Rewires & Switchboards in Hawthorn
Licensed since 2007. Litmec Electrical works across Hawthorn on the bigger jobs — full rewires, switchboard upgrades, renovation and extension fit-outs on Victorian, Edwardian and interwar homes.
Licensed since 2007. Litmec Electrical works across Hawthorn on the bigger jobs — full rewires, switchboard upgrades, renovation and extension fit-outs on Victorian, Edwardian and interwar homes.
Hawthorn is a period-housing suburb, and that single fact decides most of what we do here. Victorian and Edwardian homes through the Glenferrie and Auburn pockets, Californian bungalows further out, and a lot of it still sitting on wiring that was installed when a house needed two circuits and a radio. Perished rubber-insulated cable, ceramic rewireable fuses, lighting circuits with no earth, and an asbestos backing board behind the meter panel — none of that is unusual in a Hawthorn home that has never been properly done.
The second Hawthorn factor is conversions. A great many of the large homes here were carved into flats decades ago, and the electrical work that followed was rarely elegant. Sub-boards fed from the original board, circuits crossing between tenancies, metering that nobody can fully explain, and a landlord who now has safety-switch and compliance obligations against all of it. Sorting that out is a proper job, not a callout, and it is one we do well.
Third is renovation. Hawthorn renovates constantly, and a rear extension is the moment the old wiring stops being someone else's problem. Once you are adding an induction cooktop, a heat pump and possibly an EV charger to a house whose consumer mains were sized in 1935, the board and the supply have to be part of the plan — which is exactly the conversation we would rather have with you at design stage than at fit-off.
We are based in Newport, which is about twenty-five to thirty minutes from Hawthorn depending on the freeway and the time of day. We are straight with people about that. For planned work — a rewire, a switchboard, a renovation fit-out, lighting, an EV charger — the drive makes no practical difference to you, and we come out for jobs of any size. What we will not do is promise to be at your door in twenty minutes at midnight, because we cannot, and we would rather say so now than have you waiting.
Hawthorn is one of the easier eastern runs for us, and we are here regularly. Heritage overlays cover a good deal of the suburb, so external work needs thought — where a solar array sits, whether conduit runs on a street-facing wall, how a meter box is presented. We plan around it rather than discovering it late.
The other thing worth knowing is that we quote one number after looking at the board and the supply, not a cheap figure over the phone followed by a variation once the wall is open. On older homes especially, what is behind the plaster changes the job — and we would rather find that out before you have committed than after. Ring 0418 583 097 and we will give you a realistic answer about timing and cost.
Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, Auburn and Glenferrie. We also work through Kew, Camberwell, Balwyn. Our home patch is the inner west — Newport, Williamstown and Yarraville. All Melbourne services →
Yes, regularly. We are based in Newport, around twenty-five to thirty minutes away depending on the freeway. We come out for planned work of any size. For a genuine middle-of-the-night emergency we are not your fastest option and we will say so honestly rather than keep you waiting.
It depends on the size of the house, the ceiling and subfloor access, and how much of the original wiring is still live. Double-brick homes with limited access take longer than a weatherboard. We look at the property, then give you one number covering the rewire and the switchboard together. Our guide to rewiring costs in Melbourne explains what drives the figure.
Usually yes. We stage the work room by room and keep power on to the parts of the house you are using, which takes a little longer overall but is far less disruptive than moving out. Kitchens and bathrooms need the most planning.
The fuses are not dangerous in themselves, but they offer no earth-leakage protection, which is the real issue. The backing board may well be Zelemite or a similar asbestos-based material — it is safe while undisturbed and only becomes a problem when someone works on it, which is precisely why it should be handled by an electrician who is expecting it.
At design stage, before the plans are locked. Extensions almost always add load — induction, heat pump hot water, air conditioning, often an EV charger — and whether your existing mains and board can carry it changes what the builder needs to allow for. Finding that out at fit-off is expensive.
Yes, and Hawthorn has a lot of both. Separating tangled circuits between tenancies, sorting sub-boards and bringing a property up to Victorian rental safety requirements is normal work for us. We can also handle the compliance checks landlords need.
Tell us about your Hawthorn project and we'll get back to you quickly with a clear, no-obligation quote.