LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Are they anything like divining boards?Havent you guys heard of diving rods?
Calling 811
- Thread starter satcom
- Start date
- Status
jmellc
Senior Member
- Location
- Durham, NC
- Occupation
- Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
Haven't called yet for a ground rod and haven't had a problem. But I guess I should start, seeing that some of our associates have had accidents. It is free, after all. If others have hit something, I'm bound to. I'm not good at beating odds.
macmikeman
Senior Member
- Location
- Planet macmikeman
I wonder what the true mathematical odds of a 5/8" rod hitting an underground line on a private resi lot, if you are installing the first rod on the property (not an existing dwelling) like say for a brand new house, which is about 90 per cent of the time I drive rods anyway. Certainly the hit odds would go up if you are replacing a service and there is existing underground utilities and water pipes in the area. And of course they go way up if it is a commercial area like a mall. I never hit anything other than rock yet, but I would not rule out the possibility by any means so like I said earlier, I guess its a good idea to make that call.
On a spankin' new house, I'd say the odds are astronomical, given the fact that you can still see the utility trenches.
(Unless you get some gung-ho noodle-noggin helper who thinks he'll ram it into all that nice, soft, freshly-dug earth............
The only problem is, the law in many states require mark out for all dig and post or rod work, the law does not say if you think the odds are astronomical, you don't have to notify.
We see local news stories, all the time, where gas lines are hit, and many of them are on new construction sites.
We have been getting mark outs for years since our insurance contract requires it, and when we go the the area mark out information meetings, we get to talk to other contractors, and some of them had near disasters, from common small dig and post projects, and they show up at the meetings to learn more about dig hazards.
I'm not advocating forgoing locates just because it's a new house. I'm just saying that on new resi construction, many times it's painfully obvious where stuff is buried just by going out and eyeballing the place.
Typically, when I call for a locate on a new house, there's nothing to locate. The water & sewer lines are only stubbed out and have yet to be run out to the street, and the gas line has not been trenched in either. Cable TV and telephone are usually knifed in after the sod goes down (unless the ground is frozen, so the utility simply waits for spring), by which time I'm long gone.
I remember calling for locates on a new hotel so we could trench in the lot lights. The day after everything was located, we headed out with a bunch of PVC and the DitchWitch. Not 50' into digging, up comes the plastic gas line. We pulled it about 20', so it was broken somewhere, and that somewhere was under the paved parking lot. Naturally, we were at first expected to pay for the repairs, but no, it wasn't marked because it was so new it didn't show up on the locators' map yet. So the plumber bore in a new gas line using the locators' checkbook.
- Location
- Massachusetts
Man you seem to know all unluckiest people because if it is at all possible and it is bad you have a story about knowing someone it happened to.
After a while I start to have my doubts.
They are not unlucky, they are careless, and I don't know them, when you respond to fires for over 35 years you see a lot of disasters, the gas explosion was only 4 blocks from my home.
Yup, and some of the worse ones we had around here were on sites that were cleared, getting the mark out does not assure they located every line or the right locations, the recent PETCO accident is a good example, and no I don't know anyone that was digging, but they must of been some of my pretend friends.
stevenje
Senior Member
- Location
- Yachats Oregon
As an apprentice in the 70's, I pounded one through the secondary of a PSCO transformer in a trailer park. It was the first time I ever saw the ground smoke. The boys from PSCO and my journeyman had a "little talk" before they dug it up to replace the wiring.
readydave8
re member
- Location
- Clarkesville, Georgia
- Occupation
- electrician
3 business days which usually works out to about a week and by then its raining and I can't dig
Steve,
http://www.acwajpia.com/ResourceList.aspx?ltr=U This link has some pretty good CD's on dig disasters. they show some of them at the pipeline safe dig meetings. they have the meetings all over the country every year for contractors, free, and some of door prizes are pretty nice.
- Status