ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Parking lot pole light swap....

Hey all,
Looking for someone who may have a little more experience with parking lot lighting estimates. I have rarely had to do this type of work other than the occasional tennis court light repair, but I was asked to give a price on swapping out some parking lot poles/lights. It is an LED light upgrade and the pole will have the same bolt pattern, so it is just a basic swap of one 20' pole with light for another 20' pole with light. Anyone have a rough idea on man hours to do this per pole/light? I am guessing two guys 3 hours from crate to finish. Have access to a bucket truck if that helps with your reply.
Thanks,
Jim

My wife did a bunch at her club and just setting the pole and hooking up the wires is about an hour. You still need to stage the job and add in some "risk" for things you don't plan on so 3 hours may be a good guess for pole #2 or 3 and on. Once you get the routine down, they start rolling right along tho. "Risk" is the wild card. Broken bolts, wires that snap off, too short to use and a dozen other things. I would certainly have someone survey every hand hole and give every bolt a look before I got the crew there.

From years of experience, do as Greg suggested.

Rusted hardware, possible bent bolts, parked vehicles, and the possibility of "existing not working" can lead to issues.

IF you have the job in the bag, try WD-40, or penetrating oil on the bolts ahead of time. Check for correct power at each pole, and that there are no 'patch' repairs that may lead to issues.

I've recently discovered PB Blaster.

It's even better than WD-40 for getting those hopelessly rusted nuts loose.

Blaster and heat is a good combo. Just be aware it is flammable.

I've had good luck drenching it in PB Blaster and then having a sandwich. Tapping it with a hammer also lets the stuff work deeper into the crevices.
I recall one bolt that I had absolutely no luck in moving. I drenched, waited, tapped, waited; then I put the wrench on it. It actually moved while I was reaching for the cheater bar. In less than a minute this rusty nut that hadn't turned in over 10 years was in my hand.

A cup brush on a small grinder can help too. If you clean up the threads before you go after the nuts, you have less chance that it will start going and then seize up again a little farther down. Down here in the swamp, galvanized will fail pretty fast too so these things tend to get painted.
This is the sort of thing you want to do in the "staging" step so you don't have a crew and a crane operator twiddling their thumbs while you are fighting rusty hardware.
It might be worth running every one out and back in one at a time before you start for real.
An impact wrench is great for that part. I have an 18v Makita that will beat my pneumatic I/R gun.

Jim,
For anything exposed to the weather, we use 316 Stainless bolts and nuts, when fitting these in place we use Res-Q-Steel anti-seize paste on the bolts.
In the past we have cut off the galv bolts holding the fittings in place and just replaced them with SS bolts.
Sure they cost a wee bit more, but it saves the grief down the track.