I am vinyl siding my house, and I will have to work over the electric lines coming in from the street. I hate to think of even grazing the wires but the work must be done. Can I use vinyl siding or the vinyl? material used as moisture barrier in the shower floor tile installation? At some parts of the wall, when I lean the ladder against the wall, the ladder will push against the wires without taking away the slack. Is this something I can do as long as I have the insulation separating the ladder from the wires? Thank you in advance for the advice.
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Replies
Call your power company. In most locales, they'll come out and place an insulating sheet over the wires near where work is planned. You may have to wait a bit, but that beats dying.
Some does not sound right here.
You have the drop from the power pole. That should attache on the eves, but I have seen it attached to the side of the house. And while the power company can and should sleave it to keep you from hitting the wire with the ladder as you move it around. BUT THERE SHOULD NEVER BE ANY REASON FOR THE LADDER TO EVER LEAN AGAINST THE WIRES.
In older home the power then ran down the wall to the meter (or into the house) using a heavy "romex like" cable. And the insulation on those is brittle and should be handled with care.
But again they only take up a very small part of the wall. There is not need to lean a ladder against them. All they have to do is to move it 6 inches.
At some parts of the wall, when I lean the ladder against the wall, the ladder will push against the wires without taking away the slack.
What do you mean by this? My recommendation is NEVER put a ladder in contact with electrical lines. Period!
I suggest you take a picture and take it to your vinyl siding supplier and see what they stock to deal with service lines. (Unless your supplier is a big box warehouse store - never take their advice regarding anything electrical, IMHO - sometimes they're right, of course, but ....)
_______________________
Why Don't Blind People Like To Sky Dive?
Because it scares the bejabbers out of the dog
Your mileage may vary ....
To original poster,
Don't use an aluminum ladder! Electricians use fiberglass ladders.
Service feed wires are not fused. Stay away from them.
~Peter
Andyengel is right.
Most utilities will install a rubber line shield for no cost. Around here they usualy get it installed in just a few hours after you call. Depends of how busy they are and how close a line truck is. These lines are no more dangerous, voltage wise , than any other wiring in your house but they are unfused so any short will tend to be dramatic.
Play it safe.