HV and shielding.

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

beastmaster

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Sep 16, 2006
Messages
2,348
Reaction score
1,067
Location
Bakersfield, Ca.
I do this famous landscapers trees at her home. Her home is a show piece for her work. She stresses if I was to knock off a flower petal on one of her native plants. The HV lines run right down the middle of her yard. I go there two or more times a year just to keep her trees out of the lines. The line clearance guys know her well and many a battle of will has gone on with them. Even their A team doesn't come close to satisfying her.
I often have to get closer then I know I should to the lines, some times 5 or 6 feet. Many times I'll cut back a branch or spout that has grown with in inches of the lines. I use a foam filled poll pruner, and cut from a safe distance, making my cut several feet below the lines.
There is one big deador cedar that the power company has been cutting on for years. There are a lot of problems with it caused by unskilled pruning cuts. Several small limbs are touching the lines during wind events, and suckers from sprout at bad cuts are now 10 feet tall and growing straight up. Power Company wants it fixed, understandably so.
The power company's fix and her idea of fix are 180% apart. I already get to close on the ones I maintain, I won't do the deador tell they take off the worse limbs. Lots of drama there with her and the line crews and now she want me there to," watch them", what a pain but Im going to do it for her.
All this could be avoided if they'll put shielding over them for 45 min. while I trimmed that side. They say they don't even know what shielding is. Iv had other power companys in different areas do it for me on removals. Think their yanking my chain? Their the company that drives the orange trucks. This job always makes me nervious but pays really well and she refers me to high end jobs now and again. You would think shielding the wires and letting me do the work would be a win win. Do power companys still use shielding? or has this practice been retired.
 
Last edited:
Sorry can't help with the shielding but is there a way to splint/support the stem so it moves less in the wind?
 
I have often had wires shielded but it seems these days they are more inclined to shut the power off while the work is being done.



This is something I leave to the client to handle though when they are shutting the power down I make sure there is someone I can confer with to confirm the power is indeed shut down. It cuts down on the BS and the stupid stuff like " Shielding? What's that?"


I am waiting for a date on a job right now. Just a couple little branches, maybe 200 bucks but I ain't touching nothing til the power is down.
 
Last edited:
Call the power company and not the big orange idiots. unless the power company are the orange idiots? I got a little bit confused. Generally if we call any of the local power companies they will sleeve the wires with 48 hours notice.
 
Back
Top