Burnside's homes and hazards
A postwar boom
Between 1947 and 1961 the council area grew by more than a third. Stonyfell's Magill vineyard was subdivided in 1955 to 1958 as the Hills face came under pressure for housing.
Family homes, owned
In 2021, 70.6% of Burnside's occupied homes were separate houses and 25.6% townhouses or semis, averaging 3.3 bedrooms. 42.8% were owned outright and 17.2% rented.
The bushfire edge
The council says most of its area is leafy suburbia with no direct bushfire risk, but its eastern extremes are the City of Burnside Bushfire Area. RAA lists Burnside and Beaumont among locations a bushfire could reach, and says embers from Hills fires can land in suburbs like Burnside.
Floods in the gullies
Floods devastated Waterfall Gully, in the Burnside council area, in 1931.
Renovating a postwar Burnside house
A new kitchen, an extension or a second bathroom is the moment to deal with the electrics properly. Postwar houses were wired for far fewer appliances, and the original board may have no safety switches or no room for new circuits. Ask for the board and existing wiring to be assessed as part of the renovation quote, not as an afterthought.
Plan the outdoor side too. Decks, pool equipment and garden lighting all need outdoor-rated fittings on a safety switch. And if you're in the eastern streets, think about what happens when the power goes out on a fire day: SA Power Networks warns supply can drop in bushfire weather even with no fire nearby.
Your part, and the electrician's
You can
- Keep gutters clear and the area around the meter box free of leaves before summer
- Press the test button on each safety switch a few times a year
- Make a list of everything you want added before the renovation quote
- Keep every eCoC you're given with the house records
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Assessing and upgrading the switchboard
- All new circuits, power points and lighting in the renovation
- Outdoor and pool power
- Finding and fixing faults that trip the safety switch
What we'd do before a Burnside renovation
We'd get an electrician in at the design stage, not after the builder's started. They'll tell you whether the board needs replacing and where cable can run, and it's much easier to plan circuits for an induction cooktop, an EV charger and air conditioning before walls are closed up.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.