This week we had the privilege of working at Enfield Uniting Church, where they needed an outdoor power point in their outdoor courtyard area. They would like to have electric barbecues so they can serve hot food at events that they hold throughout the year, but will also use the power point to power some audio equipment (microphones, speakers, music, PA systems) when needed so they don’t have to run long extension cords from somewhere inside.

The solution we provided was a double 15A weatherproof power point on a 32A RCBO circuit breaker. They can now use 2x electric BBQs (or other power hungry loads) at the same time without having any power tripping issues. The last thing you want when you’re serving the community with a tasty sausage sizzle is a hot plate going cold!

The beautiful church building was built in 1886 with all the iconic church features: stone walls, high pitched roof, very high raked ceilings. Over the years additions have been made to expand its size and capacity. 

In practical terms, this makes an electrician’s job challenging! There are 5 different roof lines, joins where the roof changes shape & direction, changes in material, changes construction method. Some roof were pitched, some were flat.

Some walls used to be external walls and are now internal walls.  Some ceilings had no access, some had limited access, and some had easy access.   

The new power point was installed on the opposite side of the building as the switchboard, so our cable installation went through every variation of ceiling! 

It was a challenge, but we accepted the challenge and systematically worked through each obstacle until we achieved our goal. 

The power point was installed on an external stone wall, cabling run inside the wall cavity, through different ceilings styles and building additions and back to the switchboard. 

Jobs like this can easily turn into a nightmare! But with some creative installation ideas and some hard work, we can always get the job done.