Operation “Give Me Power”: A Father-Son Electrical Adventure

by Marco Renovations

Well, we did it! After months of meticulous planning and countless meetings with incredibly qualified electrical engineers (and, of course, my dad!), we finally packed up the trailer and hit the road for Brandvlei. This wasn't just any trip; it was "Operation Give Me Power," a mission to completely rewire and refit the main house's electrical distribution board, including all-new light fittings, switches, and plug points.

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This truly was the trip of a lifetime, and the dream team consisted of just two people: my 16-year-old son and me. The electrical engineers provided us with detailed schematics for the house's wiring reticulation and DB board connections, which were invaluable. And for those "stuck" moments? A quick video call to my dad in Cape Town, who was taking care of my mother, always saved the day. His knowledge was incredibly impressive; it seemed like he knew just about everything, and having his reassurance and guidance on the other end was a huge comfort.

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The moment we arrived and started unpacking, my son was already in the ceiling void, pulling through cables before I could even say "let's go." We got straight to work, terminating cables, installing conduit where necessary, and putting in all the new light points and switches.

One of the biggest transformations was with the plug points. The house originally only had a paltry four plug points! We relocated all the old ones and installed a grand total of sixteen new plug points. Talk about an upgrade!

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Once everything was installed, the moment of truth arrived: the big switch-over. This involved carefully moving the municipal supply cable to the new DB board, which took about an hour. Then, we were ready to flip the switch.

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What an incredible accomplishment for two non-electricians! The amount of electrical information my son and I learned from this endeavour is truly mind-blowing. When we finally switched everything on and saw power and lights everywhere, it was an absolutely fantastic feeling. This trip was a major success, and I couldn't be prouder of what we achieved together.

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