Our electric situation has been on hold at the house since we bought it because I was trying to find an electrician to install a meter/breaker box combo on the outside to be rid of that ugly wall in our kitchen. The first electrician who came over said he could do it for $560, but that same day we had someone advise us not to have him do the work. No big deal right? There's plenty of electricians out there. The second said they didn't make a box that would fit our space. We waited nearly a week to hear back from the third who said he could do it for $500 but it would be two weeks. The fourth was scheduled to look at it today but I had to cancel because the job was already done.
I went to the electric supply store in town to buy some wire for our stove and furnace and just on a whim asked if they had the box I needed. Sure enough (I think the second electrician didn't want to have to do what comes next!)
One of the big issues we've been having with the electricians is that the conduit needed to be moved over 3.5" to be in the correct place. They were all planning to cut the pipe and put in two elbows etc... They said the power company doesn't like it but it will be OK with the inspector. I figured: Why not just dig all the way to the bottom of the pipe and do it there (that would be the right way, right?)
It was a tight place to work but in an hour and a half I had reached the bottom only to find the wires running straight out the pipe. All I had to do was scoot it over (not as easy as it sounds those wires are about an inch thick.) Anyway the pipe came right up, I cut it shorter to fit the new box and in a total of 5-6 hours I saved over $300 in labor costs and got it done right away.
The hole digging was the trickiest part (and pretty rewarding to) so I took some pictures.
This is the final hole about 2.5 ft deep. You can see the back deck is built around it. I pulled up several of the boards but it was still a tight squeeze getting close enough to reach into the hole.
A shovel wouldn't fit down in the space so I wedged myself under the deck and used these high tech tools to remove dirt and rocks from the hole.
This picture is upside down but it is a shot of the biggest rock I pulled out. It was bigger than my head (which is pretty big right now) and very difficult to pull out of the hole.
And... the final product! Now we just need to get it inspected so the power company will turn the power back on.
Speaking of inspections I hope the local building inspector isn't too upset that I didn't consult him first! I have state permits but I am supposed to turn in plans and pay for city permits too. Maybe the fines will be the same price as buying the permits!
In a final note we have everything we need for our forced air heat system. Maybe I'll talk to the inspector before I start that project...!
These next two pictures are the finished product. We hated painting over the raw wood but the damage had already been done and now it looks so much better. Eventually most of our paint job will be covered by cabinets but for now it just feels better.
