Northern Beaches Electrician

Because salt does not stay in the sea. Breaking surf throws chloride into the air and onshore wind carries it inland, and chloride is what drives corrosion of metal. AS 4312, the standard that maps atmospheric corrosivity in Australia, puts the first 500 metres behind breaking surf in category C5-M, which is the most aggressive band outside heavy industry. From 500 metres to about a kilometre it eases to C4, and past that to C3. So a house at Collaroy 60 metres from the sand is in a genuinely different environment from one in the back streets of Narrabeen, even though they are minutes apart.

No, and this surprises people who assume salt water is salt water. The aggressive part is the breaking wave, because that is what puts chloride into the air. Sheltered water does not do that nearly as much. Under AS 4312 a shoreline on calm water sits in C4 rather than C5, and 100 metres back from it you are already into C3. In practical terms, a Bayview or Church Point waterfront is roughly as corrosive as an ocean-side house several hundred metres from the surf. It still needs proper materials. It does not need everything the beachfront needs.

Yes. Scotland Island, Elvina Bay, Lovett Bay and Morning Bay are water access only, so the job is planned differently from the first phone call. Everything comes across by boat, there is no running back to the van, and the day is shaped around the ferry and the tide rather than around traffic. The island itself is fed by submarine cable from the mainland, and Ausgrid added a third one in 2021 to improve reliability. What that means for you is that we quote these jobs with the access built in rather than discovering it on the day.

It can, and it depends on what the work touches. Ordinary internal work is generally unaffected. What gets caught is anything forming part of the building envelope in new work or a substantial alteration, where AS 3959 and Planning for Bush Fire Protection set requirements that follow from the Bush Fire Attack Level assessed for the property. The Northern Beaches map was certified by the RFS Commissioner in August 2020 and a lot of the peninsula sits inside it, particularly around the national park edges at Ingleside, Terrey Hills, Duffys Forest and the Pittwater foreshores. Worth checking before you plan rather than after.

You are, if it is a private pole, and a lot of the larger blocks on the peninsula have one. Everything past Ausgrid's connection point belongs to the property owner, including the pole, the line and the pole-top fittings, along with keeping vegetation clear of them. If Ausgrid issues a defect notice the Electricity Supply Act gives you 30 days to respond, and if it is not corrected within 60 days they can disconnect the supply or do the work and bill you. Pole and wire defects need an accredited Level 2 contractor, which we are.

The peninsula is about 30 kilometres end to end and there is no way around it, so we are straight about travel rather than burying it. What we do is tell you the cost when you book, before anyone gets in a van. Attending is a chargeable callout and the price of the work is agreed before we start. For the far northern end and the offshore communities we will usually suggest batching anything else you have been putting off into the same visit, because the travel is the same whether we change one fitting or ten.

Often, and it depends where on the peninsula you are and what time you call. The Northern Beaches has limited road access and it does not take much to slow the whole thing down, so we are realistic rather than optimistic when we give you a window. Calling earlier in the day helps considerably. For water access addresses, same day depends on the ferry and we will tell you honestly on the phone rather than promise and disappoint.

Attending your job is a chargeable callout. We confirm what it costs when you book, and the price for the work itself is agreed before we start, so there are no surprises on the invoice.