House rewiring
Rewiring Ponsonby villas, cottages and bungalows
Much of Ponsonby's housing is more than a century old: workers' cottages from the 1860s and 1870s, Victorian and Edwardian villas, then bungalows. House rewiring in Ponsonby is about bringing that old timber-framed fabric up to the way people live in it now, safely, with the right number of circuits and power points, and without needless damage to the house.
Houses older than Auckland's power supply
Ponsonby was one of Auckland's first suburbs. Its earliest streets were cut into sections only 10 to 12 metres wide and filled with small workers' cottages, followed by Victorian villas, Edwardian villas and, later, bungalows. A good number of those houses were standing before Aucklanders had a municipal electricity supply at all, which only began in 1907 and 1908. Their wiring was added afterwards, then extended by each owner who renovated, and in many houses no one has looked at the whole of it in decades.
The trouble is not age alone. WorkSafe points out that installations age and become overloaded, particularly in old homes where the wiring was never designed for the number of appliances people use today. A villa kitchen with an induction cooktop, a dishwasher, a coffee machine and a heat pump next door asks far more of its circuits than a house of the 1920s ever did.
Signs it is time to talk about a rewire
WorkSafe lists the warning signs that an installation is becoming dangerous. Any one of them is reason enough for an electrician to look.
Hot or scorched sockets
Plugs and power points that are warm to the touch, or show brown scorch marks around the pins.
Fuses and breakers that go for no reason
A fuse that keeps blowing or a breaker that trips when nothing unusual is running.
Lights that flicker
Flickering that is not a failing bulb, especially when it comes with a buzz or a warm switch.
Multi-boxes in every room
A house that runs on extension leads because it was built with one or two power points to a room.
You are buying the house
WorkSafe advises having a licensed electrician or electrical inspector check the internal wiring before you buy.
The linings are coming off anyway
A kitchen, bathroom or full renovation is the cheapest moment to replace the cable behind the walls.
How a Ponsonby rewire runs
We look at the whole installation
The switchboard, the main earth, the cable types in the ceiling and under the floor, and what each circuit is carrying. That tells us whether the house needs a full rewire, or whether a few tired circuits can be replaced and the rest kept.
We plan it with you
Where you want power points, lights and switches, what is planned for the kitchen and bathroom, and whether a heat pump or data cabling should go in at the same time, so cable only has to be run once.
New cable goes in
In a timber-framed house, new cable is usually run through the ceiling space and under the floor, dropping into the walls where it is needed. Old cable that is no longer used should be disconnected, so nobody mistakes it for live wiring later.
The switchboard is sorted
New circuits need somewhere to land. Often that means a switchboard upgrade at the same time. A rewire itself does not need inspection, but a higher-capacity board is high-risk work under the regulations and must be inspected, and we arrange a licensed electrical inspector for that part.
Testing and the certificate
Every new circuit is tested before it is handed over, and you receive the Certificate of Compliance for the work. Keep it with the house papers.
Working in a character house
In Ponsonby's oldest streets some houses sit only one to three metres from the road boundary, with their verandahs, bay windows and gables on show to the street. Inside, a character house may still have its original ceilings, cornices and timber joinery. Rewiring a house like that is slower than wiring a new build, because cable has to find its way through framing laid out a century ago without cutting into the features that make the house worth living in.
We plan cable routes to use the ceiling space, the subfloor and existing cavities wherever we can, and we tell you before we need to open a wall or lift a board. If you are about to renovate, call us before the builder starts: the best rewires happen while the linings are off, and the same visit can set up new lighting circuits and the supply for a heat pump.
Rewiring questions
Can we stay in the house while it is rewired?
Often, yes. A rewire can usually be done room by room or circuit by circuit, so most of the house has power on most days. We will tell you when power needs to be off and for how long before the work starts.
Does the whole house have to be rewired?
Not always. Sometimes only part of the wiring has reached the end of its life, such as one old lighting circuit or a run of power points added in a past renovation. We will show you what we found and give you the choice.
Does a rewire have to be inspected?
The rewire itself does not. If the work includes a higher-capacity switchboard or changes to the mains, that part is high-risk work and must be inspected by a licensed electrical inspector, which we arrange.
Why does the certificate matter?
The Certificate of Compliance records that the work was done by a licensed electrician, meets the safety standards and was tested. An insurer can ask for it, and it may be needed when you sell.
We have a two-storey villa. Is that harder?
It takes more planning, because cable to the upper floor has to pass through a floor and a wall that are both finished. It is very much doable, and planning it alongside any other work upstairs keeps the disruption down.
Power out, or a job to plan?
Call 021 156 4005 at any hour, or send us the details and an electrician will get back to you.
More electrical services in Ponsonby
Emergency electrician and fault finding
Call-outs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to find and fix the fault that has cut your power.Switchboard upgrades
Old fuse boards replaced with modern switchboards and circuit breakers, inspected where the law requires it.Lighting
LED, interior, garden and outdoor lighting for homes, shops and venues.Commercial and hospitality electrical
Electrical work for the shops, bars, restaurants and offices along Ponsonby Road.Heat pump installation
Heat pumps sized for the room and installed with their own circuit.Data and fibre cabling
Wired data points, fibre and network cabling for homes and offices.Enquiries
Contact us
Call 021 156 4005 at any hour, or tell us below what needs doing and where, and an electrician will get back to you.
021 156 4005- Auckland
- Call-outs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week