House Rewiring in Sunshine

Where Sunshine properties stand

Sunshine is postwar housing built around the old Sunshine works, a growing body of renovation and infill, and a substantial industrial and retail centre. Nothing about that is unusual for Melbourne, but it does mean the electrical installations here have a common shape, and a common set of limits.

The dominant driver of this work in Sunshine is renovation and rental compliance on the domestic side, and tenancy fitout on the commercial side around the station and Hampshire Road.

What we see across Sunshine

Across Sunshine the pattern is consistent: postwar domestic boards squarely in the asbestos-panel era, and commercial boards in the Hampshire Road strip that have been re-fed rather than replaced.

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

A full rewire replaces the cabling throughout the property, not just the board. New circuits are run to a modern layout — separate circuits for kitchen, laundry and heavy appliances, more outlets in sensible places, and lighting circuits that make sense room by room — and the whole installation lands on a new board with RCD protection throughout. A partial rewire covers the parts that need it, usually the original wiring, while leaving sound later work in place. Which of the two applies is a judgement made on site.

The Sunshine-specific constraint

Sunshine's postwar housing has one of the highest asbestos-panel hit rates we see, and it is the suburb where people expect it least.

What to expect on the day

A rewire is disruptive and there is no version of it that is not. How disruptive depends on access — a house with a good subfloor and a walkable roof space is a very different job from a slab-on-ground house with a low roof pitch. We assess access first, because it drives both the price and how long you are without power.

Why it is worth doing properly

The reason a rewire gets recommended rather than another repair is usually the condition of the original cable. Rubber-insulated cable from before the 1960s becomes brittle and the insulation breaks down, and once that starts there is no repair that makes the rest of it safe.

Nearby

We cover the west generally, and the same work in the suburbs either side of Sunshine: Tottenham, West Footscray. 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

Every job is quoted per project after a site inspection rather than off a list. How we quote sets out what the quote covers and what moves it. Quotes are free, fixed-price and confirmed on site.

Whether a property needs a full or partial rewire is a judgement made on site, and it is worth getting that judgement before committing to either.

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 Sunshine property.