Home Improvement Today?

I see where both in the death to soffits in a kitchen camp. lol

 

First let me say I WILL CALL BEFORE I DIG.

TL;DR I want to take out the lilac and replace it with a small evergreen.

Also I really wanted to wait until Friday to make this post so it can be the dumbest thing you'd read all day, but here we are.

Ok with that out of the way, we have this sickly lilac bush that has to go. It's very near to a pad mounted transformer. I know the lines exit the transformer right under the bush, it's been marked recently for a fiber install.

I'd like to replace the bush with a small evergreen, like 3-5 gallon size. Something that can grow over time. I'm not talking about putting in a swimming pool.

There has to be a way to dig and replant safely. Will the power co tell me how deep the lines are? Can I have it daylighted? Can I daylight it myself with a pressure washer and a shop vac? (There it is the dumbest thing you'll read) I mean a person has to be able to dig there, otherwise how'd the lilac get there in the first place?

I need a creative solution. Or to be called an idiot. Either is fine.

 

Id loosen it by shovel around base/edge of grass then tie off a good sized section with slipknot and try to pull it out. If that doesnt work, loosen soil in middle in X pattern and try again. Doesnt look like a big plant

 

By code it should be deeper than 18” but your local AHJ or power company may require it to be 36”.

 

Primary line should be 36” for ground transformers. Secondary lines may vary depending on local codes. Usually they are around 24”

 

Is there a way to confirm that ahead of time? You think I can ask the guy doing the marking? Or is that unknowable?

Edit: I would also feel better knowing it's in conduit. Is it crazy to say that makes me think it's less dangerous especially if I'm just digging with a shovel?

 

I use a method similar to wilcam47's. I use an off-road recovery strap that has sewn in loops. I create a slip loop on one end and try to get as much of the bush as possible in it. The other end I attach to my truck and slowly back up, putting as much tension as possible on the line. Then I take a shovel and dig around/cut any roots that have tension on them. When I've released all the tension it's back to the truck for another pull. A bush your size would take 5 or 6 pull/dig cycles, but it isn't particularly hard work.

I saw the below grade power lines at my house before they were buried. The power company had installed them in a heavy conduit. With a hand shovel I might be able to nick the conduit, but it would take multiple acts of concentrated stupidity to actually expose the power lines.

 

The wire they use ahead of the transformer looks like a large coax cable and will be hard to damage with a shovel, after the transformer its not necessarily going to be in conduit and that wire can be damaged fairly easily. The guy doing the marking should be able to tell you a rough depth if you are there when he marks it

 

I will add to the "use the truck" method- that I always try to incorporate a larger round object (stump, wheel, spare tire in a pinch, etc...) so that the strap/line is pulling up as well as away from the rootball.

 

Red? Blue?

 

Spraying my backyard for mosquitos today. (Chinese Tiger Mosquitos) Those little buggers are silent and almost invisible. Pouring bleach into some of the yard drains to hopefully kill off any mosquito larva. Also looking for the outside faucet my wife says is leaking but hasn't told me which one. Trimming a few bushes. I should go to the beach while the weather is still good. (I'm sure sometime during the coming winter I'll kick myself for not spending more days enjoying the ocean)

 

I know they have locators that can tell the depth. However usually they just mark the location. You’d have to ask when you call

 

Wrapped up that upper deck today (except for one small angled section that I need to find a solution for). Customer is thrilled. There are no angle brackets/mounts for this product (Fiberon Classic from HD). Any suggestions? I mounted those posts in the same place as the old. Former rails were wood and cut to fit. This plastic stuff is less forgiving.

 

You might be at too much of an angle for the Trex brackets. Prob gonna have to custom make something

 

Yah, it's not 45 degrees. I mocked up the angles from a short scrap and the angle on the left will result in the rail section being about 1/4" wider than the post. Going to have to get creative. I'm not opposed to using a different brand on this small section. Customer would be ok with it.

 

What’s your angle? I was able to get ~56° with mine. The issue I ran into was the angle was so great that it made the railing as wide/wider than the post cover. One or two had to cut the tip and caulk

 

36 and 54....ballpark. I had the same issue on the 54 cut.

 

Yea, if they are ok with that, that’s an option. It’ll be on the outside so they won’t see it. I didn’t have any options as I was replacing my existing decking and overlooked that fact. The wooden railings they had before they just went thinner on the width of the top and bottom plates. Unfortunately with the composite being hollow you can’t rip it. Didn’t really know what else to do so just called it good enough

 

Same with the old wooden rails on the old posts.

So the trex brackets would work?

I'd prefer a bracket/different brand than trying to have custom under mount brackets made to uase the existing rail and a flush cut against the post sleeve.[/QUOTE]