Electrician Geelong West
Fault finding, power points and safety switches for Geelong West homes, by CabledIN
For a tripping circuit, a dead power point or an older house short of outlets, the electrician Geelong West households call is CabledIN Electrical Solutions, a licensed contractor based next door in North Geelong. We are a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC 30925), and our records show more than 15 completed jobs in Geelong West.
A fault starts with diagnosis, and the repair is priced once the cause is found. Adding a power point, or a safety switch to one circuit, is usually a short visit. What a job costs depends on the age and condition of the wiring, how easy the cable route is and whether the switchboard has room.
- Most common job here
- Power points
- Our records
- More than 15 jobs in Geelong West
- Council
- City of Greater Geelong
- Licence
- REC 30925
Which jobs come up most in Geelong West homes?
Our Geelong West records lean towards the problems an older house develops, and towards adding to it:
- Power points. More than half of those jobs involved power points, extra outlets among them.
- Lighting. Close to half involved lights, LED downlights among them.
- Fault finding. About half began with a fault to trace: a circuit tripping, an outlet gone dead or a set of lights out.
- Safety switches and switchboards. More than a third of the jobs involved safety switches, and more than a third included work on the switchboard itself.
- Inspections. Electrical safety inspections, covered further down this page.
- The rest. Appliance connections, ceiling fans and bathroom exhaust fans.
Timber cottages, bungalows and the wiring behind the walls
Geelong West was subdivided from 1839 and became a borough in 1875. Most of its houses are single-storey timber: cottages, double-fronted Edwardian and Federation homes, and Californian bungalows. After the Second World War, brick became the more common choice for new houses.
The council's own account of the suburb says that since the 1980s its timber houses and cottages have been renovated. For the wiring, that can leave a house of two halves: newer circuits put in with a kitchen, bathroom or extension, and older cable still feeding the rooms that were left as they were. Older Geelong West homes can have any of these:
- An older switchboard with rewireable fuses, or circuit breakers with only one safety switch, or none.
- Cabling that has been extended or joined over the decades, which can make a fault harder to trace.
- Too few power points for the number of appliances a household runs now.
Older switchboard panels can also contain asbestos, mostly those installed before 1990, so an old panel should be identified before anyone drills or cuts it.
Talk to a licensed Geelong electrician (REC 30925).
Electrician Geelong West: tracking down faults
When something stops working, a few safe checks tell you who to call:
- Check next door. If the neighbours are without power as well, the problem is on the network, not in your house. Powercor runs the network across the Geelong region: ring 13 24 12.
- Check the switchboard. A safety switch in the off position has tripped. Unplug everything on that circuit, then switch it back on.
- Leave it off if it will not stay on or drops out again, and ring a licensed electrician.
- Stay clear of anything hot, sparking or giving you a tingle. A tingle from a tap or appliance is a job for Powercor first, on 13 24 12. A fire is a 000 call.
On site, the electrician tests the circuits one by one to find the leak or the break. A safety switch can trip because of a faulty power point, damaged wiring or an appliance, so the testing covers all three. Where the old cable to a set of lights has failed, new cable is run to them. The usual culprits are set out in our guide, why a safety switch keeps tripping.
Adding safety switches to an older switchboard
A safety switch (RCD) watches the current on a circuit and cuts the power within milliseconds if it detects a leak that could hurt someone. It works alongside circuit breakers and fuses, which protect the wiring from overloads, and it only protects the circuits it is connected to.
An older board can cover the power circuits while the lighting circuits have no safety switch at all. Where the board has space and is in good condition, we fit a combined circuit breaker and safety switch to each unprotected circuit. That is our Safety switch (RCD) installation service in its simplest form.
Where the board is full, worn or still on rewireable fuses, a switchboard upgrade is usually the better option. A replacement board must have safety switch protection on all of its final circuits. Swapping the main switchboard is prescribed work under Victorian rules: it stays switched off until an independent licensed electrical inspector has checked it.
Flats, units and rented homes in Geelong West
Geelong West has more variety in its housing than Greater Geelong as a whole. At the 2021 Census, 73.7 per cent of occupied homes were separate houses, against 86.4 per cent across the municipality. Another 16.6 per cent were flats or apartments and 9.0 per cent were semi-detached, terrace or townhouses. About four in ten homes (40.3 per cent) were rented.
If you rent out a house or flat here, this is the work owners and property managers can book with us:
- An electrical safety check of the switchboard, wiring and fittings by a licensed electrician, with a written report of the results.
- Safety switches added to power outlet and lighting circuits that are not yet protected, or a switchboard upgrade where the board is too old.
- A smoke alarm check, with each alarm tested and its age checked.
- If repairs follow, the owner approves the price first, and each repair comes with its own Certificate of Electrical Safety.
Not sure what you need? Tell us what is happening and we will talk it through.
What does a pre-sale electrical inspection cover in a Geelong West period home?
Our Geelong West records include electrical safety inspections as well as repairs. For an owner getting ready to sell, or a buyer weighing up a renovated period home, our Pre-sale electrical inspections cover:
- The switchboard. Fuses or circuit breakers, which circuits have safety switch protection, and whether the panel may contain asbestos.
- Wiring and fittings. Power points, switches and light fittings checked for damage and wear.
- Renovated rooms. Newer circuits added in a renovation are checked along with the original wiring.
- Smoke alarms. Each alarm tested and its age checked against the 10-year life.
You get a written report that separates what needs attention now from what can wait. Any repair is priced separately, for you to approve.
Booking an electrician for a Geelong West home
- Ring 1300 025 555. With a fault, it helps to know what tripped, roughly when, and which appliances were on.
- Pick a time. Planned jobs go in on a day you choose. An unsafe fault is an emergency call-out, and those run 24/7.
- Cause first, then price. The electrician finds what is wrong and tells you the cost of the repair, and nothing starts until you agree.
- Testing. The work is tested before the certificate is written: earthing, insulation resistance, polarity, circuit connections, earth fault-loop impedance and each safety switch.
- Your certificate. The Certificate of Electrical Safety is the legal record of the work, and Victoria asks for one whatever the size of the job. File your copy somewhere safe, as the contractor's record only has to be kept for three years.
Next to Geelong West
On the council's list, Geelong West's neighbours are North Geelong, where our base is, Newtown, Manifold Heights, Drumcondra and central Geelong. Newtown's Victorian and Edwardian houses raise many of the same wiring questions as Geelong West's period homes. For every suburb and town we cover, go to electrician Geelong.
Recent electrical jobs in Geelong West
Frequently asked questions
Electrician Geelong West: who do I ring when the lights go out late at night?
Ring us on 1300 025 555, which is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for emergency call-outs. First look next door: if the street is dark too, the fault is on Powercor's network and their number is 13 24 12. Fire or an injury is a 000 call.
Why does the power keep tripping in my old house?
Leaking current is what a safety switch reacts to, and in an older Geelong West house the leak can be in a worn power point, a damaged length of cable or an appliance on that circuit. Unplug everything on the circuit, then switch it back on. If it drops out again, leave it off and have a licensed electrician test the circuits.
Does an old Geelong West switchboard have to go before safety switches can be fitted?
Not always. Where the board has room and is in good condition, a combined circuit breaker and safety switch can go on each circuit. A board that is full, worn out or still on rewireable fuses is usually better replaced, and every final circuit on the new board must have safety switch protection.
Does a Federation or Edwardian house need rewiring?
Not automatically. A licensed electrician's check is what Energy Safe Victoria advises for any house past 30 years of age. The inspection shows whether the wiring is sound, needs repairs in places or needs replacing, and house rewiring is only recommended when the testing points to it.
Buying a period home in Geelong West: is an electrical inspection worth it first?
Yes. Energy Safe Victoria's advice is to have any home built before the 1980s checked before you move in, and Geelong West's period houses all fall in that group. A pre-sale electrical inspection looks at the switchboard, wiring and fittings and gives you a written report of what needs attention now and what can wait.
Could my old switchboard contain asbestos?
It can. Black or dark brown resin panels in older switchboards can contain asbestos, and most were installed before 1990. Do not drill, cut or sand one, and point it out to the electrician before any work starts.
Can you check a rented flat in Geelong West?
Yes. For an owner or property manager we look over the flat's switchboard, wiring and fittings, test each smoke alarm and check its age, then send a written report of the results. Access is arranged with the household, and any repair is priced for the owner to approve first.
Do you work in flats and units as well as houses?
Yes. Flats and apartments made up about one in six Geelong West homes at the 2021 Census. Inside a flat we do the same work as in a house: power points, lights, safety switches, smoke alarms and fault finding.
Can you run a data point to a study or spare room?
Yes. Data cable runs from the modem to a study, the lounge or wherever the TV sits, so a computer or TV is not relying on Wi-Fi alone. In a timber-framed house the cable can usually be fed through the roof space and down inside the wall to a neat wall outlet.
Still have a question? Ask the CabledIN team.