If you walk around a McHugh Builders job site in Brigantine, you might notice a specific detail on the exterior walls. Before the siding even goes up, we mount the electrical meter pans on a dedicated block of white PVC board.
To the untrained eye, it might look like just another step in the process. But this is a deliberate construction choice—one born from years of experience building in Brigantine!
We don’t just bolt the meter to the siding. We mount it independently. Here is why that decision saves you time now and money later.
In custom home building, the schedule is everything. One of the biggest milestones in any project is getting “Permanent Power.” This allows us to get the HVAC systems running, dry out the drywall, and acclimate the flooring.
If we were to mount the meter directly to the siding, we would be stuck waiting. We would have to wait for the siding material to arrive and be fully installed before the electrician could finish their work and call for inspection.
By using a PVC mounting block, we decouple the electrical work from the siding work.
We can mount the meter and call for inspections immediately.
We can secure permanent power 3 to 4 weeks faster than the standard timeline.
Your project keeps moving forward without a bottleneck.
Think about the lifespan of your home. The electrical meter is owned by the utility company, but the siding is owned by you. When you bolt a meter directly over siding, you marry those two components together.
If the utility company ever needs to service, swap, or upgrade the meter, they often have to disturb the siding to get to it.
The PVC solution creates a protective buffer:
Service Access: Utility workers can access the meter without prying against your cedar shake or vinyl.
Water Management: The PVC block allows us to flash behind the meter properly, ensuring water runs over the siding, not behind it.
We build homes to last, like this one we did on 21st South Street in Brigantine but… we know styles change. Twenty years from now, you might want to replace your siding.
If the electrical meter is bolted over the siding, replacing that siding becomes a nightmare. You would have to pay an electrician to pull the meter, pull permits, and coordinate with the power company just to change a few clapboards.
By mounting on a PVC block, the siding is installed around the electrical equipment. If you ever need to reside your home, the contractor can simply remove the siding up to the block without ever touching the dangerous—and expensive—electrical components.
At McHugh Builders, we believe high-quality construction is about more than just the finishes you see; it’s about the structural logic you don’t see. Using PVC meter blocks is a small detail, but it reflects our engineering mindset: Build efficiently, and build for the future. Reach out today and work with a builder that treats you like family!
Reach out today and Ted McHugh will be in touch very soon!
