Before You Renovate! Top Safety Tips for any DIY Pro
Consider yourself quite handy?
While most people enjoy getting their hands dirty on their own home improvement projects, there are some jobs that are best left to the professionals.
While there is an art to painting, for example, forgetting the undercoat won’t cost you a trip to the hospital.
The same cannot be said about home electrical renovations.
Besides being illegal, unlicensed electrical work can be a fatal mistake.
When planning your next home renovations, there are some key issues, risks and opportunities that you need to be mindful of.
- Due to stringent Australian standards, regarding electrical work, there are a number of legal requirements that need to be adhered to during your renovations. In particular, due to the risk associated with mixing electricity and water, there are additional requirements for your kitchen, bathroom and outdoor areas if you are lucky enough to have a spa or pool. Accordingly, there are limitations to what can, and can’t, be installed in these areas so it is highly recommended that you have an electrician assist you from the outset of your planning and designs.
- With energy prices rising, what feels like ever quarter, you will be wise to incorporate energy conservation into the design of your renovations. Considering the vast array of clean technology on the market today, from low voltage light fittings and water saving devices to batteries and solar, there are many sustainable options that will save you money (and energy) in the long run.
- Be mindful of leads that you come into contact with during your renovations. Ensuring that you keep all leads as straight as possible to minimise the likelihood of causing an electrical fault.
- Be wary of double adapters. Because double adapters don’t have any overload protection incorporated into their design, you run the risk of overloading them and potentially causing an electrical fire or fault. Making them even more dangerous is the fact that may people, often without thinking, will piggy back more double adapters when in need of more outlets. This greatly increases the risk of overheating and overloading. To stress this point, double adapters are actually illegal in many states of America, are banned from job sites in Victoria and are considered one the most dangerous pieces of electrical equipment in the household.
- Don’t do you own electrical work. Electricians are highly skilled professionals who are aware of the dangers involved with working with electricity. Doing your own electrical work is not just illegal, but is extremely dangerous. Besides your own health and safety illegal unlicensed electrical work could cost you up to $40,000 or $600,000 if it causes a death or serious injury for individuals and up to $3,000,000 for a corporation.
