Why Was There No Power To Electrical Sign?
In Fort Collins, CO, we were suppose to wire the electrical sign. We had to come out here last winter & trace out what happened with the wires. The wires were damaged. It could have been from the new cement sidewalk that was repaired or if the grass had been trenched & locates were not done to repair a sprinkler? We had to trace the power back by getting an underground meter to figure out where the power came from. Once we did, we were able to re-pull the wire, fix the conduit & re-attached to come up to the sign & then tested on the photo-eye. We are going to burry it to the conduit up to the sign. Over here, we have to do the same thing get the wires through the gutter over to the box.
When we were done the lights lit up.
Prevention Tips On Running Power Underground
The above scenario of underground power to an electrical sign is a common problem when other contractors or maintenance management companies repair or redo landscaping without locates. Hiring the right company, who does the right procedures for the job & who thinks about future contractors who do work. These tips could help prevent future expenses that are unnecessary:
1. Should always get locates down to identify utilities underground. This is so you know what is underground, so damage doesn’t happen when digging the ground. Make sure the contractor that you hire is going to do the locates, so underground wiring is not damage & you don’t realize it happened until later.
2. If at all possible, KEEP original prints from when the house or building was built & never lose them. This gives you the proper information for the electrical contractor to know how things were wired from the beginning on the outside & inside of the building. This saves time & money for the electrician to figure out what has happened in the past, so the electrician can wire it properly in the future & hours aren’t required to pay for an electrician to figure out what happened in the past.
3. Have the last contractor document what he did on a copy of the prints, so that it is documented for the next electrical contractor.
These tips will save you lots of money in the future.
