Switchboard upgrades
Ceramic fuses out, safety switches on every circuit, room for solar and an EV charger.
Melbourne's eastern suburbs
Smoke alarms
A working smoke alarm is the difference between waking up and not. We install hard-wired, interconnected photoelectric alarms so every alarm in the house sounds together, replace alarms that have passed their ten-year life, and bring rental properties up to the Victorian minimum standards.
What we do
What the job can include
- 240 V hard-wired photoelectric alarms with battery backup
- Interconnected alarms so every one sounds when one detects smoke
- Replacing alarms older than ten years (the date is printed on the back)
- Alarms in every bedroom and hallway to the current Australian standard
- Rental property compliance and the documentation the agent needs
- Annual testing and cleaning for landlords and body corporates
- Removing old ionisation alarms and patching the ceiling
Good to know
Before you book
Photoelectric, not ionisation
Photoelectric alarms detect the smouldering, smoky fires that kill people in their sleep far sooner than ionisation alarms, and they false-alarm less from cooking. Fire services recommend them for every home.
Ten years and out
Smoke alarm sensors degrade. Every alarm has a manufacture date on the back and must be replaced ten years after it, whether or not it still beeps when tested.
Rental rules in Victoria
Rental providers must have alarms installed to the standard, tested every twelve months by a suitably qualified person, and replaced when they reach ten years. We provide a report for each visit.
How it goes
Quote first, then the work
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Tell us the job
Ring, or send the form with what you need and your suburb. Photos help.
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Get a fixed quote
Small jobs are priced over the phone; bigger ones after a quick look. Either way, in writing.
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We do the work
Booked for a time that suits you, done by a licensed electrician, tested before we leave.
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COES and tidy-up
We clean up, walk you through what was done and email your Certificate of Electrical Safety.
Questions
Smoke alarms: common questions
Where do smoke alarms need to be?
The current standard for new work is an alarm in every bedroom, in hallways that serve bedrooms, and on every level of the home, all interconnected. Existing homes are not forced to upgrade, but it is the layout we recommend because it is the one that wakes everybody.
What does interconnected mean?
When one alarm detects smoke, every alarm in the house sounds. A fire in the kitchen at 2 am then wakes people in the bedrooms at the other end of the house, which a single alarm in the hall will not do.
Can I just use battery alarms?
Hard-wired alarms with a battery backup are the standard for new and replacement work, and they never go quiet because someone took the battery out. Wireless interconnected alarms are an option where running cable is impractical.
My alarm chirps every minute. What does that mean?
Usually a flat backup battery, or the alarm has reached end of life. Replace the battery first if it takes one; if it keeps chirping, the alarm needs replacing. We can do the lot in one visit.
Also
All services Other work we do
Melbourne's eastern suburbs
Need smoke alarms sorted?
Tell us the job and your suburb. You will have a fixed quote before anyone books a day in.