Possible Building trouble?

[Corins]

I'm looking at tearing down my current 18wx26d and going with a 36wx24d, but I'm concerned about the guy wire coming off the pole behind my lot. Currently it runs right beside my garage (pic shows what I mean). Tomorrow I'm going to call the power company to see if they will come and have a look and give me the news on if it can be moved or not. The fact that the pole behind my lot is the last pole in line has me concerned that they won't move it.

Anyone here have any ideas on if they can move it or not? I'm trying to start my floor plan but even with calling them tomorrow I'm not sure how long till they will actually drop by to have a look. And just cause it might be hard to see from the picture, the wire runs about 12 feet into my lot. Also the wire if there is nothing that can be done about it ruins my entire plan on going bigger, there is no way to move the garage to a different area and still get the size I want.

 

[barks]

Does the power company have an easement? You may not be able to build on that space.

 

[yost69]

Do they have a utility easement on the property?

Yes it can be moved. They may or may not move it. Be nice to them about it and it may not even need to be there.

 

[power wagon]

i see the pole is behind a fence, is that your land or a neighbor? and the guy wire is on the other side

 

[power wagon]

ad one more thought, maybe, can you take the pole out and go underground

 

[Corins]

I know the town has easement for water and sewer, however I'm not 100% on the power company. The pole itself is on town land as there is a small 3-4 foot walking space between mine and my neighbors land. That fence is mine, then the pole is behind it, then the neighbors fence is on the other side of the pole.

 

[Corins]

ad one more thought, maybe, can you take the pole out and go underground

Only thing about that is that wires from the pole go to 3 houses other then mine.

 

[power wagon]

how long have you been living there , there should be an easment , maybe the people before you signed it

 

[Stuart in MN]

If it's the last pole on the line, it's going to need a guy wire to support it one way or another. They may be able to run the guy wire differently but they'll have to look at it to tell for sure.

 

[retrobuilder]

A few things come to mind-

1. the building may have been before a setback was required from edge of properties (often anywhere from 3 foot to 25 foot). Your NEW building may be a problem.

2. Being a support for a last pole, the guy wire may need to locate in your neighbors property or two cables added with one shifted further from the side of the house .

3. What if you did a L shape plan clearing the line. You still likely need power company approval as to how close you can to clear it. Are any other utilities on the pole lines (phone..etc), that may mean another approval problem? Was the building built after the guy wires were there?

4. btw Sometimes it helps to get code variances by using same foundation footprint side lines i.e. use existing rear line as you have now at fence line..

 

[sickjuice]

Skip the power company and check your title. Talk to a lawyer if you cant make sense of it.
The power company will likely tell you 'no' regardless if they have an easement or not.
If they don't have an easement that far into your property then you can tell them to move it. They might still say no without a letter form a lawyer. Send them a letter from a lawyer registered mail and if they dont remove it cut it out of your way.
If they do have an easement, your hooped because that is no simple job removing that. The stress on last pole is huge

 

[kbs2244]

Talk to the power co.
That cable is there to take up the pull of the wires going away from it.
They need something to relive that strain.
They may be able to move the cable to the next to last pole and get enough pull.
Or you sometimes see a pole put in at an angle so that it is pushing against the strain instead of your cable pulling against it.
Whatever you do, do not take it out yourself.
The strain will cause the wires all the way down the block to sag and can even snap a pole.

 

[Corins]

My biggest concern is that I have heard horror stories about the power company saying no over the phone and won't even come look at it. I "could" do a L shaped design however my depth in that part of the yard would be limited to about 12-14', while not really an issue per say it would be annoying to say the least.

If I had to go L shaped I'd almost looked at the narrow section being used to store the toys (Snowmobiles, ATV, Motorcycles etc) and use the main section for tools and vehicle. Now I don't park my truck in the garage often, only when working on it, however my new truck won't clear the current garage door. Plus with all the other **** in there I can't fit it in even if it did clear the door.

 

[Corins]

I've heard of guy wires that extend straight down into the ground, it starts off at an angle and then there is a extension sticking off the pole that makes the guy wire go at a 90 straight down, eliminating the 14+ foot stretch out from the pole and bringing it down to 4-5 feet.

 

[lakee911]

You should have an easement, but if you don't that would be trespassing by the utility company and they will generally fix that if you ask them to. They can probably work something out with you. Leaning another pole next to it is a solution. Setting other poles and install guy (?) wires to them overhead is another. Pole relocation could also be an option. If they're in the clear, though, expect to pay out the ear.

 

[rlmartinson]

You have a lot of good info so far, but of couse it will vary by where you live.

You need to check on current building setbacks and if any easements are in place. Look for PUE (Public Utility Easements) and dedicated utility easements. Even if there isn't a recorded easement, they may still have the right to be there and you can't do anything to force their hand. That location could have been originally designated as a future road and is ROW (Right of Way) that has been abandoned but still gives the right to the utility. FYI, many utilities have the ability to take your land if they want to, just like a city, DOT, or railroad.

Do NOT try to remove that down guy w/ anchor. There could be 30,000 pounds of force on it. I don't think you want that liabilty!

Look into it. Then nicely talk to your utilities and see if they can do anything about it.

Do you have a pic of the pole top? I could tell you what is up there...

 

[lakee911]

have a pic of the pole top? I could tell you what is up there...

Uhmm ... if you know what's up there already, why do you need the pic?

 

[theoldwizard1]

I've heard of guy wires that extend straight down into the ground, it starts off at an angle and then there is a extension sticking off the pole that makes the guy wire go at a 90 straight down, eliminating the 14+ foot stretch out from the pole and bringing it down to 4-5 feet.

Closer to 10'.

 

[Zeke]

I've heard of guy wires that extend straight down into the ground, it starts off at an angle and then there is a extension sticking off the pole that makes the guy wire go at a 90 straight down, eliminating the 14+ foot stretch out from the pole and bringing it down to 4-5 feet.

This is true as I once worked on a line crew for the local phone co. The pole is set on the wrong side of the path you describe. If you can get them to move it closer to your neighbor's back fence, you could guy down as described. There looks to be power and phone on the pole. Might be cable, who knows, but all utilities will become involved in transferring their kines to the new pole.

All you can do is ask. The name of who owns the pole should be on the tag. They, in turn, will contact the other companies if they decide they can move the pole. Chances are real good that there is an easement for that guy, so don't get your hopes up too high.

They ought to come out and inspect if only to evaluate the slack wire.

 

[Corins]

Was a power company guy in the area today and I asked him to have a look, he said they can move it about 1m closer to the pole, and if I wanted to have my garage more in the back then in the end of my driveway they might be able to move it 2m or more away from its current location so it wouldn't be blocking off my garage door, I'll get a google maps pic later on and make some mods to it and post it up to show what I'm talking about. But I might be able to do what I want garage wise, they are willing to add a half pole over further to allow for neighbor wires to be clear of my garage roof.

 

[Corins]

Okay maybe no google map pics, my area is not very clear to view.

 

[Zeke]

I can see them changing the service drop to your neighbor's if they go over your property with no hassle.

 

[Corins]

The biggest issue with the service drop was where to put the pole, but he said if it has to be done then even if they don't want it on/near their lot it is too bad. Making me believe they have property easement. I'll see what I can do to try and get a drawing or something up later this evening to get an idea what is going on.

 

[retrobuilder]

Corins, if you can get the guy location 5-6 foot closer to pole you can consider another idea. have a U shaped plan view with shallow back middle area. Put a 3 foot or 7 foot garage rear exterior door and turn into a small "grill with patio area"? Good luck with it.

 

[marklandon]

Some thing to look at where I worked we did not move poles or guys for free if its for your garage you pay to move if it can be moved

 

[lakee911]

If you gripe about neighbors wires over your land, they have to move it. Mid span drops can also be used to alleviate the aerial trespassing.

 

[rlmartinson]

Uhmm ... if you know what's up there already, why do you need the pic?

3 phase or single single phase? Big wire? Vertical framing? Secondaries? cable? Phone?


Try to find a county GIS to be able to see where your property line is. If you know where your property pins are, that is the exact location.

 

[Corins]

If they move it 1m closer to the pole and then move it 2m closer to my garage that is there now, and considering the guy wire is going to stay the same length and it being a circular pole, the guy wire will almost be at the property line, making my garage almost completely free of the guy wire. If I had any paint skills I'd just do a mock up paint drawing.

I can still go 24x36 and I can still go the full height I want, its just that my garage will be completely behind my house and have a 90* turn from my driveway to the garage door. But I will have about 24 feet worth of room between my lot line and the garage door, so that should be more then enough room for turning a vehicle in considering I'm planning to go with a 14 or 16 foot wide door.

EDIT: If you notice there are 2 small pieces of 2x4 on the ground between me and the guy wire, one is near the right side of the picture and the other is at the bottom of the fence straight in from it. If I went with what I plan right now that would be the front distance of my 36' deep garage.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Hopefully the power company can help you out and get it moved.

FYI, on the pole just outside the fence, the lower wire that is looped (very top of picture) I'd bet money that is cable tv. Your power lines will be at the top and phone will be in the middle.

Notice the pole in the background, the dark wire near the bottom, has the black rectangle to the right of the pole, that is the phone. You might be able to trace it back to your pole and figure out what's all hanging on that pole.

 

[Corins]

Really everything is on the pole, power, phone and cable. However I only have cell and Sat TV so while the cables maybe running to my house from earlier, they aren't in use.