Since a 30 foot utility pole needs to be set in the ground 5 feet, for James and I to hand dig to the proper power pole setting depth in the rocky limestone soil of Dual Homestead we would have been at it for much longer than that. The utility used a truck with a hydraulic auger, and after asking which of us would be climbing the pole (he kept looking at me) the equipment operator dug in a couple extra feet setting the pole at 8 feet deep. He said it would give extra stability when we had to climb the pole.
They also used a hydraulic tamper – which acted like a pogo stick – to compact the dirt as they filled the hole. Something that really stabilized the power pole and made me feel really good realizing how much work the power company saved us.
Since now the pole was only 22 ft high we could get away with not setting a guy wire – which greatly improves the land use around the pole.
Code says the power line has to be at least 12 feet above ground and 18 ft over a road – so setting our weather head 20+ feet in the air gives us a good measure of safety.
In later articles, we will discuss the RV box in more detail, but the idea is to have an outlet we can use to power things like a cement mixer without using a generator, and not having the issues with setting up a temporary pole.
Plus, once the trailer is demolished and James builds his trailer based tiny house, we can plug it right into the pole.
In case you are keeping score it cost us $280 for the 30 ft pole and install – which I feel is a bargain. Plus another $300 in various inspection fees, deposit and hook up fees to the electric company.
As of this point – besides the land purchase of $7500 – the almost $600 we paid to the electric company is our only large expense.
If you have never seen a utility pole being installed, you can watch the video – I found it very exciting – but it is one large step toward my future Independence.
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