Worst job ever

[Tom King]

I'm changing a low, overhead 200 amp Service Entry wire service, to a 400 amp underground.

I met with the "Designer" from the power company, and planned together how they wanted it done.  I went that day, and rented a walk behind saw, cut the asphalt driveway where the wire needed to go, and brought a mini-excavator back when I carried the saw back.  I had other work to do with the excavator anyway.  They wanted a 24" deep ditch from the transformer pole, to the house, below the new meter.

They furnished the meter base.  I had enough leftover parts from years of other building, that the only thing I needed to buy was one, of the two, new ground rods they wanted.  One of the conduit sections is a bit weathered, but not worth a trip anywhere to get a new piece.

The ditch digging went easily, and it looked like it wouldn't be too bad of a job.

It wasn't, except for one step.  The old building has brick veneer that was laid on top of a footing separate from the main footings, and a slot needed to be cut out of the protruding edge of the brick footing.

Normally, I'd just break that out with a 20 lb. sledge hammer.  I've never seen any concrete that wouldn't yield to a 20 lb. sledge hammer.  This wouldn't.  Not At All.

I drilled holes all around the cutout I needed with a 1-1/4" SDS-MAX hammer drill.  It was the Hardest stuff I've ever drilled any hole in.  It was over 8" thick where I needed to cut it.  I got tired after that a couple of days ago, and left it for another day.  The next day, I hit it some more with the 20lb. sledge hammer, and not only would it not break, I couldn't even crack it.

I cut some slots in it with a diamond blade in a 4-1/2" side grinder, with a water hose for dust control.  I'm not going to tell anyone else to do this, but I buy the cheap grinders for this, and have done it many times.  I don't cut masonry with a blade enough, ever, to be worth buying a dedicated gas powered saw for this.  The last time I cut masonry with a portable blade was 6 years ago, and that only for a couple of chimney flashings.

I cut a slot a couple of inches deep, all around the backs of the drilled holes, and hit it some more with the 20 lb. sledge hammer.  Couldn't crack it.  I walked away for another day.

Today, I decided to just start cutting away with the little grinder, and breaking out small chunks.  I put on a swimsuit, and say on a board to keep out of the mud.  After a couple of hours, of cutting, prying, and hitting with a masonry hammer, the job was completed.  I went, with everything I had on, and jumped in the lake to wash off.  I was covered, back to front, top to bottom, with wet concrete mush.

If I'd known it would have been this bad to start with, I would have wasted the half day it takes to go rent anything.

The $27.95 Skil sidegrinder, and blade that was in it, was tossed right in the trashcan.  It was complaining enough, by the time the job was finished, that I knew it didn't have much life left in it.

Any wires seen cut in the pictures don't matter.  They are not in use for anything anyway, and I had already unhooked them in the old panel.  The old meter was where the cutoff to the left is.  This type of 400 amp service splits it into two 200 amp branches.  The box to the right will serve a few more subpanels, down the hill on the point, and around the lakefront side of the house for a deck.  I don't want to get into adding anything to the old system, or I will have to get into adding arc-fault circuits, which I don't want to do on an old electrical system, that I'd bet money has shared Neutrals.

Glad this one is behind me.  The power company is charging 1717.38 to run the wire from their transformer, maybe 75 feet away, if I dug the ditch.  They said it would be a LOT more if they had to do the digging.  Maybe it was worth it, but I'm glad I don't have to do it again.

 

edited to add:  Ross, I didn't get over to the old house today.

 

 

[wtnhighlander]

I feel your pain, Tom. I had to do exactly the same thing when we built our house, 30 years ago. I was too inexperienced / ignorant to think of doing what you did. Spent 2 long days of labor, and wore nearly 6" off the point of a mining pick, chipping that concrete away.

[Mark J]

Yikes.

[Coop]

Some things are better left to the pros, not that I ever take heed to that advise! 

[Tom King]

An Electrician told me I saved a couple of thousand dollars.  It was worth that.  Next time, I'll go rent the right kind of saw, but since I was into it that far, the couple of wet hours, sitting down, were probably worth it.  I'll try to think to take a picture of the ditch tomorrow. 

It probably did me some good to get a workout with the 20 lb. sledge hammer.  I doubt many over 70 do that.  I did have some sore muscles that I haven't felt in a long time, which will help with my golf game later.

[Coop]

A friend that I use to bowl with, called me and said he had three bags of grass clippings and did I want them for my compost pile. I picked them up, thinking, due to his age, that he had a lawn service. At 93 yo, he had just bought a new Toro mower and still mows his own yard. When I was leaving, he was getting his weed whacker out. He retired from the Air Force after 21 years, worked and retired from Anheuser-Bush after 32 years of service and gets SS. Not like he needs the money. 

[wtnhighlander]

Coop, all that work is what keeps your 93 year-old friend going! Hope I can keep up at that age.

[Tom King]

People ask me why I still work.  I tell them that if I didn't keep working, I might actually be 71 years old.

[Tom King]

I took pictures of the ditch, this morning.  The power company wanted it 24" deep.  I got back with the walk behind saw at about 4:00 the day I met with the designer.  I had planned to carry it back in the morning, and bring back a mini-excavator.

I called the rental place, knowing that they close at five, and told them that I was cutting butter, downhill, in the shade, and to leave a key in an excavator if I didn't get back before they closed.  The cutting really was that easy.  They had closed when I got there, but they had left a key for me, so I brought the machine back on my trailer.

Digging the ditches was the easy part.  I worked the excavator for the full 8 hours, before I carried it back the next afternoon.  I had a lot of other work around the farm to do with it anyway.  The ditches didn't take over a half hour.

I wheeled 487 feet down to the little bathroom house on the point.  I'm going to put at least a 100 amp subpanel down there, and probably run 150 amp wire, because of the distance.  From there, it will power that building, including a mini-split, and continue to the not yet built boathouse, and dock complex, and run a sprinkler pump, boat lifts, and lights.

The saw cost $73, and the excavator $286.  The worst part of the job was, by FAR, getting that chunk of concrete out of the way.  This morning, I feel better about coming out for my work. 

The dirt that came out of the ditches will be filled back in with the tractor with front end loader.  I just dug the ditch going down the hill far enough to get through a few Pine trees, and the rest will be done with a trencher.  I did dig an access hole at the little building with the excavator, to make it easier to get under the wall with water, and power.

The old power pole will come down, out of sight.  The designer told me they couldn't touch it because it still had an old phone wire on it, even though that wire hadn't been used for decades.  I pulled the wire down with the excavator.

 

[Tom King]

It passed Inspection today, so now we'll see how long it takes the power company to get here.  I did get an email from them that they had received notice of the inspection.

Overall, that seems reasonably fast, because I think it was just last Tuesday that I met with the power company Designer about it.

[Coop]

Good report with the rental company. I see a lot of red dirt a little below the surface. Is that fill dirt above it or just the lay of the land? 

[Tom King]

Topsoil, on top of red clay subsoil.  The topsoil has a lot of beach sand in it.  We're right on the edge of the transition from Coastal Plain, to PIedmont (where hills first start).   This used to be the edge of the ocean.

We're right at 200 feet above sea level.  From here, to the coast, is almost flat.  To the West of here, hills start getting bigger.

Below the red clay subsoil, which can vary in depth a Lot, is the large block of Granite that is under most of the surrounding states, and beyond.

I get along great with that Rental Company.  They know I'm not going to tear up their equipment, and will bring it back cleaner than when I picked it up.  That excavator was the last one they had on the yard.  Kevin, the owner, told me the nut that kept the keeper bolt in for changing buckets needed to be replaced, because the threads were so screwed up in it that they couldn't get the bolt back in.  He said they had been too busy to cut the nut off, and weld another one on.  I told him to stick a 12" bucket on it, and leave the bolt out, that I'd fix it.  It was a 5/8" nut.  I have taps up to 1", from a tractor repair job, so I just re-tapped the nut, and it worked fine.  They'll let me pick up whatever I want, and pay when I bring something back, because often I don't know how long I'll need it.  I picked it up late that evening, used it 8 hours the next day, and carried it back the following morning.  He just charged me for one day rental.