ceiling with the receptacle ends just above head height.
So, you can bull a cord down to address your needs.  This lets me have
a lot of outlets as well as freeing up the wall space for shelving (instead
of having to maintain access to a wall-mounted receptacle).

<https://www.newark.com/productimages/large/en_US/16M8845-40.jpg>

[Mine are rescues from some hospital equipment where the plug end
was the retractable portion -- roll the device up to the patient's
bedside, pull out plug and extend cord to reach a nearby outlet.
I simply swapped the functions of the fixed and extendable ends]

> Newer houses have internal stud walls built from 4x2 
> and 12mm plasterboard screwed to that. Sockets are easy to fit on that. By 
> sockets I mean a box to which the power socket is screwed by way of 2 screws.

What you seem to call a socket we would call a junction box (Jbox).
These come in different sizes/configurations/mountings and are
made of metal or plastic (older ones were made of bakelite).  E.g.,
a box intended to be installed in a masonry wall is designed to be
"mudded" in place:

<https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/9731e951-f1f7-4ca2-b055-b0d1c9145d1c/svn/raco-boxes-brackets-696-64_1000.jpg>

vs. a regular 2G box:

<https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/27083703-2b11-4b7b-ab61-34a32d80e2ee_1.d61079d669dce88b1fcd12da5222a77c.jpeg>

<https://www.thespruce.com/electrical-switch-and-junction-boxes-1824666>

The wiring (and wired "device" -- switch/outlet) is intended to be
entirely contained within the box.  There are rules for the size of the box
required for the "stuff" that will be contained within (wire, clamps,
wirenuts, devices, etc.)

[I like metal boxes as you can remove/reinstall the devices without
fear of "stripping" the plastic into which they are fastened.  I
also like oversized boxes so their contents aren't cramped/overstuffed.]