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New Builds and Townhouses in Albany and Long Bay: The Electrical Gaps Developers Leave

  • 3 days ago
  • 3 min read

Albany, Rosedale and Long Bay townhouses have the opposite problem to the old Shore: the wiring is modern and compliant, but provisioned to the developer's minimum. One power point per bedroom, no EV cable to the garage, builder-grade downlights, and a switchboard with just enough ways for what was there on handover day. None of it is unsafe — all of it becomes annoying within a year. Here is what owners typically add, and what it costs.

New townhouse, not enough points? Text a photo of the room to 021 889 770 — modern builds are quick and cheap to add to.

What gets left out

  • Power points — bedrooms with one double, living rooms without floor-level points where the sofa actually sits, and nothing useful in the garage

  • EV provision — no cable or conduit run to the garage wall, which is the single most expensive omission to fix later

  • Data cabling — Wi-Fi only, no hardwired points to the office or TV, which is why the video calls drop

  • Lighting — a uniform grid of cool-white downlights with no dimming, no task lighting and no zones

  • Outdoor — one light at the door, nothing on the deck or the path

The good news: modern builds are cheap to work in

Unlike a villa, a five-year-old townhouse has accessible cavities, consistent construction and a modern board with RCD protection already in place. Adding a power point typically runs $250–$450, data points $150–$350 each, dimmable lighting upgrades and extra circuits similarly modest. An EV charger is $1,500–$3,500 installed and usually straightforward because the board can take it. Batch several jobs into one visit and the per-item cost drops again.

Multi-unit and shared driveways

Albany and Long Bay have a lot of terraced and multi-unit developments where several owners want EV charging off a shared supply. That's a load-management conversation rather than a simple install — and one worth having as a body corporate before three owners each solve it separately. We'll assess what the supply actually supports and quote the sensible version.

Frequently asked questions

Will adding points void my new-build warranty?

Properly certified work by a licensed electrician doesn't void a building warranty, but check your specific documents — and if the issue is a defect rather than an addition, raise it with the builder inside the warranty period rather than paying us to fix it.

Something isn't working in a home under a year old — builder or electrician?

Builder first — defects inside the warranty period are theirs to fix. If they're unresponsive or it's ambiguous, we can diagnose and document what's actually wrong, which usually resolves the argument quickly.

Is it worth waiting until we renovate?

For a modern townhouse, no — the access is already good, so there's little saving in waiting. For anything involving opening walls, yes: batch it with the work.

Make the new place actually work

Write the list — points, lights, EV, data — and get it done in one visit rather than four callouts over two years.

EWRB-registered electricians · Certificate of Compliance on every eligible job · Based in Remuera, servicing the North Shore

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