Renovation Electrical:
Plan It Before The Walls Close

Renovations move fast and the electrical decisions tend to get made in a hurry, standing in a dusty room with a builder waiting. That is how you end up with a beautiful kitchen and no power point where the coffee machine goes.

Here is what to think about, in the order the trades will need it.

Before demolition: understand what you have

Find out what the existing wiring is and whether the switchboard has capacity. If the house has old rubber cable or a board full of ceramic fuses, that changes the plan, and it is far cheaper to address while walls and ceilings are open. See our notes on assessing older wiring.

At rough-in: the decisions that matter

Power points, then more power points

Nobody has ever complained about having too many. Walk the room and think about where things will actually sit, not where they sit now. Bedside tables need two each plus USB. Kitchen benches need more than you think. The alfresco needs a weatherproof point. The garage needs one near the door for a vacuum and one for a future EV charger.

Lighting layout and switching

Decide where you will walk in from and where the switch should be. Two way switching at both ends of a hallway or at the top and bottom of stairs is trivial at rough-in and a nuisance later. Think about whether you want the room on one switch or in zones.

Dedicated circuits

Ovens, induction cooktops, air conditioning, pool equipment and EV chargers generally need their own circuits. So does a home office if you are running a lot of equipment. Getting these into the plan avoids a full board reshuffle later.

Data, TV and speakers

Run more cable than you need while the walls are open. A Cat6 point behind each TV and to the office costs very little now, and solves problems Wi-Fi cannot. Read more about data and TV cabling.

The single cheapest thing you will ever do in a renovation is run a spare cable to somewhere you might want it. The single most expensive is opening a finished wall to add one.

Wet areas: the rules are stricter

Bathrooms and laundries have defined zones that dictate where fittings and outlets can go and what rating they need. Exhaust fans need to be ducted properly, not just into the roof space, or you move the moisture problem rather than solving it. This is worth getting right rather than improvising on site.

Provisioning for later

• Conduit to the roof for future solar, even if solar is a few years away
• A spare circuit way or two in the new switchboard
• Capacity and a cable path to the garage for an EV charger
• Ceiling structure and wiring for fans in bedrooms, even if you fit them later
• An outdoor point and light on the far side of the yard, while the trencher is on site

Sequencing with other trades

Electrical happens in two visits: rough-in before the plasterer, and fit-off after painting. Missing the rough-in window is what causes surface mounted conduit and patched walls. We work to the builder's program and attend site meetings so that window is not missed.

Our renovation electrical service covers kitchens, bathrooms, extensions and whole home refreshes, and we are happy to sit down with your plans before anything is demolished.