Cut Phone Line

[bigpete]

Amazing...

I removed and relocated my asphalt driveway and am in the process of planting trees where the old driveway was. Sunday afternoon, I am on my last hole of the day and I notice a black cable sticking up out of the hole only about 10 inches into the maual excavation. I think to myself.... "Hey, self. The lady who built this house must have had power run out to the end of the driveway for lights, or somesuch extravagence." /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Upon closer inspection, I see the second worse set of letters you can see on a severed cable: "AT&T." (The worst, of course is the three letters standing for "<Something> Power and Light")

Low and behold, the phone line to my house had been underneath the MIDDLE of the paved asphalt driveway that I recently removed.

Yes, I know, I know. I should have called "Miss Utility," the utility location clearinghouse for my area. What makes this so amazing, is that I HAVE called Miss Utility four times in the past five years and NEVER has the phone company marked anywhere near that driveway. In fact, they have always marked a line about 100 yards away.

So...the repair guy shows up today, and I see several hundred dollars flash before my eyes as he pulls into my new driveway. Putting on my most sincere demeanor I let him know I can save him some time by showing him the cut. As we walk closer to the holes in the middle of my yard, he keeps looking back toward his green junction box with a werid look on his face. Finally we arrive, and he exclaims "What the he!! is your phone line doing over here?" My answer was, of course, "How should I know, you're the phone guy!" We both chuckled for a second and he then realizes that the line had also been smack, dab in the middle of an old paving bed, furthering his confusion. After a few minutes on the phone (his cell, of course), he learned that the install had taken place during some strike period back in the late eighties when a "subcontractor" had laid the line when the house construction had begun.

Needless to say, there were no charges. He told me that there is now a note on my account about being one of the first to be upgraded if ever there is a new wire technology or infrastructure upgrade in the works. I'm sure it will happen right after I have put some landscaping project or laid grass seed right in their path.

I hope the power lines are where they keep marking them /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Junkman]

I think that the best thing to do is to take some measurements from the corners of the house to where the new line is laid and draw it out as a map that you keep with other important papers. I have a photo album with my building permits, septic lay out dimensions and other important diagrams to refer to. As for the electrical line, I would contact the power company and have them come out and clearly mark them for you. If you can be there, then get out the backhoe or shovel and verify the accuracy of the location. If it isn't where they marked it, then have them do the research as to the proper location. It is easier to have this done when there is plenty of time to get it done, than to have to find it by accident when it isn't where you thought. Also, there is the safety factor involved if you hit a hot wire. You might not have to pay for the repair to the wire, but what about the repair to you or your tractor. I don't know if they would be responsible, besides, even if they are responsible, if you were killed as a result, the payment that they would make won't help you or your family. I am certain that they would rather have you than any amount of money...... well almost certain.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[bigpete]

Oh, they have properly marked all the lines in the past , but the phone company had no idea where its line was until I found it. Apparently, they had been following some other cable line tracking from their box.

Good idea on the map.

 

[Soundguy]

Don't feel bad.. check this out. When my house was being built back in 99, the general contractor had a heck of a time with the power, catv, and tele company doing anyhting on time. ( we have to have buried utils in my neighborhood.. no above ground house connects.. ) anyway.. it got to the point that the GC needed to pour the driveway. One of the co's said that would be in their way... ( I don't see how... wasn't a staright line. ) In any case.. my GC laid 3 chase pipes in the driveway... told the 3 compaines they were 'free' to use them. To which they did. Only catch was that catv came in last, and as they pushed the line in the ground fromthe driveway to the wall.. they went zig-zag and cut the phone line that had just been put in earlier. PH co had to come back and lay ythe line yet again....

Also.. I work for a GC doing road work. We reworked some 50-60 yr old road sin an old community. Pipe and wire plans wew 100% wrong. in many cases.. utilities were running right downt he middle of the road.

Found lots of not-up-to-code things.. even one tat stopped the job for a while. One water line was asbestos coated.. etc.

That stuff was sopposed to be pulled years ago.. go figure!

Soundguy

 

[Junkman]

The life expectancy of the asbestos water pipe was supposed to be about 25 years. There are still many communities that still have it in place and are using it even though it is long over due to be replaced. As long as the water test does show that it is deteriorated to the point where it is a health risk, it isn't going to come out of the ground. Too expensive to replace it all today unless there is a reason to do so. I have a friend that drilled a well when the water went right in front of his place because he didn't want to use the asbestos water line. The town tried to stop the well drilling until he told them that if they did, he would "let the cat out of the bag". They relented then, because they knew that it would cost many $$$$$ to replace a old system from the 1950's.

 

[hitekcountry]

Junkman
At a house I owned 10 years ago, I remember a time when work was being done on the utilities in the street when apparently some damage was done to the water main. the person in charge instructed all the workers out of the hole because the water main was asbestos and that he would deal with cutting and removing the damaged section of pipe and didn’t want to put anyone else at risk. When the damaged section was removed it could not go to a regular dump it had to be disposed of at a hazardous waste dump site.

Now I found it somewhat disturbing that a piece of asbestos pipe is too dangerous to go to a regular dump, presumably because the asbestos could work it’s way into the water table, but it’s OK to supply the bay area with water through asbestos pipe. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Huge sections of the bay area are still today being supplied water through asbestos pipe. I’m sure the people that live there don’t know anything about that.
Fred

 

[LBrown59]

<font color="blue">
What makes this so amazing, is that I HAVE called Miss Utility four times in the past five years and NEVER has the phone company marked anywhere near that driveway. In fact, they have always marked a line about 100 yards away.
bigpete </font>
<font color="red">
=================== </font>
<font color="#666666">I recently replaced a drain pipe that is in my left side yard.
I called the utility locater CO.
The phone company marked a phone line that ran from a pole in my front yard to the house this is a dead no longer used line.
They did not mark the line that replaced that old line a few years ago. I wanted it marked because it crossed the old drainage pipe twice.

The Main phone line runs under the state highway from a pole across the road then up through my front yard to a junction box on the base of the pole in my front yard. This junction box serves several of my neighbors.
The phone CO didn't mark this cable but it didn't matter as the drain pipe I replaced along the side yard wasn't anywhere near this area.
This cable has to cross the road ditch somewhere so now that I'm eliminating the road ditch by installing 80' of driveway culvert I need to know where that cable is as the culvert will definitely be crossing the phone companies cable.



</font>

 

[btolle]

An asbestos water pipe is probably very safe. Asbestos is only dangerous in a "friable" state, that means asbestos dust floating in the air where you breathe it into your lungs where the small fibers get trapped.

One method of removing asbestos is to wet it down, the water prevents the asbestos from floating in the air and being breathed. Thus, a water pipe made of asbestos is only dangerous when you cut it or if scrape some of the asbestos off the outside and breathe it.

The whole asbestos scare was overblown. More damage was done removing it than it ever caused.

The only proven cases of asbestosis were in people who worked with it every day or in the plants that used in to manufacture products.

Another overblown scare brought to you by the American Bar Assoc.

I used to build water pump stations and asbestos is the last thing I worry about being in the water pipes. Once pulled an existing valve and an empty very rusty oil can was in the line.

Bill Tolle

 

[LBrown59]

Since I posted this the phone co was back out and marked this line too.
I didn't have to dig near it so it all worked out fine.

 

[Junkman]

are you claiming that water containing asbestos is safe to drink????