Electrical/Lighting - build without lighting?

Hi all

Just following on from another similar topic, hoping others can share their experiences.

I am soon to be heading to pre-start and I'd like to ask them to remove the light fixtures and replace them with just a powerpoint/junction box in the ceiling to have downlights installed independently after I move in.

Has anyone else done this and is it fairly standard? Or have your builders told you that they cannot build the house without lighting?

Thanks in advance

Hi jasmin,

That is what we did, replaced lights with outlets (clipsal 413) in roof. Builder didn't mind.

We did the same thing ten years ago when we first built. Beechwood didn't mind us doing it.

Our SS, told us we were lucky to get away with it now in WA, as he mentioned that now there has to be lighting in every room.

Got the downlights installed yesterday and they look good!!!

just in case anyone else had read this and was wondering, I asked my mortgage broker about the lighting situation, and have been advised that bankwest (my lender) won't approve the loan/house with no lighting. This is partly to do with the lenders mortgage insurance.
So not sure if this is the same for other people, but looks like I will have to get the standard lighting installed.

hmmmm,

either the valuer didn't look to hard at our place or the fact that we had given them invoices for the lights & installation of them!!

We went with bankwest as well!!!

Would it work if you had (say) one light in the corner of your room and Clipsal 413 in three other positions ?



● = Clipsal 413
● = Downlight wired in with the three other 413 points

P_D

you only need one clipsal 413 per switch.


e.g. for a bedroom where by a light turns on 4 downlights, only one clipsal 413 is required.

If you builder does not allow you to install clipsal 413 instead of downlight, what you can do is install one light in the position of the downlight and after handover just daisy chain it.

Are you looking at not getting your builder to do any lighting at all? We are getting junction boxes in the areas we want downlights (ie main living, bed 1, etc) but are having regular lighting installed in other areas (like minor bedrooms) We are going through Bankwest too, our mortgage broker is aware of what we are doing with lights and hasn't mentioned anything re this to us?

Ahhh........I like your thinking !!!

Assume a "Degree of difficulty" of (say) FIVE for your 1st fix Sparky to install the (additional) 413's, once the insulation is in, ceiling is installed, carpets, bed and everything else is in place, the "Degree of difficulty" of installing the other 413's would be significantly higher, say TEN.

Given the well-publicised *cough* "additional markup" by builders, would it still be cheaper to get an after-handover Sparky, or would you be better just sucking it up and paying the builder for the 413's ??

(All things being equal....)

Thanks,

P_D