Im a homeowner getting ready to replace a existing fence . we had the utlities marked about a year ago but never got around to doing the work so I called again this week.
my real concern is power as I know there is buried power drop going under the fence . I was here last year when the guy came for power and I know the aproximite path and as I recall he said it was 39″ down . (Ive been going for 40-48″ on the posts. I figure on about 30″ in the vicinty of the power line )
they came yesterday when I wasn’t here and marked and they have marked a diffrent path . that honestly dosnt make sense , also the way they marked is a bit confusing (first path was prety much a stright line from the transformer to my meter ) Wifey said she tried to talk to the guy but he was surly
so a coupe of questions
1. should have them come back out and mark it clearly , do I have the right/resposniblity to do this ?
2. when digging within a few feet of the marked path do I have danger of shcok if the inslation on the drop was cracked or comprimised ? the house is 35 years old , i’m assuming the drop is also . weve been having a lot of rain so the ground is soaked .
Replies
If the utilities aren't clear, you need to call them and have them make it clear.
jt8
In an underdeveloped country don't drink the water. In a developed country don't breathe the air --Jonathan Raban
Make sure this guy was marking for the electrical. When I call "Gopher" they contact all the utilies. they leave a flag and a path for Cable, phone, gas, and electric.
If it is truely the electric, contact them and explain that the path is different than last time. Make sure they re-mark it.
Your question about failed insulation on the line... First, the ground conducts better than you. That is why the ground line is also connected to a grounding post that is buried. If the insulation was bad you would most likely be seeing problems with your service. Most likely lose of some of your lines in your house caused by a phase being lost to the ground. I'm NOT saying this is not possible, but not probable, but I would not attempt it if I thought it was unsafe.
An option is to dig shallow closer to the electrical. (40" to 48" seems deep for a fence) A 24" post hole with concrete is very stable. You could also contact a professional to install those posts.
Edited 7/15/2005 3:00 pm ET by hammer-n
First, the ground conducts better than you
From a "wire walker", I must say that statement is true only if you don't move!
At the lower voltage of a residential service it may be safe to dig , but why take the chance?
FYI there is a phenomenon called "step potential" when walking or working around power lines that have gone to ground. I am accutely aware of this every time I have to walk or search for a downed power line, be it a residential service or a high voltage distribution line.
If you are near a downed line and try to walk away from it the differance in potential from one step to the next my be enough to become fatal, if the voltage going to ground is high enough. The closer you are to the gounded line, the greater the "step potential" is. As you either "bunny hop" with both feet together or "shuffel slide" keeping both feet in contact with the ground away from the source the potential becomes less.
The same potential is why people are told to stay inside thier vehicle if a power line is down on it. The vehilce is not an insulator, but is a better conductor than they are. It is providing the path to ground around the occupants. As long as they don't provide another path, they are, relatively speaking, safe.
With electricty, there is no such thing as only one path to ground if there are multiple paths available. Most of the current may take the easiest path to ground, but if other paths are available, it will take them also.
Believe me when I tell you, there is nothing that will tighten the old spincher any quicker than hearing the sizzle of a down powerline on a dark stormy night. Not knowing where it is or how close you are to it will thighten you up so fast, you'll swear you heard it slam shut.
Dave
Dave
I have a healthy respect for power so my question still remains who do I safely dig around the buried cable ?
As someone else pointed out. If what was located a year ago differs significently from the present locators' , call them agian. Something is not right.
I have seen two different locators do what you have described. It is just like any other trade. You get good ones and some that are not so good. The surly attitude of the guy you desribed may have been just a bad day for him, but more likely an indication of a poor attitude about his job, and a reflection of it.
Somebody paid the guy to do the job. Find that somebody and tell them your concerns. A loss of service or an injury caused by a poor locator is a bad reflection on thier business. They need your trust, as well as everyone elses, to stay in business. I am sure they will send another locator out and give you a better job.
Dave
Not knowing where you live it's a tough call. NYS says hand dig within 3 feet of the mark to avoid trouble.....and here in Oklahoma you call 1-800-CALL-OKIE and I think their standard is about the same. What state are you in??If you aren't one of the one's I'm talking about,you shouldn't have any complaints....
thanks for all the advice I manged to get it done this weekend without zaping myself or taking phones or cable out. I should have mentioned I was hand digging with post hole digger .about the deepest I could get was 30" the water table is so high here after all the rain ever try to dig a hole underwater ?, I could pull it out ok but more sand slid in and filled the hole before I could drop the posts going to put the panels up tommorrow and we will see how it stands up Im in SW fl BTW
You could also dig safely using one of these:
http://www.air-spade.com/products_air_spade.html
I've seen them used around trees, where it was important not to damage the roots.
-- J.S.
Looks interesting. It would take a pretty hefty compressor to keep up with it. I assume that it made for a lot of swirling dust in the air. Any idea how much it costs?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
According to the web site, it takes 185 CFM, they don't say at what PSI. The one I saw didn't raise much dust, but they were digging in damp ground. I suppose you could wet down the area first. They don't give prices on their site, you have to e-mail them and ask. I didn't, I get enough spam already.
-- J.S.
Did the locating service leave you a clearance sheet? If so, then the utilities that they marked for are included. Make sure that you are listed as the contractor/excavator and then go for it. I have worked with (or without) utilities location services in a half-a-dozen states some care some don't, but I found out that you can loose a lot of sleep second guessing them.
I know its power becouse he did leave a few flags , marked from the power company , Wifey says she asked who he was and he just kind of mumbled .
I think I see what he did , instead of giving me lines and flags following the route of the cable he just gave me a line with a flag on each end showing the cable was underneath right next to the fence , that makes sense as it would correspond to my recollaction of the last marking .
in the back along the fence line he has parrell to the cable route by the fence its just perpindicular
no paperwork was left either time , each utlity either calls and leave a voicemial that there is nothing in the area or sends someone out to mark.
its easment in the back of the property and we have telephone , cable and power each one comes out seperatly
Im not using concrete , using PT pine posts no concrete and 48" seems to be how the pros do it locally so thats what Im following .
I will go 30" or so with concrete in the power line area just to be safe
thanks for the explantion on the insaltion ,
I apprectiate the responses and welcome any futher observations
"each one comes out seperatly"what a waste! We have "Dig-Safe" here. All the utilities subscribe to it, so when you call 1-800-DIG-SAFE, they send a guy within three days, telling you specificly when he will be there. Then after they show up, if you hit something, you don't have to pay RE payment, if the line is incoming and owned by the utilities company, the service is free, but I often dig on private lines, so the fee is $75. I had to drill a well once near a line from generator to house and did not use them because I had laid that line in myyself a few years before and had photos, but other wise, calling them makes all the sense in the world.RE only going 30" and crete - if the reason for the norm in your part of the country is that frost depth is four feet, then 30" + crete makes it more likely to heave out.You are extremely unlikely to damage a cable or conduit with a shovel or hole digger if you just go careful below that 36" - or stop thereabouts and wrap that post with several wraps of plastic. That will help prevent the frost from getting a grip on it.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I don't know where you live but in Md. those markings are approx. they are telling you to be careful digging around any of their marks. If you have to dig near their marks, do it with hand tools only; be very gentle, dig on both sides of the mark, you should find what they were staking out for you. In Md. [Again] you can call as much as you want to. May luck be with you.