Rewire and Switchboard Upgrade - Renewing a Hamilton Home

This 1920s weatherboard cottage in Hamilton still ran on its original ceramic fuse board, with rubber-insulated wiring in the roof space and only two power points in most rooms. The owners planned to renovate and needed to know the house could handle a modern kitchen, air conditioning and a home office. We inspected and tested every circuit, then gave them a staged plan with a fixed price for each part of the job.

The first stage was a full rewire. We replaced the old cabling with new TPS throughout, ran dedicated circuits for the oven, cooktop, dishwasher and split systems, and added extra double power points where the family actually needed them, including the bedrooms and the new study nook. We worked room by room so the family could keep living in the house, and every evening we left the site safe, tidy and with power back on in the parts of the home they were using.

Next came the switchboard. The fuse board was replaced with a modern board fitted with circuit breakers and safety switches on every circuit, plus enough spare room for a future solar system and an EV charger in the carport. We added interconnected smoke alarms in every bedroom and hallway, a surge protector for the home office, and smart switches for the living-room and verandah lights that the owners can set from their phones. Every circuit was tested and labelled, and the owners received their compliance certificate the day we finished, along with a simple walk-through of the new board so they knew exactly what each breaker does and how to reset a safety switch if it ever trips.

We also swapped the old halogen downlights and fluorescent tubes for warm LED fittings with dimmers in the living areas, which made the rooms feel softer and more welcoming in the evenings while using a fraction of the power. Outside, new LED lights along the verandah and the garden path made the front of the house safer to come home to at night. The owners noticed the difference on their next power bill, and the new fittings should run for many years without needing a replacement globe or a call-out, which keeps their running costs down well into the future.

In the end, this project was about much more than replacing old wires. It gave a much-loved Hamilton home a safe, modern electrical system that fits the way the family lives today and leaves room to grow, and it means they can enjoy their renovation knowing that everything hidden behind the walls has been planned, installed and tested properly by licensed electricians.