Planning for my upcoming build and I know there is a shallow internet cable line on the side of the house that goes right under where they will be driving excavators and bobcats. What is the best way to protect it? Or maybe I should just accept it is going to get cut...
Buried Internet Cable
- Thread starter FlapjackMcCoy
- Start date
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,078
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I'm not sure there is a great way to protect it, and based on my experience it is a Crud shoot.
For mine, the bobcat driving over it during the excavation didnt bother it at all. Just when I thought I was safe, the plumbers got it when they plumbed to the sewer line for backwashing. It was really unavoidable since they had to trench from the equipment pad to the front of the house.
Once it was cut, I called at&t and they ran a new above ground temporary cable. They marked it well and routed it so that it would be out of their way. They just buried the permanent one this week, so hopefully nothing gets it again in our final few weeks.
Also, while the hundred passes of the bobcat over my line didnt cut the cable, the cleanup crew brought a bobcat a few weeks later. They took 1 trip in and out of the backyard, but had to go about 6 inches into my neighbors property to avoid the plumbing and that 1 trip killed their line.
Good luck. I would bet on it cutting your line and keep their phone number handy.
Edit - The site software didnt like my original saying, and changed it to "crud shoot". Funny stuff.
For mine, the bobcat driving over it during the excavation didnt bother it at all. Just when I thought I was safe, the plumbers got it when they plumbed to the sewer line for backwashing. It was really unavoidable since they had to trench from the equipment pad to the front of the house.
Once it was cut, I called at&t and they ran a new above ground temporary cable. They marked it well and routed it so that it would be out of their way. They just buried the permanent one this week, so hopefully nothing gets it again in our final few weeks.
Also, while the hundred passes of the bobcat over my line didnt cut the cable, the cleanup crew brought a bobcat a few weeks later. They took 1 trip in and out of the backyard, but had to go about 6 inches into my neighbors property to avoid the plumbing and that 1 trip killed their line.
Good luck. I would bet on it cutting your line and keep their phone number handy.
Edit - The site software didnt like my original saying, and changed it to "crud shoot". Funny stuff.
- Jun 7, 2017
- 9,998
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- 29000
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- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
Aren't you supposed to have your utilities marked by a "Miss Utility" or something along those lines? If the lines are marked properly it is whoever is disturbing the area's responsibility to follow the regulations regarding buried utilities.
jimbethesda
Gold Supporter
- Jul 2, 2018
- 679
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- 20000
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- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Mine got cut twice during our process, although the second time was the landscapers. Our line is in the front yard too.
When you say “Internet line”, I’m assuming you mean cable TV/coax?
I would have the cable co (or whoever is your provider is) come out now to re-route the line out of the way. You avoid having downtime that way
When you say “Internet line”, I’m assuming you mean cable TV/coax?
I would have the cable co (or whoever is your provider is) come out now to re-route the line out of the way. You avoid having downtime that way
Jack,
I had enough slack in mine that I was able to take up in the air, between a fence and the house.. This allowed them to dig where they wanted...
Before they poured the deck, I added a 2" PVC pipe so that I could pull it under the deck when done..
Worked perfectly..
Thanks,
Jim R.
I had enough slack in mine that I was able to take up in the air, between a fence and the house.. This allowed them to dig where they wanted...
Before they poured the deck, I added a 2" PVC pipe so that I could pull it under the deck when done..
Worked perfectly..
Thanks,
Jim R.
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
Every municipality that I know of has a service to mark underground service lines. Then it is the responsibility of the contractors to avoid them. In our neck of the woods if a contractor didn't contact any one to have the services located and they damage a line (power, gas, cable, phone, etc) then they are responsible for the cost to have it replaced or repaired.
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,078
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Oh, my yard looked like the freaking UN with flags for electric, gas, water and at&t. Of course after excavation, they all had bobcat tracks over them.
All the important utilities were fine, but my at&t line was literally 2-3 inches under the dirt. The guy who fixed mine said they would bill the PB, but then later said they rarely actually reach out to the PB.
All the important utilities were fine, but my at&t line was literally 2-3 inches under the dirt. The guy who fixed mine said they would bill the PB, but then later said they rarely actually reach out to the PB.
AS jj says, it's a "crud" shoot......unless you use me to do the work. I can find and cut EVERY water line, cable, drain line on your property.
All you have to say is, "Dave, be sure not to cut any lines".......somehow, I manage to get just about all of them!
All you have to say is, "Dave, be sure not to cut any lines".......somehow, I manage to get just about all of them!
Thanks for all the responses, they are very helpful and I will keep it in mind for the build. There is no way it can be re-routed. I might even cut it intentionally and get a mobile hot spot until the deck is poured, it's a fiberglass pool so shouldn't be too long. The only thing worse than a cut internet cable is a damaged internet cable and then you have to figure out why in a few months or years when water gets in there it is acting funny. The power line also goes through there but that is supposed to be much deeper so it should be fine. Attached some pictures from the last time I had them located.
Attachments
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
Are we talking about the red one or the orange one.. Coax is easy to run and connect. they sell the stuff at home depot. .
Get some connectors and enough cable to run a temp line.. and a new line. then reconnect it when they finish. Capish?
Get some connectors and enough cable to run a temp line.. and a new line. then reconnect it when they finish. Capish?
Orange = communications
Red = electric
If it is the typical cable bury then you might be able to just pull it right up through the sod. It might require a bit of digging but it should not be too deep. I assume there point of access is going to be right where the trash cans are. If that is correct then it would be wise to protect the edges of your concrete because that is the point most likely to crack. If you get a sheet of 3/4" plywood and place it on the walk,driveway and lawn it will help protect the concrete edge. After digging up the cable back to the driveway you can then bury it (12" should be plenty ) so it goes over to the side of the house, then just leave it on top of the ground next to the house for the duration of the project. The buried potion will now be protected by the plywood as well.
I ran electric to our shed from the side of the house. Even telling the PB, and marking it, the excavator guy pulled it right apart...broke all three 12 gauge lines. They sent their electrical guy out to fix it (used a splice kit like this one Amazon.com: Morris Products 67026 ShakeNSeal Resin Encapsulation Splice Kit #18-4/0 in-Line: Home & Kitchen)
Thanks for the pointers. I will do the 3/4 plywood as suggested. I recall the PB said something about that but I will double check and do it myself if needed. I like the idea of running a temp line than replacing it with a new line when they are done. I have all the connectors needed from when I ran an antenna down from the attic to the crawlspace, just need to get that waterproof splice kit that RMcGirr83 mentioned. Thanks again.
The way you are approaching this is unsafe and very likely to be illegal. You should have your utilities marked before digging. A Cable/fiber line is no big deal but what if someone accidentally cuts an electrical or gas line...
I agree the utilities should be marked and it would be in the homeowners best interest to ensure they are marked However this responsibility falls on the one doing digging IE the pool builder.
Hey of course they will be called in and marked. I have personally done so a few times, that is how I got the pictures above. And I am sure the PB will do so as well. The point is that we know the coax cable is there, we know it is shallow, so how do we deal with that. No need to be surprised over it. Now, the red power cable is a different story - the PB is going to have to deal with that. They are extremely professional so I am not worried, my guess is it is deep enough the excavator and bobcat will not get that deep if they use plywood as Rich suggested (and the PB mentioned) and whatever else they have to do. I'm sure the PB doesn't want a build on their resume where the power got cut, that benefits nobody, and where I live it is all about reputation. Btw the gas and water are on the other side of the house so no worries there.
you could dig down a bit and put it in conduit to protect it if worst comes to worst you could pull new threw the conduit
The pool builder should hand dig where the utility marks the cable line. The line should not get damaged from bobcats driving over it unless the lines are so shallow that the treads dig into the ground and destroy the cable. You should ask them to place ground protection mats in the areas where they need to cross the lines. Have them do this...so that they can not point the finger at you if they still damage the wire. If they cut it despite this, they should be responsible for whatever repairs to the lines. Cable lines are easy to cut because a lot of times they are trenched very shallow since there is no danger to others from accidentally cutting the line. Cable lines are also easy to splice so the repair price from the cable company (assuming coax cable and not fiber) should not be terribly expensive.
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I had just put in a gravel driveway, and re-buried the cable right and next to the cement drive it butted up against and deeper. But when the cement truck came, it sank in a bit there and broke the cable. Now I have a temporary one laying accross my neighbor‘s drive, min drive and my yard.
Rissa8898
Active member
- Jul 9, 2019
- 34
- Pool Size
- 12200
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
Ours got cut when they dug the area to pour the concrete pad. Cable guy came out and reconnected it that evening. My advice is to make sure your utilities are clearly marked by your local service people and keep bright spray paint on hand in case you need to mow or get a heavy rain during the process.