What the house is made of matters
Timber Queenslanders
Most older Brisbane homes are timber, and many are high-set with an open space underneath. That can give cable a route in from below rather than through a cramped ceiling, so ask about it.
Post-war fibro walls
After World War II, internal walls moved to fibreboards such as asbestos sheeting. Don't drill or cut those walls yourself, and tell the electrician roughly when the house was built, so they can plan routes that avoid cutting in.
Units and townhouses
At the 2021 census, 14.7% of Brisbane residents lived in apartments. Queensland's body corporate office points out, in its guidance on EV chargers, that wiring inside a lot can still be common property, so check with your body corporate before cable goes through shared walls or ceilings.
Storm season
Brisbane's thunderstorms run from November to March. Surge protection is a separate job at the switchboard, but worth raising while an electrician is there: surge protection explains it.
Plan it room by room
Start where the internet comes in
Find where the NBN connection and modem sit. Every cable runs back to that spot, so it needs a power point and a bit of room.
Pick the points that matter
A wired point at each desk, the main TV, and wherever a second Wi-Fi unit would help the far end of the house.
Put power beside each one
Each data point wants a power point next to it. That's the licensed part, and in an older house it can bring up the safety switch rule below.
Label and test
Ask for every run to be tested and labelled at both ends, so nobody has to guess later.
The licensed part, in Queensland
New power points are electrical installation work. If no approved safety switch protects the power points, Queensland law means the electrician generally can't add any until one goes in. When the power work's connected, you get a certificate of testing and compliance.
We haven't covered the rules for the data cable itself, so ask what registration the electrician holds for cabling work, alongside their licence number.
Yours to do, and the electrician's
You can
- Set up the modem, router and plug-in mesh units.
- Stick a strip of painter's tape wherever you'd like a data point.
- Ask the body corporate about cabling through shared areas, if you're in a unit.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- New power points beside data and TV points.
- Cutting into walls and ceilings where mains cables run.
- Anything at the switchboard, including a safety switch if one's missing.
Our take for Brisbane homes
In a high-set timber house, we'd ask whether the runs can come up from underneath before anyone talks about the ceiling. In a post-war home we'd plan around the walls rather than through them. Either way, every data point gets a power point beside it and a label at both ends.
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.