Electrician Northcote
Second storeys, decks and old boards.
Northcote is a suburb of period houses that people keep adding to. A storey on top, a room on the back, a deck, a studio, solar on the roof. All of it eventually lands on a switchboard that was installed when the house had four circuits.
What comes through the phone
Mostly houses being improved.
Northcote work skews towards owner-occupiers upgrading a house they intend to stay in, which changes the job. People here tend to want it done properly rather than done cheaply.
Rough-in through to fit-off on rear additions and upper floors, coordinated with the builder so the electrical is not the thing holding up a lock-up date.
02 Switchboard upgradesThe one job that keeps turning up underneath everything else. Fuses out, safety switches in, and enough spare ways left for solar, a battery or a car.
03 Outdoor and garden lightingDecks, pergolas, courtyards and facades. Weatherproof points that survive a Melbourne winter, and lighting laid out so it looks considered rather than scattered.
04 EV charger installationHome chargers installed, tested and certified, including the board and supply work that usually has to happen first on a period house.
05 Rental safety checksRequired every two years in Victoria. We take whole rent rolls, arrange access with tenants and return the records without the office chasing them.
06 Faults and emergenciesHalf the house out, a safety switch that will not stay in, or a hot smell at a fitting. Calls taken around the clock.
07 Shop and studio fit-outsHigh Street and the Westgarth end. Retail, food, studios and clinics, with the noisy work staged around trading hours.
08 Data and TV cablingHard-wired points through an extension while the walls are open, which is the one moment it costs almost nothing to do properly.
Extensions, solar and everything electric
It all lands back at the board.
A Northcote house built in 1910 was wired for lights and not much else. A hundred years later the same building is being asked to run an induction cooktop, a heat pump, a split system upstairs, solar on the roof, and a car in the driveway overnight.
Each of those gets added by a different trade at a different time, and each one asks something of the switchboard. That is why so many jobs here start as one thing and turn into a board conversation halfway through the quote.
Our preference is to have it once, early, with the whole plan on the table. Sizing the board for what you are actually going to do over the next few years is far cheaper than upgrading it three times.
- Existing supply and board assessed first
- Load worked out for the finished house
- Spare ways left for solar and a battery
- Dedicated circuit allowed for a charger
- Safety switches across every circuit
- Rough-in staged with the builder
- Old circuits tested rather than assumed
- Certificate of electrical safety on completion
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Switchboard upgrades
What is involved, what it costs to leave it, and what happens on the day.
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Renovations and extensions
Rough-in through to fit-off, worked in with the rest of the trades on site.
The suburb in detail
From the hill down to the creek.
Northcote covers a fair range of housing and a strip that has become one of the busier ones in the north. The work changes noticeably across it.
Period houses, and what is behind the plaster
Victorian and Edwardian houses dominate, with weatherboard and brick in roughly equal measure and a good number of them already extended once. That last part matters. A house that was added to in the 1990s often has two generations of wiring meeting somewhere in the middle, and the join is where intermittent faults live.
We test before quoting on anything involving old circuits. It takes longer at the front end and it is the only way to give you a price that survives contact with the building.
Second storeys and rear extensions
An upper floor is the point where the existing installation stops being adequate. New circuits have to get from the board to the top of the house, and on a period building the route is rarely obvious. Doing that at frame stage costs a fraction of doing it after the plaster is on.
If you are working with a builder or a draftsperson, bring us in during design rather than at rough-in. Half the awkward jobs we see were avoidable decisions made months earlier.
Solar, batteries and hot water
A lot of Northcote roofs already carry solar, and batteries are following. We are not the ones installing the panels, but almost every one of those systems needs switchboard and supply work, and a fair number of installs stall because the existing board cannot take it.
We do that side of it, and we are happy to talk to your solar installer directly so you are not relaying messages between two trades.
Outdoor rooms, decks and gardens
Northcote blocks tend to have usable backyards, and a lot of the lighting work here is outside. Deck and pergola lighting, weatherproof points that actually stay weatherproof, garden and path lighting, and power to a shed or studio at the back fence.
High Street and Westgarth
The strip runs from Westgarth up past the town hall and it is a mix of retail, food and services rather than one type of tenant. Fit-out and maintenance work here gets staged around opening hours, and the useful thing for most operators is having someone who will come back for a small job without it turning into a project.
Rentals through Northcote
Victoria requires an electrical safety check on rental properties every two years. Plenty of Northcote is investor-owned, and we run these in batches for agents rather than one property at a time. Detail is on the rental safety check page.
Getting here
Coburg to Northcote is a short run across the top of the inner north. It is a suburb we are in regularly rather than occasionally, which is what makes urgent work here realistic instead of a promise made from the other side of town.
Reviews
Maz was excellent. He was punctual, confirming time and tools to bring. He was very friendly and professional. We will definitely be continuing to hire him for our future electrical needs.Pheobe, Melbourne
Masaki has a high work ethic and professionalism in his approach to his work and his clients.Darren, Viewbank
Absolutely wonderful job done by Mas, he was efficient, so neat and precise and you can see how much he cares about the work he completes.Gabriella, Fitzroy
Masaki is an extremely reliable electrician, with a very high standard of work, at a reasonable price. I would highly recommend Miki Electrical Group.Chloe, Mill Park
Common questions
Before you ring.
If yours is not here, ask on the phone. It is quicker than typing it out.
Can you do the electrical for an extension or second storey?
Yes, start to finish. Board and supply assessment, rough-in at frame stage, fit-off, testing and certification, worked in around the builder's program.
When should I get you involved in a renovation?
Earlier than most people do. A conversation at design or demolition stage costs nothing and regularly saves a chase through a finished wall later.
Do you work with solar and battery installers?
Yes. We do the switchboard and supply side, which is what a lot of installs actually need, and we are happy to deal with your solar installer directly rather than through you.
Are you licensed?
Yes. REC 35681. Every job that needs a certificate of electrical safety gets one, and that is not an extra.
Can you install an EV charger on an older house?
Usually. The charger is the simple part. Whether the existing supply and board can carry a dedicated circuit is the question, and that is what we look at first.
Do you do outdoor and garden lighting?
Yes, and it is a fair share of the work here. Decks, pergolas, paths, facades and power out to a shed or studio.
Can you quote before starting?
Yes, and you get the number before any work begins. On fault finding you get the cost of the diagnosis up front, then the cost of the repair once we know what it actually is.
Do you cover the suburbs around Northcote?
We do. Thornbury, Preston, Fitzroy North, Brunswick and Coburg are all in the same run.
Past the inner north we work through Melbourne's northern and eastern suburbs, and we take renovation and commercial fit-out work right across the metro area.
Not sure whether you are in range? Ring and ask. It is a thirty second phone call and we will tell you straight either way.
Get in touch
Tell us what you are working on.
Quickest way to reach us is a call or a text. If it is easier to write it down, this comes straight through to Maz.
- Call or text
- 0492 949 017
- Based in
- Coburg VIC 3058
- Licence
- REC 35681