Glendale is the working end of western Lake Macquarie: the shopping centre, the sports fields, the school, and streets of post-war homes now rented out.
Classroom wiring from another era
At a Glendale school we are stripping old single-insulated wiring out of steel conduit, rewiring 57 light points in new cable, fitting 66 LED panels and two running man exit signs, and moving eight circuits onto safety switches. That work is under way now.
The fuse dropped out every time the oven ran. We isolated and locked off the circuit, pulled the oven out, tested every element and the circuit behind it, then priced repair against replacement.
A safety inspection found five double outlets cracked, worn and showing corrosion, a dead tube light and worn switch mechanisms. We returned and replaced the outlets, the range, the range hood, the switch plate and the bathroom fan.
We tested the fan, found it faulty and replaced the fan and light with a new remote-controlled unit. An earlier rewire had left out its isolation switch, so we fitted that too.
The switch inside the outlet had overheated and melted through the face. We isolated it, removed the old outlet, fitted a new double power point and tested it.
Why does my oven trip the switchboard every time I use it?
Usually a failed element or damp inside the oven. At a Glendale home we isolated the circuit, pulled the oven out, tested the elements and the wiring, then quoted repair against replacement.
Can you rewire the lighting in a school or a large building?
Yes. At a Glendale school we are stripping old single-insulated wiring out of steel conduit, rewiring 57 light points in new cable, and fitting 66 LED panels and two running man exit signs.
What does an electrical safety inspection on a rental actually find?
At one Glendale rental it found cracked and corroded power points, a dead fluorescent tube, worn switch mechanisms and a bathroom heat and fan unit that had stopped. We came back and replaced all of it.
Can you replace every power point in a kitchen in one visit?
Yes. In a Glendale kitchen we replaced five double power points, the range, the range hood and the switch plate in one booking, so the tenant lost the kitchen once rather than five times.