A wide-ranging electrical upgrade at a residential property in Bodmin, covering new internal lighting, additional power circuits, PIR security floodlights, exterior bulkhead fittings and garage lighting modifications - all carried out ahead of a planned internal renovation.
This was a satisfying job to take on – a residential property in Bodmin that needed a fair bit of electrical work done across the whole house, inside and out. The client had a clear picture of what they wanted, with a number of changes lined up ahead of some internal building work. Rather than doing it in stages, we planned it all in one visit and worked through each area methodically.
Starting in the living room, the existing light fittings were swapped out for three client-supplied units – two wall lights and a ceiling pendant. Fitting lights that a customer has already chosen themselves is always a good approach; they know the look they’re after, and our job is simply to make sure everything’s connected properly and sitting right. These were wired back through the existing circuits without any drama.
The bedroom got a similar treatment. The old pendant light came down and was replaced with a client-supplied fan and light combination unit. One thing worth doing properly with fan light installations is the controller – rather than wiring it in as a permanent wall switch, a battery-powered controller was mounted on the wall adjacent to the existing light switch. It keeps the wall tidy and means the fan speed can be adjusted independently without any additional cabling back to a switch.
In the kitchen, an extra double socket was added near the doorway to the hallway, recessed into the masonry wall and positioned next to the existing outlet. The client had mentioned a new cupboard or bench unit going in, so having the outlet sited right where it’s needed makes sense – extending from an existing circuit rather than running a whole new one back to the consumer unit. A second additional socket was also added in the hallway, recessed into the wall and powered from an existing bedroom socket on the other side of the partition wall. Both sockets were installed flush into the masonry for a neat finish throughout.
The garage work was probably the most involved part of the job. There was already lighting in the garage, but the first-floor area and the ground-floor rear section were on the same circuit, which wasn’t going to work once the planned partition was built. The two were separated so they can be controlled independently going forward. On top of that, a 4ft LED batten was fitted across a high-level beam at the front of the garage, giving a good spread of light across that area. The cabling for this was run in trunking – the walls are masonry blockwork, so surface trunking is the practical approach and keeps everything contained and accessible. A new switch at the front of the garage now controls both the first-floor fitting and the new batten light, so everything can be operated from one point as you come in.
Outside, the front and rear entrance lights were both replaced. The old external fittings came off and LED bulkhead units went up in their place, one above the front entrance and one above the rear. Bulkheads are a solid choice for external domestic use – practical, weather resistant and they give a good spread of light directly where it’s needed above a door.
The rear garden and garage exterior also got PIR floodlights installed. For the rear garden, the supply was taken from the existing socket inside the garage via a fused spur with a switch acting as an isolation point. The flex cabling was then routed under the render bellcast, which tucks it out of sight and protects it from the weather – far tidier than surface cabling across a rendered wall. The floodlight itself is a 20W PIR unit, which is more than adequate for a garden space and covers a decent area on detection.
The garage exterior floodlight above the door was handled slightly differently. The supply was pulled from the garage lighting circuit, and an override switch was added inside the garage, ganged alongside the internal light switch. That means the occupant can either leave it to trigger on motion or switch it on manually from inside – a straightforward but useful bit of flexibility.
The final item was disconnecting a fitted oven that was no longer required. Isolating and making safe redundant circuits is a routine but necessary task – it just needs doing properly so there’s no live termination left hanging around.
Taken as a whole, this was a good example of a domestic electrical package covering multiple areas in one go. The client had thought carefully about what they needed, and having a clear scope meant we could plan the job properly and carry it all out in a single visit. For anyone in the Bodmin area planning similar work – whether that’s adding circuits ahead of building work, upgrading external security lighting or replacing internal light fittings – getting everything scoped out together tends to be the most efficient approach.
