What we are usually walking into in Box Hill
To understand why this work comes up so often in Box Hill, start with the buildings. The suburb is a genuinely mixed suburb — postwar and interwar houses, extensive medium and high-density redevelopment around the station, and a large commercial centre — and the gap between what those properties were wired for and what they run today is the whole story.
The dominant driver of this work in Box Hill is commercial fitout and tenancy change more than anything else, alongside renovation of the remaining postwar housing.
What Box Hill installations actually look like
Across Box Hill the pattern is consistent: postwar house boards with asbestos panels, and commercial tenancy boards that have been reconfigured repeatedly as the centre has redeveloped.
None of that is unusual, and none of it is a reason for alarm on its own. It does mean an assessment is worth more than a phone estimate, because what matters is the combination of what is there and what you are about to ask of it.
What the work involves
The panel behind the switchgear is the whole job. Zelemite, Ausbestos and Miscolite are asbestos-containing boards used widely from the 1950s into the 1980s, and while they are stable if left alone, drilling, cutting or even unscrewing switchgear off them releases fibres. The board is de-energised, the switchgear is removed, the panel is removed and disposed of under the licensed process it requires, and a modern enclosure goes back in with a circuit breaker and an RCD on every circuit. In most cases the mains and the main earth are replaced at the same time, because a board of that age usually sits on cable of the same age.
What usually brings it forward
In Box Hill the common triggers are:
- a black or dark-brown backing panel behind the fuses or breakers
- an electrician declining to work on the board until the panel is dealt with
- a building or pre-purchase inspection flagging the board
- a rental property being brought up to the Victorian safety-check standard
- any board work at all on a house wired or rewired between the 1950s and 1980s
Any one of them on its own is enough. More often it is two or three arriving together, which is why the job is usually bigger than the thing that prompted the call.
What makes Box Hill different
The commercial centre means a lot of the work here runs to lease dates and handover programmes rather than to a homeowner's timeline.
What to expect on the day
The panel removal is the part that sets the timeline. It is done under the controls the material requires, the waste is disposed of through the proper channel, and the area is left clean. Power is off while it happens. If the mains are being replaced at the same time — and on a board of that age they usually are — that extends the outage, so we agree a day that suits the household rather than dropping it on you.
Why it is worth doing properly
The reason not to leave it is that an asbestos panel does not stay untouched. Every future job — a new circuit, an EV charger, a solar inverter connection, even a failed breaker — means someone working on that panel. Most electricians will now decline to, which means the board effectively blocks any further work on the property until it is dealt with.
Nearby
We cover the east generally, and the same work in the suburbs either side of Box Hill: Balwyn, Doncaster, Glen Waverley. If your property is close to a boundary it makes no difference to us — it is the same van and the same day rate.
What it costs
Priced per project after inspection. The variable is not the board itself but what sits behind it: the condition of the panel, whether the mains and main earth have to be replaced at the same time, and the licensed removal and disposal the panel requires.
Quotes are free, fixed-price and given after a site inspection. What is quoted is what is paid, and a Certificate of Electrical Safety is issued on completion.
If you are not sure whether the panel behind your board is asbestos, send us a photograph of the open board before touching anything and we will tell you what we are looking at.
Litmec Electrical is a licensed Victorian electrical contractor (REC-10383, Energy Safe Victoria) based in Newport and trading since 2007. Call 0418 583 097 to talk through a Box Hill property.
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How do I know if my switchboard panel contains asbestos?
The tell is a black or dark-brown backing panel behind the switchgear — Zelemite, Ausbestos and Miscolite were used widely from the 1950s into the 1980s. Do not poke at it. Photograph the open board and send it through and we will tell you what we are looking at.
Is it dangerous to leave alone?
Left completely undisturbed it is stable. The problem is that it does not get left undisturbed — every future circuit, EV charger, solar connection or failed breaker means someone working on that panel, and most electricians will now decline to.
Do you handle the asbestos removal on a Box Hill job, or do I arrange it separately?
It is handled as part of the job. The panel is removed and disposed of through the proper licensed channel, and the area is left clean.
Do you work in Box Hill?
Yes. Box Hill VIC 3128 is inside our regular service area — we are based in Newport and cover Greater Melbourne and travel out to roughly 100 km from Newport for project work. There is no travel surcharge for Box Hill.
Are you licensed?
Yes. Litmec Electrical is a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC-10383, Energy Safe Victoria), trading since 2007. A Certificate of Electrical Safety is issued on every completed job.
Is the quote fixed?
Yes. Quotes are free, given after a site inspection, and fixed — what is quoted is what is paid. Variations only happen if you change the scope.