Harmonising Old & New

When an older home receives a new extension, the electrical challenge isn't just about adding new circuits — it's about making the old and new work together as a single, properly balanced system. This Blackburn project involved a new rear living and dining addition attached to a mid-century brick veneer, and Millar Electrics was engaged to handle the full electrical integration.

Load assessment and balancing

We began with a full assessment of the existing installation, documenting every circuit, its load, and its condition. The existing switchboard showed an uneven load distribution across the two phases, which we corrected when adding the new extension circuits. The result is a balanced board with proper RCD coverage across all circuits and labelled documentation left for the owner.

New extension circuits

The extension received separate circuits for lighting and power, with a dedicated circuit for the reverse-cycle air conditioner and additional circuits for the kitchen appliances in the new island bench configuration. All wiring was run through the shared wall zone during the framing phase to avoid any surface cable runs visible in the finished space.

Lighting continuity

One of the design goals was for the lighting to feel continuous as you move from the original home into the extension. We worked with the interior designer to match the downlight type and spacing across both areas, and ensured the two zones were on circuits that could be controlled together from the main switch point at the living room entry.