CASE STUDY · GENERAL ELECTRICAL · AITKENVALE
New underground power to a backyard shed in Aitkenvale
The shed was fed by an old overhead line across the yard. We dug a trench with a vacuum excavation truck, ran a 16mm cable underground, fitted a new switchboard in the shed and took the overhead line down.
Underground power to a backyard shed in Aitkenvale. 1 min 44 sec, filmed on site on 1 July 2026.
Read what is said in the video
Ben G'day, it's Ben here from Mountain Man Electrical. We're with a customer at Aitkenvale and we're looking at a sub-main to the back of the shed. I'll show you the setup, come and have a look.
Ben The issue this customer's got is an overhead service going to the back. So we've got a vac truck in, which can come down through this access way. We use a vac truck because there's zero risk of damaging any services in the ground.
Ben The vac truck's come in and excavated the trench from the corner of the house all the way back down to the shed. You can see a nice clean cut in the ground. We'll backfill this with sand, so there's minimal disturbance to the back of the lawn.
Ben That cable goes to the corner of the shed there. It's replacing this overhead service, which is a bit of an eyesore and also a bit of a hazard, it's been there for a while. So we're getting rid of that, and we'll cut it off and remove it for the customer as well.
Ben There's a new switchboard in the back, with new safety switches to protect the light and power circuits. We've run a 16 mil cable to give them extra capacity. It's a 40 metre run from here all the way around to the front meter box, on the opposite side of the property.
Ben That bigger cable size allows for the voltage drop, and gives them extra capacity to add a 15 amp inlet or even panels on the back of the shed if they ever want to.
Ben So that's the job here today. The guys will be finished once the sand arrives, and we're out onto the next one.
Lightly edited for reading. Crew names are left out.
The job.
The problem with the old line
An overhead power line ran across the back yard to the shed. It had been there a long time, it was an eyesore, and it was a hazard.
What we recommended
Replace the overhead line with an underground cable. We used a vacuum excavation truck to dig the trench, because it carries no risk of damaging other services in the ground, and sized the cable for what the shed might need later.
What we did
- 1Brought the vacuum excavation truck in through the side access and dug a trench from the corner of the house to the shed.
- 2Ran about 40m of 16mm cable from the meter box at the front of the property around to the shed.
- 3Fitted a new switchboard in the shed with safety switches on the light and power circuits.
- 4Backfilled the trench with sand to disturb as little of the lawn as possible.
- 5Cut off and removed the old overhead line.
FROM THE JOB
Photos from the day.
AT A GLANCE
Job details.
- Property
- Home with a detached backyard shed
- Cable
- 16mm, about 40m from the meter box
- Why 16mm
- Allows for voltage drop over the 40m run and gives extra capacity
- Shed switchboard
- New, with safety switches
- Ready for
- A 15 amp inlet or solar panels on the shed
- Old overhead line
- Removed
QUESTIONS FROM THIS JOB
Running power underground to a shed.
Answers from the Aitkenvale job, filmed 1 July 2026.
Why use a vacuum truck to dig the trench?
A vacuum truck loosens the soil with water or air and sucks it out, instead of cutting through it with a blade. That makes it far less likely to damage the pipes and cables already in the ground.
What size cable does a shed need?
It depends on the distance and what you want to run. At Aitkenvale the run was 40 metres from the meter box, so we used 16mm cable. The bigger cable allows for the voltage drop over that distance and leaves room for a 15 amp inlet or solar panels on the shed later.
Will the trench wreck my lawn?
The vacuum truck cuts a narrow, clean trench. We backfill it with sand, so the lawn is disturbed as little as possible.
Need power run to a shed or granny flat?
Tell us the distance from the meter box and what the building needs to run. We will size the cable and give you a price.
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