What jrbernier said. Just have a remote installed. You will still need access to the meter for repairs and if the meter man wants to check the accuracy of the meter. I'm sure you could pay a plumber to relocate it if you REALLY want to.
I would pursue the remote water meter reader. Our house is five years old and has the remote transponder. I don't think the guy gets out of his vehicle to read ours. I've never had anyone in the house to read water meters. In the winter, they just estimate our electrical, because they can get through the snow.
My water meter is mounted about 12" off the floor. There is a pair of wires to a remote sender on the side of the house that the meter reader can point a wand at from his truck! That said, the water meter has been replaced/upgraded 3 times in the past 25 years! You need access to it for the workmen.
Moving it will cost lots of money if the location where the water main enter the house will be difficult to move. Building an liftout may be the best thing. And this applies to the electrical panel & cable/phone entry points as well. Mine are all located within about 2 ft in the laundry/utility room I do have some 'staging' tracks that run 'under' the electrical box, but only consist of 2 tracks on a 6" wide shelf.
I was on a layout tour several years ago. They guy had the layout wrap around his furnace & water heater(with scenery)! I can only guess what code violations he has there. Access to my A/C 'A' Coil is through a hatch in a wall that has my branch line terminal. I have a hinged 3' section of the layout(complete with storage shelves underneath and backdrop above). It is hinged with a long 'piano' hinge and is very solid. I have been thinking about replacing the furnace/AC this summer - 2 pins and swing the section out of the way!
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
There is probably some regulation that says a homeowner can't move a meter himself, but that's to keep people from moving the meter and getting some of their water for free. Talk to your town's Department of Public Works or Building Inspector, and ask them what the procedure is for moving the meter. You'll probably have to hire a licensed plumber to do the work. On the other hand, it may be as simple as doing the work yourself and then having it inspected by the appropriate town official.
While you're at it, ask if they've got a program for remote-reading the meters. In our town, the meters are equipped with a small transponder, and the meter reader can get his number from a receiver on the outside of the house. Don't be surprised if they say, "Oh, we put those on all the new houses. Do you want one? We'd be glad to put one in for you, no charge." These gadgets greatly simplify the meter-reading process, since they don't need to make an appointment when someone will be home. Of course, things go a lot faster, so they don't need as many meter-readers in town. So, the guy whose hours will be cut back might not have told you about these.
With one of these transponder-equipped meters, you can cover the old one up and never need to see it again, although they may need access years down the line if they need to replace anything.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The most straightforward would be a lift-out section in front of the meter. One deck or the other will probably be high enough (or low enough) to clear the meter on its own.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
Hi,
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to build a double deck layout,
which will run past a water meter? The water man said that he needs excess
to the water meter. He said, I can't move it.
Sincerely,
Chris