Trench

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ofourcobra

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Is there any codes against plumbing and electrical in the same trench ? This will only be drain and water piles no gas .I've never run across a shared trench and wasn't quite sure where to look .


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ofourcobra said:
Is there any codes against plumbing and electrical in the same trench ? This will only be drain and water piles no gas .I've never run across a shared trench and wasn't quite sure where to look .


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NEC -no, other codes or local rules - maybe.

Usually if there is a rule it isn't the same "trench" so much as just general separation between two items.

If you had a 4 foot wide trench and placed two items as far apart as possible isn't the end result fairly equivalent to digging two narrower trenches close to one another?
 
Around here I've heard we need to maintain 6" of separation. This usually involves dumping whatever needs to be deepest in first and then 6" of dirt, then the next. If you have a trench wider than a shovel, kwired's method works better for inspection.
 
MNSparky said:
Around here I've heard we need to maintain 6" of separation. This usually involves dumping whatever needs to be deepest in first and then 6" of dirt, then the next. If you have a trench wider than a shovel, kwired's method works better for inspection.
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As a person that has had to dig up items to repair them, or repair an electric line that someone else hit when digging something else up, my preference, unless performance is an issue, is that all items in same trench be at same depth, that way you don't have to dig around one item to get to other items.

Water line and electric line installed in same trench to a building or other structure (common on watering tanks for livestock) - if the water line should leak, the plumber always hits the electric line if it is only 2 foot deep but the water line is 5-6 foot deep. If they are both at about same depth, he is hand digging once he gets close.
 
I agree as well and have been in that same situation. In a perfect world, that's how it would be.

Unfortunately that isn't always the case. It isn't uncommon for a trench to be provided for the trades by the GC, typically made by a Ditch Witch so it's only 8" wide or so. If we wanted our own trench, it would be on our dime.
 
I hope this isn't too air-headed..I hear this and ask the same question from time to time about being in the same trench.
Is there a definition for "the same trench" once the trench is filled in?
I just throwing it out there.:huh:
 
MNSparky said:
I agree as well and have been in that same situation. In a perfect world, that's how it would be.

Unfortunately that isn't always the case. It isn't uncommon for a trench to be provided for the trades by the GC, typically made by a Ditch Witch so it's only 8" wide or so. If we wanted our own trench, it would be on our dime.
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That is why you bring your trencher/excavator and work out some deal with others to reimburse you for digging a trench;)
 
kwired said:
That is why you bring your trencher/excavator and work out some deal with others to reimburse you for digging a trench;)
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Yep. Last commercial job we did , we shared the 6-8' wide trench with the chiller pipes, and ran above them. In that case we installed all thread pushed into the ground and pipe clamps to keep our conduit supported until the backfill was done. The chiller pipe excavator guy did most of our trenching, including swapping buckets to dig narrower trenches from our panels to the main trench, for a 1.75L of Grey Goose vodka.

Usually a good idea to put marker tape above and tracer wire on buried conduits too even if not required.
 
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