How to Hide an Electric Transformer Box With Landscaping

Electric transformers are a necessary evil for any property owner who wants power in her home. The presence of an electric transformer in front of your home may detract attention away from your carefully manicured landscaping. You can hide an electric transformer box with advanced planning and clever landscaping.

Instructions

1. Build a simple fence surrounding an electric transformer box that allows easy access by repair people. You can create a swinging gate closed with a latch to allow the electrical company to fix a transformer while you are away.

2. Plant vines from window boxes and other structures on your property to help hide a transformer box. Your vines need to steer clear of wires and vents on the box to prevent plant life from infiltrating the transformer.

3. Place a large shrub next to the electrical transformer after observing the direction where most traffic will approach your home. This solution is ideal if your home is on a dead-end street or cul de sac where traffic comes from one direction.

4. Create a retaining wall out of landscaping blocks to help shield an electric transformer box from public viewing. You should keep the wall's ends away from your home to allow emergency access by the utility company.

5. Obtain estimates from various landscaping companies in your community to determine the costs of obscuring a transformer. Your landscaper may know the best way to deal with the transformer on your property but the costs may be prohibitive. If you are familiar with simple landscaping methods, you might want to just pay for the design and do the labor yourself.

6. Speak with your neighbors to get input on the best way to hide an electronic transformer. Your neighbors may have experience dealing with cumbersome transformers and offer a first-hand perspective on the amount of the transformer viewable from other properties.

7. Work with landscaping companies to find full-sized trees that have sufficient foliage to hide transformers. You should seek out fully grown trees that help distract people from the ungainly transformer on your property.

8. Construct a multi-level flower bed to add some color to the area surrounding a transformer box. You can build a wooden holder that allows three full-size flower boxes to be placed safely next to a transformer for maximum coverage.

Tips & Warnings

• Consult with your local utility company to determine limitations on concealing a electric transformer box. Utilities will need to inspect transformer boxes on occasion and may not leave your landscaping untouched as they complete their job. You should request that flags be placed on top of electric lines before you begin digging.