Moving Utility Lines

[harrisor]

Hello garage journal forum!:

So I recently purchased a home, and one of the selling points was a detached garage. Funny or sad thing about this garage is that is has a dirt floor and no proper footings while the boards are making contact with the earth but it is not pressure treated wood. So I figure it needs to be completely redone to make it usable and more sturdy.

My question is when I was getting the utilities marked out I noticed that a the electricity and 1 utility line run under the garage/shed. Has anyone ever gone about getting utility and power lines rerouted? Any tips, thoughts, similar experiences that could be shared.

If pictures are needed I can provide some.

Thank you and I look forward to showing the project when I begin to do the work.

Robert

 

[oltruckag]

They can be moved - depending on your utility they may do it for free or charge you. That is very location dependent.

Why do you want them relocated? Depending on depth, it may or may not matter that they run under the garage when/if you put in a concrete floor.

 

[Grumpy365]

Is the garage in a Utility easement?

If Not, they can be moved.

IF YES, you gotta problem.

 

[Scout Driver]

Like oltruckag said, find out how deep they are. Then have your contractor come over and take a look and see if the lines will interfere with any work.

Are you putting in a floor drain, water or new electrical service? Now is the time to take all of this into consideration too.

This is also an opportunity to gain some wall height if you need it. If it was me, I'd have a footing that counted for about a foot of my wall height. Your sill will be off of the ground and you won't have to worry about the sill getting wet if you wash a car in the garage.

Keep us posted on your progress.

BTW, I see that this is your first post. Welcome to the Garage Journal.

Scott

 

[Red Green]

Anouther Question is what side of the meter are the lines on? If they are between the meter and your house it would be your responsabilty to move them or have them moved. Your location may have different rules.

 

[BigMike782]

Unless the building is in the ideal location now what about putting in the footings and stub walls in another location and move the building?

 

[Groovy]

A similar situation I had they had to put in a temp power meter on a post cost 250.00 to get that done. Then the power company had a contractor come out do it, they dug it all up basically got rid of it. They laid new line to where the new breaker box was being installed and connected once the electrical inspection part was done. It was a while back but I think the whole thing including that temp power meter was about 500.00 bucks they added it to my power bill and I paid a bit at a time. Of course the real money was the electrician hooking up all the circuits and sub panel etc and to even have the county come out he had to be licensed that was the real $ on the whole deal. The actual line move was a mess but not too bad $ not sure about your area as power companies are different.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I'm looking into a utility relocation on my property to move overhead lines that currently run across the middle of where we want to build our new house. I have been told that (at least in my area -- your results may vary) it all depends on when they where installed. I asked the wife of one of my friends about it. She works for our power comany and it turns out, she works in the office that deals with right-of-way issues. She told me about a right-of-way stipulation on state law books that ends up meaning that if the lines where installed prior to a certain date then the power company is garunteed right-of-way across the porperty however they see fit, then the company can charge you to move them. After the law changed, they are only garunteed access within a set right-of-way along the property lines. The power companies still take thier chances and cut across the middle of big properties like farmland, but the owner can ask them to move them and they have to do it no charge. Of course she looked up our exact address and the line in question is from when they first ran power to the area (before the law changed), so I will have to pay....I joked about pushing the "I own the land" issue to try to get out of paying and she just said "Just remember, response time to get out there to fix a problem can get really long when the power goes out."