A DNO network surveyor visited.

[epsilonGreedy]

A couple of weeks back a surveyor from my local DNO visited. He was cross checking MPAN numbers with meters and property addresses for 20 odd properties in the village.

 

He had a few "concerns" about my installation after opening my partly installed meter box in the cavity wall in my absense:

 

1. His first point was a surprise. He did not like the underground > cavity wall hockey stick cable route into the cavity wall meterbox. Apparently my DNO recommends running the cable up the external face of the wall and into the meterbox with a protective shield. This was a disappointment because being in a conversation area I thought my neater hockey stick setup was a deluxe finish. He explained visiting emergency call out teams do not want the hassle of a cable cavity feed. He relented and said he would not report this issue but warned that should a new cable be connected in the future the DNO engineers would cut the hockey stick cable and route the replacement feed up the facing bricks.
2. Issue 2: He commented on the unfilled foundation trench under the live cavity meterbox that I had covered with a wooden pallet and traffic cone. I mumbled something about filling it in ASAP with some cable marker tape. "No need for the marker tape" he said and explained their cable tracing sensors are so good they have dropped the requirement to lay warning marker tape over the cable.
3. Issue 3: This was my primary concern from the moment of the DNO knock on the static caravan door. The meterbox is not properly fixed to the wall and hangs out by 3". He was surprisingly constructive about this and said the big boy builders just use sealant to mount the meterbox these days. 

Edited August 25, 2020 by epsilonGreedy

[Onoff]

5 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

their cable tracing sensors are so good they have dropped the requirement to lay warning marker tape over the cable.

 

Not all digger drivers carry cable tracers! ? Lay tape, it's pence.

[nod]

3 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Not all digger drivers carry cable tracers! ? Lay tape, it's pence.

Exactly 

I recently move a drain and came across tape I’d laid two years previous 

 

At least he didn’t tell you it was more than his jobs worth ?

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, nod said:

Exactly 

I recently move a drain and came across tape I’d laid two years previous 

 

At least he didn’t tell you it was more than his jobs worth ?

 

I've an oil pipe to the house from a remote tank, both fitted before we bought the place. No idea whatsoever where the pipe is. All I know is it's somewhere where I want to bury a future cable!