Digging 400' Trench for cable

[m7040]

I had a problem with Comcast line hanging low on the poles and big trucks would not clear under it and they refused to do anything. Next discovered that the middle pole was actually mine and not owned by the utility so told them consider that pole gone and what are you going to do? They buried it including going under a paved road. About 4 or 500 ft

 

[dstig1]

Interesting discussion. On the chance that you do conduit some advice is that home centers often only have 10' sticks but the contractor supply places can get 20' sticks, so half the number of joints. That helps a lot. Plus they can deliver if you don't have a long trailer.

Also make sure you get conduit with a bell end on one end as that eliminates the need for additional couplers - fewer joints once again. Though this is pretty much normal, it pays be be sure. It also helps to decide which direction to point the bells so that you pull more easily. Another tip is to debur the inside of the non-bell end of the stick before you put glue on as that eliminates a sharp edge that can damage insulation or catch while you are pulling. Then make sure the pull direction is INTO the bell to further reduce the chance of catching on the end of the stick glued inside the bell. And this is always a 2-person job and is not fun but should be very doable.

 

[Fixastuff]

You need one of these! Pulling it in straight off the 2500ft reel.

 

[BackRoad]

Spectrum here. Similar situation, 800 ft direct burial.

Called 811 for flagging anything underground along the path.

I rented a Dingo stand-up trencher for ~$200 a day. Dug it in 3 hours.

I have scattered fist to head sized rock, but was able to get it to dig 18" down.

Spectrum had already pre-delivered the coax, rolled out along the path, already inside a 2" conduit. I flopped it in the trench and covered it up. Key was the pre-delivery of the cable, which made it simple and timely.

Spectrum came back and connected the ends about 2 days later.

 

[1428v]

I am also in the “don’t trench” camp. Comcast is the evil empire. We have one cable/hard-line internet provider in our rural county (the Empire). They have the absolute worst service and keep jacking up the rates—about $75 more per month than a few years ago. We recently went with Starlink satellite service for internet. Much less expensive per month, faster connection, superior in every way.

 

[Stevehogan]

We've lived here for nearly 30 years. Contacted local cable company(comcast). They say if I dig the 400 foot trench from the pole at the road to the house, they will install the cable. A contractor hired by comcast showed up and drew a map. On the final plan they say direct burial or I can provide a 2" conduit. Trench will be 18-24" deep - straight from the pole to the house.

It's taken 2 years of phone calls, emails and visits to their office to get this far. So I don't want to make any mistakes.
They will put a pedestal at the house. A pedestal is a green metal 'can' or box about 8" diameter and a foot or so high.

I called the 'call before you dig' phone number and got some info on when to call - 3 to 10 days before digging. And then I have 45 days to complete the job.

The trench is going straight thru a hay field. No underground obstructions that I know of. But the power is coming down the pole and then underground to the house. The power trench goes off at an angle to the other corner of the house so we won't be near it except by the pole. I understand I have to dig by hand for 2 feet by any underground wiring, etc.

I'm inclined to install the 2" conduit. They are supposed to be here within 2 days after I complete the trench to install the cable but if they are late and it's raining alot... the trench may fill with water and may collapse in some areas that will need to be hand dug to clear the dirt.

Any advise to make this go with no problems is well appreciated.

First thing I would check out is if your state requires dig safe be called to locate any underground utilities. Gas, electric, phone etc. most states have this law in effect. if you don’t call and have an incident you are personally are on the hook for any & all repair costs. Just one call to Dig safe and they will coordinate all utilities to locate their equipment. Usually they have one week to respond and all you have to do prior to them showing up is to mark out the proposed digging route.
Secondly once dug and conduit installed it’s easy to pull a string through it. Tie a partially inflated baggie to twine insert baggie into one of conduit and suck through the baggie & twine with a vacuum cleaner. Once this is done you assure no obstructions exist in the run and ditch can be back filled. Eliminating hazard of some one or animal stepping into it. Cover the ends to prevent rain / debris entering conduit. Sit back and wait for Comcast to complete the install. Good luck!
One thing to consider if your only looking for an internet connection. You may want to investigate whether there is a wireless provider available such as Trail Runner or such. This type provider uses cell phone technology to provide internet service as opposed to cable. I use this type of service at my off grid camp and works remarkably well. With this service I have access to Wi-fi, phone and streaming services.
Hope this helps.

 

[afritsche]

We've lived here for nearly 30 years. Contacted local cable company(comcast). They say if I dig the 400 foot trench from the pole at the road to the house, they will install the cable. A contractor hired by comcast showed up and drew a map. On the final plan they say direct burial or I can provide a 2" conduit. Trench will be 18-24" deep - straight from the pole to the house.

It's taken 2 years of phone calls, emails and visits to their office to get this far. So I don't want to make any mistakes.
They will put a pedestal at the house. A pedestal is a green metal 'can' or box about 8" diameter and a foot or so high.

I called the 'call before you dig' phone number and got some info on when to call - 3 to 10 days before digging. And then I have 45 days to complete the job.

The trench is going straight thru a hay field. No underground obstructions that I know of. But the power is coming down the pole and then underground to the house. The power trench goes off at an angle to the other corner of the house so we won't be near it except by the pole. I understand I have to dig by hand for 2 feet by any underground wiring, etc.

I'm inclined to install the 2" conduit. They are supposed to be here within 2 days after I complete the trench to install the cable but if they are late and it's raining alot... the trench may fill with water and may collapse in some areas that will need to be hand dug to clear the dirt.

Any advice to make this go with no problems is well appreciated.

If you’re crossing a field that mi

We've lived here for nearly 30 years. Contacted local cable company(comcast). They say if I dig the 400 foot trench from the pole at the road to the house, they will install the cable. A contractor hired by comcast showed up and drew a map. On the final plan they say direct burial or I can provide a 2" conduit. Trench will be 18-24" deep - straight from the pole to the house.

It's taken 2 years of phone calls, emails and visits to their office to get this far. So I don't want to make any mistakes.
They will put a pedestal at the house. A pedestal is a green metal 'can' or box about 8" diameter and a foot or so high.

I called the 'call before you dig' phone number and got some info on when to call - 3 to 10 days before digging. And then I have 45 days to complete the job.

The trench is going straight thru a hay field. No underground obstructions that I know of. But the power is coming down the pole and then underground to the house. The power trench goes off at an angle to the other corner of the house so we won't be near it except by the pole. I understand I have to dig by hand for 2 feet by any underground wiring, etc.

I'm inclined to install the 2" conduit. They are supposed to be here within 2 days after I complete the trench to install the cable but if they are late and it's raining alot... the trench may fill with water and may collapse in some areas that will need to be hand dug to clear the dirt.

Any advise to make this go with no problems is well appreciated.

I would do conduit. if you’re crossing a field or road that may be plowed, you should bury it 24”. 400’ is a long run and although you said it is a straight run you may want to consider a mid point pull box. Also conduit allows you to pull the old coax cable out and run fiber optic cable, or whatever comes next. I would install it myself and own it so you can control who/ what gets installed in the future. Always add a pull string!

 

[Morning Wood]

I would always do conduit. And I’d add an extra conduit for future use to be safe. 2” for a coax seems a bit overkill. Definitely use 20’ pieces.

 

[Loaderman22]

For mine they did pretty much exactly as Fixastuff and Backroad posted. They dug with trencher and buried the orange continuous conduit and wire all at once. They ran it up the pole and to the house on the other end, I just had to be there to discuss path. They had to do the conduit because in one of the fields there is bedrock he couldn't cut through so the conduit is maybe only a foot down or so, instead of the recommended 18-24". It's orange for visibility.

 

[jghflys]

I would use conduit or preferably, the continuous pipe. In the future your phone company will offer fiber optic cable and that can go down the same pipe. I live in a rural area and just got fiber optic cable for internet and phone. Fiber is cheaper, faster, and stable. Streaming is easy. Our rural phone company put in 600 feet of fiber for no charge. They are going 100% fiber. Maybe check with your phone company.