2 100 amp load centers or 1 200 amp load center?

[dstig1]

I was asking about two panels so if I needed to shut "almost" everything off but still need a little power it would be a simple matter of flipping a main.

You can do basically the same thing by shutting off all the breakers you want to in the single panel.

I've been partial to Siemens panels. Very well made with lots of installer-friendly features (like little hook tabs that hold the front cover in place so you can get the screws in without needing 3 hands). Nothing wrong with SquareD either.

 

[wedge40]

Well some of the power is in.. I didn't feel like messing with it so I hired it out. We have this web site called Angies List that tracks and rates contractors. I figured other people have used him and he got good reviews must be ok. Are we sensing problem here. .

I'd say he over estimated for the cable, but not too bad maybe 15' or so. He came out Monday to get started.. He had called 811, the utilities locator people on Wednesday evening. So basically Thursday. Well they hadn't been out there yet, but there were still flags from when I called in the spring prior to getting the barn put up. So he was using those as a guide. Well digging around the meter base he found my phone line. With the shovel, sliced right through it. Ok I dont have a phone, but I can use my cell.. I'm fine with that as long as he fixes it. We're walking back from the meter base to the barn and luckily we stumble onto my cable/internet run. Cool he can dig around this so the trencher wont cut it. I then help him lay out the cable and put the schedule 80 conduit over it. I didn't think it at the time but wasn't he suppose to run this UNDER the internet line.
He did a few more thing Monday and finish getting the basics of what I wanted and where.
Tuesday I get home around 6:00PM and meet him at the end of the driveway. We stop and talk a while. He tells me the electric company was out and I have a new meter base and power to the barn. Cool.. Then he tell me about the conduit not running under the cable line. He said he and his buddy with the trencher pulled the cable with trencher till they got enough slack to pull it over the conduit. As he's saying this I'm thinking WTFO. So I head up drive and go into the house and sure enough I have no phone and now no internet connection.
More later

 

[rambler]

Heard of Angie's List, never went to it before. Just checked it out - seems worthless to me, I'm in an 'other' area, so I can join free - because there is no data for here. So if I join up for free, I can spend my time building up their list, then after a year they will charge me a yearly fee - which they don't tell me what it is - so I can basically go visit my own data that I just put in for the past year?

Don't think so!

Anyhow, sounds like you found a real winner there for an electrician. Better luck to you whn you get to the actual wiring of any boxes!

--->Paul

 

[mjncad]

Wedge:

That sure sucks big time. In Colorado, utility locates are good for 30-days or when the paint wears off, whichever occurs first.

Last year I nailed my phone and CATV/Internet connection with my rear blade as those utilities only direct buried the lines 2" - 4" under the surface. Idiots! I wasn't pleased; but I got them to repair the lines on their dime. Now I hear they bury them deeper.

I had the lines marked for what it was worth.

 

[LD1]

That sure does suck.

Have you paid him the full amount yet?? Is this actually a "business" guy with a "business" truck, or just some hillbilly and his buddy??

About the utilities though, I have called and had them marked before, but in the 3 days, only the water (city water) and electric was marked. (I have underground electric).

I have called them twice. The most recient was when the TWC guy was installing the cable line. Phone company still didnt show. I know there is a phone line there, even though I dont have it turned on. Maybe that is why.

But in any case, They are allowed like a 3 foot window for their mark. So dont just assume it is directally under their mark.

It will be interesting. I hope they make it right with you.

 

[wedge40]

Ok time to finish this little story.. First people should know that I pretty much always have bad luck with contractors, hence that was why I went to Angies list. And I'll use it again.

On Tuesday when I found I didnt have my internet I sent the contractor a text and called him. I explained that I could live without my phone, but I needed my internet ASAP and that he needed to call Comcast and get it taken care of right away. In the middle of this conversation, my cell decided to quit working. My mic quit.. I could hear him, but he couldnt' hear me. It's funny now, but wasn't at the time. He called Comcast and they said they would be out the next day by 11:00am.

Wednesday I'm at work and get a text around 10:00 Comcast had showed up, looked at the line and decided to just lay a new cable. I hadn't realized but my signal had degraded over time and the cable folks figured out why. The line coming down from the pole, as it entered the ground had been chewed on. Not sure how long before I would have lost signal. Then in the middle of the day I get a call on my "Broken" cell from my home number. Hmm I guess they have the phone line patched up. When I get home Wednesday evening they are in the process of putting the electrical boxes in and getting those hooked up. The contractor said we want to stay and finish up that night. I'm no expert, but I'm thinking Norfolk and Way and go inside to relax. Well about 6:00 there's a knock at the door. "We'll be back tomorrow to finish" At least I have my phone and internet back so I'm a happy camper.
I get home Thursday and they are in the middle of installing the 6 high bay lights I had bought. They left about 4:30 with the job complete.

Yes I did pay him the full amount, he do what he was contracted to do, just had a few hiccups along the way. I will ping him a little when I rate him on Angies List.

I still like the idea of Angies List and know I will be using it again for some of the things I need done. It only works if people are willing to take a few minutes to write a review of the services rendered. Without Angies List I would have opened the yellow pages and pulled someone at random.

I now have 320 amp meter base, 100 amps to the house and 200 to the barn. I believe I have 10 or 12 120 outlets in the 2/3 of the barn, exterior motion light and exterior outlet. 6 highbay 6 bulb fixtures for lighting the 2/3 of the barn.

Wedge

 

[LD1]

I am not sure If I would even ping him.

He did everything asked of him. Sure he had hiccups along the way, what contractor doesnt? But he took care of them right:thumbsup:

Even if the cable and phone were marked, it is very easy to cut the lines with a shovel. About the only way NOT to is either you get lucky, or you climb down there and dig with your bare hands.

As with every job, there are obsticals and hold-ups, but how THOSE are handled tells you if it is a good contractor or not.

On second though, I would probabally ding him a little bit. But ONLY because of that comment about stretching the cable line with the trencher:confused2:

 

[mjncad]

I explained that I could live without my phone, but I needed my internet ASAP and that he needed to call Comcast and get it taken care of right away.

Wedge

We have Comcast, and the only thing they do right in my opinion is internet service. I call them Cumcrap.

 

[wedge40]

We have Comcast, and the only thing they do right in my opinion is internet service. I call them Cumcrap.

I live out in the boonies so my options are somewhat limited for high speed internet. I've lived here for 20 years and have had satellite TV (Directv) since I bought the place. I've got Comcast for the digital only. Kind of pricey, but I'm also a real geek and use Linux as my operating system. So I down load updates often and you really need high speed. I've thought about getting rid of directv over the years, but just can't do it.

Wedge

 

[tlbuser]

The line coming down from the pole, as it entered the ground had been chewed on. Wedge

Weedeater?
I don't think the guy deserves a ding. Sounds like he fulfilled his contract. Sometimes, things just go wrong and it really is the way they correct the hiccups that count (IMO).