mounting electric meter on metal building?

[cory58]

Finally got my metal garage erected last week, and met with the electrician today. I now have what I thought would be a common dilemma, but have searched this section and the general section with little success.

I need to mount an electric meter and lights on the outside of my building, and can't find any mounting blocks with a back profile to match the siding (which I think has a reasonably standard profile). I don't have access to a machine shop or serious woodworking equipment, so I can't easily cut profiles into wood or metal. I think it will look like **** to have 3/4 inch of caulk to fill the gaps. I even tracked down the manufacturer of the siding and they were no help.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a pic of my siding. The main ridges are 9" on center and 3/4" tall.

Thanks, Cory

 

[dw1]

Unistrut

 

[tfi racing]

Yep,two pieces of horizontal unistrut bolted to the structural members,then attach your meter to it.

 

[cory58]

Thanks! Unistrut it is. I've seen complaints about unistrut rusting in exterior applications. Do you all think coating it with something like Flexseal would keep the rust away for a reasonable time?

Cory

 

[Stuart in MN]

You can get stainless steel unistrut. For the small amount you'll need it won't cost that much more.

 

[cory58]

You can get stainless steel unistrut. For the small amount you'll need it won't cost that much more.

Sweet! Thank you.

 

[wes73]

Here is a link that shows how I mounted outside lights.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250750

 

[cory58]

Here is a link that shows how I mounted outside lights.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250750

That looks great. Just to make sure I understand your installation, is all this correct?

The PVC collar is for esthetics only.
The secure mounting is accomplished by screwing the j box to the 2x4 inside.
The 1/4 " thick caulk ring on the back of the jbox is the seal, so water can't get to the mounting holes and conduit hole. The PVC collar is not sealed against the siding.

Thanks!

Cory

 

[fastjohnny]

Mount it all on 2 posts with unistrut detached from the building, avoid punching a bunch of holes in your siding. Conduit for service entrance.

 

[HRJoe]

My builder wrapped a mounting panel (ie, plywood) in metal to match my siding, then framed it in like a window and trimmed with J channel. Electrician strapped / bolted everything to it. Looks nice.

 

[wes73]

That looks great. Just to make sure I understand your installation, is all this correct?

The PVC collar is for esthetics only.
The secure mounting is accomplished by screwing the j box to the 2x4 inside.
The 1/4 " thick caulk ring on the back of the jbox is the seal, so water can't get to the mounting holes and conduit hole. The PVC collar is not sealed against the siding.

Thanks!

Cory

Yes, everything you stated is correct. I put some extra caulk around the conduit on the back of the box.

 

[cory58]

@wes73 - thank you.

 

[cory58]

Update: Finally got the meter box mounted this week. Here is how it ended up.




Based on recommendations here, I used SS unistrut, which is screwed into wood blocking on the interior. There are metal/neoprene washers between the strut and the siding.

Everyone I asked about how to seal around the 2" PVC (including the electrician) gave the same answer, "Just caulk it." I couldn't get ok with that, so I did a lot of research on the Internet and found the Oatey Master Flash boot. It's made for flat and slightly sloped metal roofs.

This better not leak for for many years!

Thanks again for the responses to my initial question.

Cory

 

[dw1]

I think you have went "Above and Beyond" the required minimum installation.
Looks good, sorry, I caulked mine, I did use the OSI caulk though.

 

[lakeroadster]

Cory

Cory,

Yeah, that looks outstanding!

Can you post up some photo's of your building? Is the siding installed horizontal?

 

[cory58]

Cory,

Yeah, that looks outstanding!

Can you post up some photo's of your building? Is the siding installed horizontal?

Thanks! Sorry for the delay in responding. Here is a picture of the building from the day it was erected. The roof siding is vertical, and the wall siding is horizontal.

Current size is 30x30, but will be expanded to 30x50 if I can EVER get phase 1 completed. The project has been extremely frustrating, but GJ was been a huge help. If I ever have time, I will post a build thread with (hopefully) helpful information for other newbies.

Cory

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