shamrock_94
join:2005-08-21
Ypsilanti, MI | How deep are drops buried?
I'm having my lawn aerated this weekend, and wondering will this be an issue. Anyone have an idea? |
|
Warzau
Premium
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL
clubs: | IIRC 6 inches, but don't count on it. It will vary. If you had time you should have called 811. |
|
shamrock_94
join:2005-08-21
Ypsilanti, MI | reply to shamrock_94
I doubt 811 would have helped. I thought that only public utilities were marked. |
|
dishrich
join:2006-05-12
Springfield, IL
edit:
May 2nd, @02:21PM
| reply to Warzau
I don't know about up in Chitown, but everyone down here calls JULIE, who will coordinate w/all utilites to mark ANY cable &/or phone facilites. (along with other underground services) |
|
Warzau
Premium
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL
clubs: | Well 811 and Julie are interchangeable, I call JULIE they told me either one would have been routed to them. So if OP has a similar JULIE in his area 811 would have routed his call to his local one. |
|
Warzau
Premium
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL
clubs: | reply to shamrock_94
Nope up here all in co-op come out to mark their lines. Water, phones, cable, telco, gas. |
|
Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL | reply to shamrock_94
About 2-4". In other words, Call Utility locate, or Comcast to figure out where the drop is. If you have other utilities buried, still call. Then take a drawing of your yard, and copy to that to keep a record on hand. |
|
owlyn
join:2004-06-05
Newtown, PA
clubs: | reply to shamrock_94
It varies by locality. Each municipality would have its own building code. I doubt aeration would cause a problem in any event. |
|
shamrock_94
join:2005-08-21
Ypsilanti, MI | reply to shamrock_94
Is there some tool used to detect the line? As a contractor buried it, not Comcast. Just to clarify this is the orange coax that run from the box in the yard to the house. |
|
Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL | Yeah, a Metal Detector. |
|
mhaider
Premium
join:2001-03-25
Watertown, SD
| I work for the utility company where I live, and for 18 years I worked as a "locator", the person that marks the gas, elec, and water lines when a locate request comes in. If you call the onecall center for your area they should contact all affected utility companies in your area, ie gas, elec, water, sewer, cable, and telco. As far as the depth of lines, it can vary due to many factors, but the only way to really know how deep your lines are is to call your onecall center to get your lines located, then dig a hole to expose them to see the actual depth. I wouldn't do this if I was just aerating my lawn, but for other projects it's a good idea. For example, I'm going to be planting trees in my yard, I staked out the locations as to where I'm going to plant them and called for locations, where I planned on putting one tree was right on top of the gas line, so now I have to adjust that trees location. One other thing, if you do expose a line to see how deep it is, be very careful not to nick the outer coating, in time the nick could allow moisture to get into the line and cause it to fail which would cause an outage for that particular service to your house. Even worse would be cutting an electric or gas line which could be potentially dangerous. |
|
shamrock_94
join:2005-08-21
Ypsilanti, MI | reply to Greg_Z
A Metal dectector, duh!  |
|
rody_44
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA | reply to shamrock_94
yea, its NOT a metal detector. its a tool that puts a signal on the line and another tool that follows the signal. it can tell you exactly how deep and where it is. if you want you can rent the tool from your local tool rental store. |
|
Onazuka
join:2008-04-13
| reply to shamrock_94
A couple of weekends ago I ran my Comcast cable through my basement wall so it would be buried all the way into my house. My hole in the basement wall was 16" below the surface, which was the same height that the phone line came in. However I was shocked that the Comcast cable was buried only about 2" below ground. |
|
mhaider
Premium
join:2001-03-25
Watertown, SD
| reply to rody_44
said by rody_44  : yea, its NOT a metal detector. its a tool that puts a signal on the line and another tool that follows the signal. it can tell you exactly how deep and where it is. if you want you can rent the tool from your local tool rental store. You're right, a signal is applied to the line with a transmitter and a receiving device follows the signal, but it's not always as easy as that. If there are a lot of underground facilities in the area the signal can and often times does jump over to something you're trying NOT to locate. Many times cable or tele are grounded to the electric and the signal will follow the path of least resistance. Locating is more of an art than a science, and don't ever believe the depth reading they may give, the best way to know the actual depth is to expose the line. When a line location is painted on the ground the line isn't neccesarily directly under that paint mark, in my state the rule is the underground line could be 18" either side of the paint mark, and sometimes it's outside of that area too. When an electic line that runs behind your house can carry thousands of volts, it's way to dangerous to rely the machines depth reading. I've gotten off topic here, but this is something the average home owner doesn't know about and it's important for safety sake. The only time you ever want to try and locate a line yourself is if it's a private line you've buried on your property, otherwise leave the locating of other facilities to the owner of that facility. |
|
rody_44
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA | yes you often light up other utilities. but a signal is signal and anything that lights it up you need to worry about. |
|
owlyn
join:2004-06-05
Newtown, PA
clubs:
| reply to mhaider
The markering people often get my house wrong. The cable line was re-routed due to tree roots. The marking people follow the old line, because the power, phone, and old cable lines are next to each other (at different depths, of course). If I see them working, I show them where the correct cable line is, and then they find it. |
|
Warzau
Premium
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL
clubs:
| reply to Onazuka
said by Onazuka :A couple of weekends ago I ran my Comcast cable through my basement wall so it would be buried all the way into my house. My hole in the basement wall was 16" below the surface, which was the same height that the phone line came in. However I was shocked that the Comcast cable was buried only about 2" below ground. You think that is bad, in my new construction home, the contractor, just pulled back the newly sodded lawn and placed the cable under it. |
|
Weasel
join:2001-12-18
Lombard, IL
clubs:
| You think that is bad, in my new construction home, the contractor, just pulled back the newly sodded lawn and placed the cable under it.
My sod hadn't been put down yet, so the cable was laid on the ground and the contractor kicked dirt over it. |
|
Yoshi
@wyeth.com | reply to shamrock_94
Comcast had to run a new line into my house. That weekend I hit the line...with a lawn mower. |
|
