Electrical Plan with Clipsal - Need some advice

jillho · Jul 21, 2020 4:17 pm

Hi guys,

I just had my electrical appointment with Clipsal last week,
nothing has been signed yet but I think I'll make some changes cause prices are crazyyyy.

I'm currently working in a LED Lighting company so it's way cheaper for me to supply lights & fans (including Downlights/Floods/Battens...etc) by myself.

One thing confuses me the most is the consultant was ok with me supplying my own lights so she credited all the batten holders on the plan and charged "wire and install owner supply downlight" for $87.50/per light.

I actually would like to use my own sparky to install all the lights after handover,
does that means I'll have to get her to change back to batten holders only and remove the wiring & installation fee?

Also, she added 2 cable entry plates to the plan and they cost me $206.25/each, is this a thing that I can probably get sparky to do it after handover as well? Wasn't too sure about this cause it has to drill a hole in the middle of the wall for cables to go through.

Last thing is, I'd like to use smart dimmer switches, I was telling the consultant about this but she said I can install dimmers afterwards. I found it quite silly to have Clipsal installs standard switches for me and swap them later on...
Has anyone supplied their own switches before or had similar experience?

Any advice will be appreciated, sorry I'm not a very technical person so my questions might be silly.

Thanks in advance!

timthetoolman44 · Aug 27, 2020 11:25 am

Sad to see no one gave you advice!

I work closely with Clipspec as I do them for display homes that my Builders build. We normally won't touch Clipsal downlights as they are expensive so we work with other companies just for that component.

May I ask before I give you any more advice if you're doing a Clipspec as a recommendation from a Builder please?

jillho · Aug 27, 2020 11:50 am

timthetoolman44

Sad to see no one gave you advice!

I work closely with Clipspec as I do them for display homes that my Builders build. We normally won't touch Clipsal downlights as they are expensive so we work with other companies just for that component.

May I ask before I give you any more advice if you're doing a Clipspec as a recommendation from a Builder please?

Thanks for you reply

My builder outsources all the electrical part to Clipsal so I had my electrical appointment with Clipsal's consultant.

I've now done my electrical plan and changed all the lights in upper floor to batten holder only ($62.50/ea+),
will get my sparky to install all the lights/fans/3 in 1 heaters after handover.

All the downlights/Floods/Wall & Stair Lights are from SAL

Just hope this post can help some people in the same situation like me before,
Clipsal is working with a lot of well-known project home builders now,
they do electrical plans for builders' customers and most of the inclusions are Clipsal products.

timthetoolman44 · Aug 27, 2020 11:56 am

Yes everything you say is correct but I can tell you Clipsal has been working with the project builders for a very, very long time, this is nothing new. Nor is the Clipspec program that they are using to do the selection process for you.

Did you do it online or visit one of their PowerHouses? Which city are you in if you don't mind me asking?

jillho · Aug 27, 2020 2:59 pm

I visited their showroom in Brisbane CBD.

timthetoolman44 · Aug 27, 2020 3:04 pm

Yep, opposite the convention centre from memory? I've been there a few times and I've done two houses from that centre. It is a great service isn't it?
Last time I was there I witnessed a young couple who were building their first home with Coral Homes, spend about 45k in less then 25-minutes when they were on a low budget building originally! Money easily spent

jillho · Aug 27, 2020 3:18 pm

That's it, it's actually overall not a bad experience, showroom looks fancy and all the staff are quite polite and helpful.
Originally i was quoted around $9000 with owner supplied fiitings,
So I can image how much money others might spend with all the upgrades and extra lights/power points.

The consultant wanted me to sign the documents straight away but I said I'll take home and think about it.
End up spend roughly $6000 (Included $2000 provisional sum)