Think your board might contain asbestos? Leave it alone
WorkSafe Victoria lists switchboards and their backing among the typical places asbestos turns up, including pitch-based boards such as Zelemite and asbestos cement fuse boards. Don't drill, screw into or disturb the board. Tell the electrician what you suspect before they start, so they can plan for it.
Why Cheltenham's houses need this attention
Built in waves after the railway
Cheltenham grew in the 1880s after its station opened in 1881, then saw much of its housing built in the late 1940s. Market gardens were filled with housing in the 1950s and 1960s, and Cheltenham North was the last part developed.
Old enough for asbestos
The Victorian Government's Asbestos Hub says a home built or renovated before 1990 likely contains asbestos, and says your electrician generally isn't licensed to remove it.
Two councils
East of the railway, and Charman Road north, is the City of Kingston. The western part towards the bay is Bayside. Kingston has more than 120 significant places in its Heritage Overlay.
Homes and supply
At the 2021 Census, 58.5% of homes were separate houses, 37.2% were owned with a mortgage and 27.1% were rented. United Energy supplies the area and runs a Cheltenham zone substation. Network faults go to 13 20 99.
What replacing an old Cheltenham board involves
WorkSafe Victoria's compliance code says asbestos can't be reused, so an asbestos mounting panel that comes out has to be replaced with a non-asbestos one, following the removal rules. If the board has deteriorated or there's dust, a licensed asbestos removalist may be needed as well as the electrician.
Once the new board is in, every circuit can go behind a safety switch (an RCD, which cuts power in a fraction of a second if current leaks to earth). That's also when old cabling shows its age, so expect the electrician to test the circuits and tell you which need replacing.
If you rent the house out, Victoria's rental standard has required circuit breakers and safety switches on power and lighting circuits since 29 March 2023, so an old fuse board isn't an option.
Where we'd start in a Cheltenham house
If the switchboard looks original, we'd get it replaced before any other electrical project, and pick an electrician who regularly deals with asbestos-era boards. It's the one job that makes everything after it safer and simpler.
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.