Chaoswar
Premium
join:2002-09-23
Northlake IL | reply to RJ44
Re: They should be bonded and insured
Maybe they could get a ground scan done before they excavate? I can't imagine that being more expensive than fixing the damage afterwards.... Or loss of life re: house fires... |
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AMDUSER
Premium
join:2003-05-28
Earth
clubs: | Generally they have the utility marking service come out and mark where the gas, electric etc is located.
..However, it would not be too surprising if it was not marked due to old outdated maps. |
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Arctic nut
join:2006-11-26
Thief River Falls, MN
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
 ·Alltel Axess
| reply to Chaoswar
said by Chaoswar  :Maybe they could get a ground scan done before they excavate? I can't imagine that being more expensive than fixing the damage afterwards.... Or loss of life re: house fires... They likely do get underground utilities located. In most places it's the law. The problem can be the locating crews who don't always do an accurate job of marking the correct location. I have first hand knowledge of what happens when things are not marked correctly. I still have the backhoe bucket with the 8" hole in it from hitting a 12.5KV cable that was 60 feet from where it was marked as being. While the power company was sorry, it took countless letters and the filing of a suit to get reimbursed for replacement of my fried bucket and a backhoe check over. Had I not followed the law and dug blind, I would have been liable for replacement of the cable and lost revenue. The lost revenue alone would have been steep since I cut power to nearly 200 customers in August. Only a total idiot would not call for locates. Not to mention, the contractor's insurance would likely be cancelled in a flash for being so negligent. |
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RJ44
join:2001-10-19
Nashville, TN
| reply to Chaoswar
said by Chaoswar :Maybe they could get a ground scan done before they excavate? What, exactly, is a ground scan? |
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Tursiops_G
Technoid
Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-06
Norwalk, CT
clubs:
 ·Optimum Online
| said by Chaoswar :What, exactly, is a ground scan? Checking for the presence of buried utilities with ground-penetrating radar (more effective than using a plain Metal Detector) 
»www.geomodel.com/
-Tursiops_G.
--
If You're Unsure, "RTFM"... If You're SURE, "RTFM" Anyway. |
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RJ44
join:2001-10-19
Nashville, TN
| said by Tursiops_G :said by Chaoswar :What, exactly, is a ground scan? Checking for the presence of buried utilities with ground-penetrating radar (more effective than using a plain Metal Detector) » www.geomodel.com/ -Tursiops_G. I see, that's great stuff. Somehow though, I expect it costs just a bit more than they're paying for locations today.
BTW, that was me who asked, the quote got mixed up. |
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Tursiops_G
Technoid
Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-06
Norwalk, CT
clubs: | Oops, Sorry... 
-Tursiops_G. |
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Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL
| reply to RJ44
said by RJ44 :I see, that's great stuff. Somehow though, I expect it costs just a bit more than they're paying for locations today. Even if ground-penetrating RADAR is too costly for now, an amped-up version of a plain ol' metal detector can be used. I say "amped-up" because the utilities should have a much better idea of what they're looking for. Therefore their equipment can be optimized to find the specific metals (Cu, Fe, Pb), and at greater depths. |
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Claybraker
join:2002-04-13
none
| said by Time4aNAP :said by RJ44 :I see, that's great stuff. Somehow though, I expect it costs just a bit more than they're paying for locations today. Even if ground-penetrating RADAR is too costly for now, an amped-up version of a plain ol' metal detector can be used. I say "amped-up" because the utilities should have a much better idea of what they're looking for. Therefore their equipment can be optimized to find the specific metals (Cu, Fe, Pb), and at greater depths. Finding metals underground isn't a problem. Figuring out which of the underground cables is live, and which are abandoned is. |
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