|
| If I were to, say, want to till in some organic material on what is to become a front lawn, and I call the "Call before you dig" guys...do the areas they mark have to be completely untouched, meaning, I'll have to live with a strip (or multiple strips) of unamended soil in these areas, or, do they tell you HOW DEEP you can go?
Any ideas? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by nevermore44 (My Page) on Fri, Aug 3, 12 at 15:02
| no..... they should indicate all the different lines (electricity, cable, phone, etc). Unless i did it wrong, you can do all you want, but you need to be careful.. like at home house... the cable line was just below the sod... so it was quite easy to cut with one shovel dig. |
|
- Posted by rosiew 8 GA (rosemarywalsh@bellsouth.net) on Fri, Aug 3, 12 at 17:00
| The individual utilities will mark the line with paint or flags if you request. And if you ask, they can give you the approximate depth of the line. Gas and electric are usually quite deep - +/- 15" here. Telephone not very deep. And as Nevermore says, cable barely covered. Urge that you do it. Keeps you safe! |
|
- Posted by rosiew 8 GA (rosemarywalsh@bellsouth.net) on Fri, Aug 3, 12 at 17:00
| The individual utilities will mark the line with paint or flags if you request. And if you ask, they can give you the approximate depth of the line. Gas and electric are usually quite deep - +/- 15" here. Telephone not very deep. And as Nevermore says, cable barely covered. Urge that you do it. Keeps you safe! |
|
| My DH will never again dig before calling; it's ... A) Expensive B) Embarassing C) Frightening D) Dangerous E) All of the above Correct answer...EEEEEE |
|
| As a builder, I can tell you that it isn't so simple. Those guys simply wave the metal detector over the areas where they think incoming lines should be. It isn't a forensic examination of an entire property. I did a project a couple years ago where it turned out the power was coming in from a completely un-anticipated direction and my excavator nearly cut the line with his machine. Dig-safe didn't find it because they didn't look for it, it made no sense for the line to be there yet there it was. Phone and media cables are not dangerous, and in fact if they are not a foot deep those providers cannot get away with trying to make you pay for damage. The whole point of burying lines (as opposed to laying it on the ground, as they used to do here for years) is so that people can use their property. |
|
| If you don't call, you are likely to be billed for repair costs. It makes no sense NOT to call. The location of your utility lines is something you should know. |
|
| yep make a mistake and it gets costly. but!! with gardens and normal tree/shrub planting no deeper than say 10"s or so there should be no issues as all underground utilities should be at least 2' deep. in most case you can pretty much work out their path from footpath connection box to the house. over here we can phone or they have a web site. len |
Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
|
| "all underground utilities should be at least 2' deep." Not around here, that's for sure. Phone and cable will never be that deep. Sometimes even gas and power are not. |
|
- Posted by lazygardens PhxAZ%3A Sunset 13 (My Page) on Sat, Aug 4, 12 at 19:53
| Call, and when they mark the lines, take a picture of the marks for future reference. Cable lines are usually the worst-protected. They scrape a groove with their foot and scuff some dirt over the cable. |
|
- Posted by nancyjane_gardener USDA 8ish No CA (My Page) on Sat, Aug 4, 12 at 20:50
| If you're in an old country property be careful! We found out that our property was many years ago split and the origional owners buried the gas line about 6" deep! (I'm sure illegally!) I called PG&e out to see about moving the line legally to our driveway and street. They said it was our responsibiliy and that digging alone would be at least $10,000.00! Then the plumbing after that! Needless to say, it is still as it was, and the meter readers (who complained from the start) are still falling into the ditches trying to read the gas meter! Luckily the other property is abandoned. I don't know what we'll do if that property ever sells! Nancy |
|
- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Mon, Aug 6, 12 at 10:48
| You'll need to mark the area you want to dig so they know which part of the yard you're interested in. If you're just tilling, <6" or so, I agree the TV cable is probably the only one to be concerned about, but do make that call if you don't already know where things are. Taking pics is a good idea for future reference. |
|
- Posted by SarahRoseG (My Page) on Mon, Aug 6, 12 at 11:48
| Lots of great advice here! the procedures and depths vary per state. You should call before you dig, every dig. I do not recommend taking pictures for future reference. If you're planning a project, just call or go online and enter a request. This is the safest (legally and physically) way to dig. Generally you can dig in the area where underground lines have been marked. However, you MUST use extreme caution and preferably hand tools. Don't go hacking away with a backhoe on top of a marked area. www.call811.com will provide ALL information needed (FAQ, local information, and helpful tips). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. THIS IS THE 'GO-TO' SITE PRIOR TO DIGGING. |
Here is a link that might be useful: CALL811.COM
|
- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Mon, Aug 6, 12 at 14:26
| What's wrong with taking pictures? I would use them for general reference - i.e., is the next thing I want to do anywhere near any of the flags from last year. I doubt a major utility line is going to get moved without my knowing it. I suppose, for safety's sake, a new marking every time is a good idea. I wasn't suggesting to abandon common sense. |
|
| toxcrusadr, I like your ideal. I would add a white cardboard sign with black writing with feet & inches from home or large tree or deck before taking the photo, like cops do at a crime site. Sounds like over kill, but power can kill. |
|
- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Tue, Aug 7, 12 at 11:07
| Indeed, if there aren't landmarks in the photo for scale it may be hard to tell. I would only use them for general ranging, and if it looked like I was within feet of something, I'd call. It's a service we already pay for as utility customers, might as well use it. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Soil Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.