MAYBE SOME GOOD NEWS

 I've been concerned about a power supply line issue that might have delayed our selling of the house.

The supply line, from the roadside power pole to the house has, for years drooped low over the front deck. It has always bugged me but, while being unsightly we've gotten used to it. It has been the prospect of getting real estate agents and potential buyers around that has, in my mind at least, made it an issue. I have been worried that the line might be illegal and hold up any house w.o.f. or building inspection approval.

I have had our electrician and builder looking at the line and they suggested one of three options, the options being:

• Underground line
• Another power pole on our property to bypass the deck
• Installation of a mast on top of the house

See HERE

All three of the options would be reasonably costly but I was looking for peace of mind so was prepared to spend to get things done right.

I have had a job request in with Northpower and today a Northpower engineer called in to inspect the line. I was half expecting him to be horrified and to request immediate disconnection from the grid but he just smiled and said that there was no problem. The supply line he said is in good condition and is triple insulated so that if anyone accidentally or even deliberately touched or grabbed it they would not receive a shock.

The supply line on the right going from the street pole to our house.

A closer view of it

Where it connects to the house

The engineer is going to send me a report of our meeting which will be handy to have, to show real estate agents. He suggested doing nothing but, if I still had concerns could consider raising the line by the mast installation on the house. He said that this would require a longer supply line from the street pole being fitted which is expensive along with the builder and roofer costs.

The engineer liked a suggestion I made of installing some kind of lifting pole made of wood with a flexible rubber cup to hold the supply line up kind of like a 'shangeye':

This could be securely attached to the corner post of the deck and according to him won't interfere with the electricity flow because of the cable's insulation.

Finally, he suggested that a power line sleeve known as a 'tiger tail' could be wrapped around the line at a reachable point if I wanted extra peace of mind.

I'll talk to our electrician about the 'shangeye' option or the 'tiger tail' to see what he says.

The outcome to me is a great sense of relief and of course endorsement of The Old Girl's suggestion that I was worrying over nothing. We can now look to listing the house for sale at the end of this month once a few 'cosmetic' jobs are finished.