“Do I need to rewire?” No — here is what actually happens on install day
What we touch, what we never touch, how long it takes, and what your house looks like when we leave.
This is the question that stops most people from calling. They imagine walls opened up, furniture moved, weeks of mess.
It is not like that. On a C-Bus upgrade, the house is not the work site. The switchboard is.
What we touch
- The switchboard: fit or reuse a network gateway on the low-voltage side
- The C-Bus network: read the project, program the rooms, rebuild scenes
- The app: name every room in English and Chinese, set schedules with you
That is it. No new cable in the walls. No switch plates removed. No painting.
What we never touch
- Your keypads stay exactly where they are — same buttons, same feel
- Your dimmer and relay modules stay unless one has failed
- Your 240-volt wiring stays as it is
- Your internet router stays as it is (we do not take over the network)
How long it takes
A 30-channel home: about three hours. A 70-channel double storey: most of a day. Above 120 channels we usually split it over two visits, not because it is complex but because testing takes time and we do not rush the handover.
What you will actually notice
Someone in the switchboard for a while. Lights being switched on and off room by room, which is us confirming every circuit. At the end, a walkthrough where we hand you the phone and you press things.
There is no moment where the house is unusable. Power stays on. The keypads keep working the whole time.
What can go wrong
Honestly:
- A module fails during testing. Not caused by us, but discovered by us — and it is better to find it now than in three months.
- The existing project is corrupt. Then the takeover takes longer, and we rebuild instead of importing.
- No gateway is fitted. That is a hardware line on the quote, not a surprise on the day.
We tell you which of these applies after the free check, before you commit.
The one thing we ask
Have the switchboard accessible. Clear a metre in front of it. That single instruction removes about 80% of the friction on install day.
Prefer a straight answer about your own house?
Free 30–40 minute check across Greater Melbourne. No obligation, no sales script.