My helping a neighbor experience

kthompson · Feb 2, 2019

Greg, you will never know who or what you saved. Few years back a trash truck took out over head power line at Daycare and the truck driver said I have to go and took off. He left a live wire laying on the ground beside where parents were dropping off the children, no concern. I got large plastic trash can and dropped it in there and then called power company. Sure was glad to be there which was not normal for me.

Streetcar · Feb 2, 2019

Alan W. said:
Ive seen contractors get held liable for digging off anothers locate when they hit something. Always called my own in if they didn't remark it was on them.

In Ohio, everyone must call in their excavation. You must have call in ticket or else you are liable

Wagtail · Feb 2, 2019

bunyip said:
I dug up a phone cable after getting a map from the Telco showing where it was, they were only about 100' out, as their map was wrong they got to fix it.

Before I dug up the ground for the pad to my 5-bay shed I did the 'righty' and called the Dial-Before-You-Dig service... (the house is an owner/builder and the bloke didn't mark the landline or underground power). The map that Telstra sent had direct lines from the corner of my property going to myself and 3 of my neighbours, one of which went under my house.

I knew that it was wrong and called them directly. They said that they'd send a surveyor out, but if the map was correct then I'd be responsible for the cost. They did send a contractor out, with an EMF detector, and he confirmed that the landline went up my driveway and that my neighbour's 'lines' either went up theirs or were non-existent... the existing map had been a "guesstimation" from when the original property was subdivided but before any houses were built.

He also (free of charge) showed me exactly where the power line was coming in from. It pays to have a nice conversation with, or at least offer a beverage to, the contractor/worker while they're working.

Stimw · Feb 3, 2019

My property has underground wiring from the pole to the house about 60'.
I needed to trench power to my new shop with my backhoe, about 75' past utility wires.
A friend had an expensive locator ($1000. +-) that I borrowed.
It had a transmitter that you placed loop around known wires and a wand/receiver that you used to locate wires.
Instructions even told how to tell the depth of wires!
I dug location by hand and hoe-ed the rest of the trench!
Another tip- when trenching for utilities take a pic of trench so later you know where it was.
Of course if you are like me you won't be able to find the pic!