Waikanae in a nutshell
Built in one decade
The greater part of Waikanae's houses date from 1970 to 1979. Waikanae had 5,727 dwellings at the 2023 Census, and the town is seen as one of the region's top retirement spots, with several retirement centres.
An older population
At the 2023 Census, 36.2% of Waikanae's 12,966 residents were 65 or older. Across the Kāpiti Coast District, 22.31% of households didn't own their home.
Electra's lines
Waikanae is on Electra, not Wellington Electricity. Its outage and faulty equipment line is 0800 LOST POWER (0800 567 876). For a downed line, Electra says don't approach it, stay at least ten metres away and treat it as live.
Tornadoes and rivers
A tornado at Peka Peka Beach, just north of town, on 9 July 2011 blew roofs off and demolished sheds. WREMO lists floods from the Ōtaki and Waikanae rivers among the hazards facing Kāpiti.
Jobs that suit a 1970s Waikanae home
A switchboard check. Many boards from the 1970s have fuses or circuit breakers but no RCDs, the switches with a test button that cut power when current leaks. Adding RCDs, or replacing the board, is one of the most useful safety upgrades for a house this age.
Lighting you can see by. Brighter LED lighting in hallways, over steps and along the path to the car, with switches at both ends of a hallway. Sensor lights outside help on dark winter evenings.
Smoke alarms that are easy to live with. Long-life photoelectric alarms in bedrooms, hallways and living areas, as Fire and Emergency recommends. Interconnected or hard-wired alarms mean you hear one wherever you are.
Inspections when buying or selling. A pre-purchase electrical inspection tells you what a 1970s house's wiring is really like before you commit.
If it were our place in Waikanae
We'd get RCDs on every circuit first. Then we'd light the routes you walk at night, from bed to bathroom and car to door, and put in alarms you can test without climbing a ladder.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.