Digging under main phone trunk line.

[kongmen]

I have this in another thread wasn't sure which one to put it in so I put in both.

I will be putting in two 6" PVC drain tiles (in the same trench) for a run of
270'. I have a verizon trunk line right at the house side crest of the road ditch. I have already had the lines marked. The digging depth at the ditch will be about 4' to 5'. I would like to get feedback from some of those who have gone under utility lines before. Would it be possible to dig on both sides down to a depth below the trunk line and sorta bore through? or would it be a better idea to actually locate the line first? If the latter is true any tips for doing this while avoiding damage to the line?(even with a hand shovel).



Any tips for accomplishing the proper pitch? I plan on using a 3' level and letting the bubble just touch the black mark on the uphill side. Thanks for any replies.

 

[hr3]

We just finished up a job where "digsafe" told us that the powerlines were down 4 feet in several locations,, We had to cross the lines 7 times for 11 services,, We found that the actual depth varried by about a foot from what they said,, and was off sideways by another foot.. Soooo when they tell you where it is don't think its just where they say,,

We dig down on both sides and uncover the lines by hand,, If they are in pipe you can be a bit more brave and get closer with the hoe.. Good luck and be carefull ...

 

[kongmen]

I don't have a problem digging by hand around the trunk line but my concern is if I have to jump on a shovel to get into the ground how do I avoid damaging the line when I get down to it? Are these lines in some kind of conduit? Is there anything around them that may give me a clue that I'm getting close ie; sand,gravel etc. Of coarse I will start digging to the side of the mark but at some point I have to work my way in toward the line.

 

[Egon]

Can you use a water jet in locating the line?

 

[kongmen]

I just read some older post and it was talking about using some sort of probe. I think I'll try a piece of re bar as a probe and see how that works.

 

[AHNC]

There is really no substitiute for hand work in this type of project. I've been on jobs where a backhow went thru a 6" conduit filled with phone lines. It took a long time to $plice those together.

You just need to have the how dig "to" a place you are comfortable, get in the hole and as noted, paw your way to the line. Speed isn't the issue. Once you pull the material down the hoe scoops it out and then you do it again. Somewhere in there is a Eureka moment. You then carefull continue. Once it is exposed I'd recommend that you support and protect the line. You can damage it while banging away in there.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

It is your responsibility to get locates. If your excavation is going to cross or contact the service it is your responsiblity to pot hole, physically locate the service to verify their locate. Most locates have a minimum of an eighteen inch variance. If you go down and damage the service within eighteen inches of the locate it's your nickel that gets flipped.

The coolest thing ever for pot holing is a vacuum truck. Basically you have a high pressure washer wand that cust the dirt and a super vacuum that picks up the tailings. Unlike a shovel the pressure washer wand won't damage the service.

Anymore if the utility companies need to dig a pole hole, even if it's a replacement, they bring the vacutrons. The hole will look just like it was hand dug except there's no tailings for back filling. They use foam for that.

A friend of mine has at least thirty vacutrons. Some of them are trucks but most of them are trailered. I've told him that he needs to provide a fence post hole service. Verizon has put in FIOS (fibre optic cable to the premises) service drops. They're installed shallow and they can't be spliced. Landscapers have cut them with tillers even. It's a twenty five hundred to three thousand dollar hickey when they're damaged because they have to be replaced.

It's a major item that's damaged often. It seems to me that fence companies, the cities, and the homeowners would all contribute towards having the post holes dug with the vacutrons.

 

[mixup]

The information above is all good, hand digging is a must. A probe can help in the right soil, but a smooth rod will slide in better than rebar.


The phone line itself will be covered in some type of water resistant sheath and is fairly tough stuff in general. Similar to a vinyl garden hose. You can easily chop right through it however with a sharp spade or shovel.


Also be aware that there may be abandoned phone cable in close proximity to the line you are trying to cross, so don't just uncover a cable by hand then assume that you can dig under the exposed cable with your hoe. There may be more cable below it or beside it, so you really need to hand dig above and below the entire 18" wide column of dirt to your desired depth .

If it were me, I would track down a local digger with a Vactron and hire him to expose the cable for you. This will result in a post hole sized hole from the grass to the cable and will save you alot of hassle. Be aware however that if you do hire someone else to expose the line for you, that digger should call in his own locates for liability reasons. He should not dig/expose a line on your locate ticket & a good digger wouldn't . The new locates will cost you a couple of days while the same guys come out and paint the same lines on the ground, but that is how the system works.
Hope this helps.

 

[kongmen]

Thanks to all for your repleis. I had the eureka moment! Hand dug very carfully and found it. It was about 18" down. I just kept at it very slowly until I uncoverd it. I gotta tell ya it's not easy out there sweating in the hot sun while the hoe is sitting there calling you but it was worth it. I hand dug on both sides and then just kept shaving off the top and sides untill I found it. Props to the locating service it was right where they marked it.

As far as the tile it will have to come out just below the bottom of the road ditch in order to have enough fall from 270' away. Anyone ever have this situation? The ditch is always dry so I hope this won't be a problem. Please advise.

 

[Raspy]

It sounds like you did it right. It definately pays to be careful! I had to cross under the phone line an a couple of places and find the main power conduit for the neighbors house so the power company could set a pull box and tie me in. Lots of hand digging paid off with no damage.

If your drain line comes out below the road it will eventually get filled and clogged with dirt/mud. It will work ok until that happens and then you'll have to clean it out. A gravel pit might help. Or a tee at the end so you can clean it.