Siding/National Grid Question?
 

So I am siding my house....and I need to have the electric meter removed from the side of the house so that I can put a piece of Azek behind it so we can mount the meter on the Azek! My question is this.....do I need to hire an electrician to do this or will National Grid do this task as a service??? Any input would be greatly appreciated from anyone who has had to deal with this??? Thanks!:)

an Electrician can do that Larry

But will/should National Grid do it? I believe technically they own the meters?? I am going to call them Monday but just looking for insight!

Plus an electrician will cost me?

I'm not sure if NG would remove the meter for free. Usually with the meter the electrician would do the exterior work and the power company would come by and make sure the line was connected properly to the house for free.

I wouldn't half ass it though. If you monkey around something very bad might happen.

-spence

Thats my concern and where the wires also mount to the house on the rake board I will need those handles as well....later. Thats the tricky part as they cross the street overhead?

Yes, definitely electrician territory.

Is the service up to code as to how it's mounted? i.e. I'm assuming the attachment point is lower than the feed? If not it may be time to fix if you're going to muck with things.

-spence

Oh there was never a question is I was going to do it or not......I don't "F" with electrical! Just a matter of the proper way to do this.

I would think the proper way would be for an electrician to pull the hanger and meter off and temporarily affix to something else while you replace the boards. I'd think they may want to disconnect the service line that runs to the house but the rest could probably be left intact. This assumes it's already good to go and up to code. If somebody thinks you've mucked with it after the fact it would be a good idea to make it right.

I'm guessing though, I've only replaced one service and my assistant was a master electrician :hihi:

Call an elec and get an estimate and advice.

-spence

You must have an electrician with a Masters licencse to install or alter service i.e installing a new breaker panel.Not sure about the meter but if this requires the actual removal of the meter and wires I'd say you gotta pay an electrician.

What kind of siding?This does make a difference.Are you wanting to mount your meter on an Azek block?Why not just side up to the meter?

Hardiplank siding and I want it to look good....not half ass at the meter! Its a simple process and will only take me about 10 minutes after the meter is removed......throw up a piece of Tyvek and then the piece of Azek board and remount the meter!

elect. co owns the meter only, not the box it sits in/on....after the meter is pulled out YOU can take out the 2-4 screws holding to the house,just don't cross the leads w/your screw driver..do your blocking and screw it back on..then call for a new meter ,,,corse you'll be w/out power till then.....elect.co also owns the wire going to the house...they will remove the wire and reconnect...we always do eveything cause the elect. co is to dam slow getting to the job...time is money....if your afraid of getting juiced then expect to pay for their service.

Using an electrician will be your most economical in terms of time. Call utility to have an insulator put around the feedline where it approaches the house. Usually no charge for that. If you think the line is too low where it connects to rakeboard, ask electrician about installing a mast to raise the line higher.

learned the Hard way
 

got zapped by 220 volts 0NCE

it picked me up and threw me up against a stone wall
6 feet away ....like i was a rag doll......


-little story---------------------------------------------------------------
One time trying to prevent this sick city kid with a learning
disability from getting ZAPPED good from a cow pasture electrified fence...
I panicked because he was (temporarily) under my supervision
to get an outdoor experience... as he had never had one see

he was standing there with both hands clinging on to the cow fence wire
and the zapper cycles every say 4 or 5 seconds a big zap

i'm running towards him waving frantically
hands off the fence- hands off the fence!

then i realize because he's so fasinated with Doctors being at the hospital all the time ..... he had put on some rubber gloves
and was never feeling a thing.... HA ha ha...
it was so funny
he just cracked me up with his big wide grin....
continuing to clutch the fence....

i took him over to see the pond and there was a huge Bullfrog
and he had NEVER ever seen one before
it was incredibly tame.... almost like a magical being i swear to god
it sat on my hand and he then asked me.... :grins:

" Does it Bite" looking at me very concerned....
he likes to eat worms i said

so we gathered some and took turns dropping worms
onto the rock he was on, ONE by ONE he ate them all :uhuh:
it made his day........

[QUOTE=Raven;1007902]got zapped by 220 volts 0NCE

Now that explains a lot
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I thought we were going to get the story of peeing on the electric fence.

Ok national grid owns the wire up to the drip loop. Electrician owns the service drop and meter socket installation.

That being said call your town hall ask to speak to the electrical inspector. Tell him what you are doing. He may allow you to pull a permit to remove the meter socket and re install it.

If you need help I am a contractor in MA with a Masters license. Depending in travel etc. it will probably run you about 350 bucks including permit. That is if you have the backboard cut and a pie e of flashing ready to go.

It is probably 4 screws just depends on how you feel about working around live unfused voltage. A lot can go wrong with primary voltage. I took an arc on a residential service at the beginning of the summer it was awful. Facial burns and metal in my chest. I got it wet and cooled fast enough that I avoided scarring but the pain was intolerable. It is a 2 hour job
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[QUOTE=ProfessorM;1007966]Paul....
right afterwards i was sooo disorientated
having just had a small lunch.... (sandwich)

i took my plate and empty glass over to the bathroom sink

and then went over to the kitchen sink to take a leak :alright:

found myself standing there totally bewildered saying to myself
fumbling with my fly thinking ...."what the f--k am i doing"? :uhuh:

Recent research has shown that memories are not unchanging physical traces in the brain.

Instead, they are malleable constructs that may be rebuilt every time they are recalled,
MIT Technology Review reports.

I had it done at my old house, The contractor had to do it with one of his guys that was a lic guy! And i needed to get a permit from the town!

Update!
 

National Grid has sent an arborist out to trim some of the limbs however yesterday I discovered the bark at the bottom of the trunk buckling out...so as I pulled it away I discovered an infestation that has the base of this tree in poor condition which heightens my concern about this tree! The arborist told me he would file a report and try to get it taken down...I will wait to hear on this but I will be calling the Town Tree Czar to meet with them personally and point out my concerns....the town owns the tree so I want it gone!!!

Can't blame you there....
most of the deeper loam has been taken away
leaving tree's with very shallow root systems unable to
withstand winds like their deeper rooted counterparts can.