Hi there, it’s your friendly and professional electricians from Perth’s GKB Electrical.  Here are some answers to your commonly asked electrical questions.

About Us

Are you licensed?

Yes, we are licensed with the Office of Energy Safety as electrical workers (electricians) and as an Electrical Contractor (electrical business operator).

Who will attend our property?

We will send an experienced and qualified senior electrician to your job.  Depending on the size and complexity of the job, they may be supported by another tradesperson and/or an apprentice to perform the works.

What suburbs do you attend?

We are based south of the river (Armadale / Byford area) but we travel across the Perth metro area for work.  We have also performed work in regional WA.

Our Work

I am selling or renting my house, can you provide a safety certificate / compliance certificate?

Yes, we can perform a safety compliance inspection and provide a compliance certificate.  We have more details about this in our article – Electrical Safety Requirements For Selling Or Renting Your House.

Do smoke detectors expire?

Yes, they need to be replaced every 10 years.  They will either have an expiry date or date of manufacture on them.  If they have neither, they will be more than 10 years old and/or non-compliant and will need to be replaced.
If you are selling or renting your house, these will need to be in date.  We can’t issue a safety compliance certificate without this.

Do I really need to replace the battery in my smoke detector every year?

If you have a hard-wired smoke detector, replacing the battery is necessary because it serves as the backup power source during a power outage.
If you have a lithium smoke detector (which means it’s not hard wired), you need to change the whole smoke detector every 10 years.

My exhaust fan is broken, can you fix it?

Maybe, depending on which part is broken.  Generally, the exact parts can be hard to find, or the unit is made as a whole, and you can’t change out parts.  We find that its often cheaper, and better in long run, to replace the whole exhaust fan.

Can you install my new oven?

Yes, we can install new electric ovens.  We can even take away and dispose of your old oven for a small fee.

My power is tripping in the kitchen / laundry / bathroom.  What is the cause?

It could be several reasons but the most common reason tends to be circuit overload.  For example, running multiple electric devices at the same time (e.g. air-fryer, dishwasher, microwave, kettle, washing machine, clothes dryer etc) may cause that power circuit to trip. We can fix this by installing a new power circuit to separate the load across two circuits.

Do you perform switchboard upgrades?

Yes, we do and generally our price is more competitive than the big electrical companies.  Also we won’t upsell you on anything you don’t need.

I have a private power pole on my property. Western Power has inspected the pole and issued a work order.  What does this mean?

This means that your pole and/or the equipment on the pole is unsafe and needs to be replaced or rectified.  We can arrange to replace or repair the issues and work with Western Power to close out the work order.

Do you install ceiling fans and what type do you recommend?

Yes, we install ceiling fans.  We recommend DC fans which tend to be quieter, come standard with a remote control and are widely available.  We have a client referral discount with Beacon Lighting, allowing you to save on your fixture purchases.

Can you wire my new shed?

Yes, we have experience wiring a range of sheds from small garden sheds right through to commercial workshops.

Can you install power to my new shed?

Yes, we can arrange trenching and run power from your meter box to a new sub board in your shed.

Can you arrange power to my new acreage block?

Yes, we can arrange installation of the Western Power meter box and arrange to connect you to the power grid.

Contact Us!

Call us today on 0407 385 264 for a free quote and chat about your electrical project.