The mast is the pipe carrying your overhead service from the utility drop down to the meter. It exists to hold the connection at a safe height and keep water out of it, and it is the part of a residential electrical system most likely to be damaged by something that is not electrical at all.
What it is made of
A length of conduit, anchored to the wall and often passing through the roof edge, with a fitting at the top called a weatherhead where the utility conductors enter. The conductors curve downward before they go in, which is deliberate — that curve is a drip loop, and it is what stops rain running down the wires and into the pipe.
Why it gets damaged
It is a rigid pipe attached to the highest part of the wall with wires pulling on it. Ice loading, a branch coming down, or a ladder in the wrong place is enough. Once it leans, the fastenings loosen and the seal at the roof penetration opens up.
The consequence is water tracking down inside the conduit toward the meter base, which is why a leaning mast is more urgent than it looks.
Whose is it
Generally the utility owns the drop — the span from the pole — and the property owner owns the mast, the weatherhead and everything below. Practice varies, and after storm damage it is genuinely worth asking rather than assuming, because it decides who pays and who schedules.
What is not in doubt: nobody should be working near a damaged mast while the drop is still connected. That is a call to the utility first.
How to spot it in your house
- Follow the overhead wires from the pole to your house. The pipe they land on is the mast.
- Look for lean, gaps where it passes the roofline, or fastenings pulling out of the wall.
- Check that the conductors dip below the entry point before curving up into the weatherhead — that drip loop should be visible.
- Rust running down from the top fitting suggests water is already getting in.
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