We just went ahead and decided to convert cable companies.
We’re going with the new VerizonVios.
It’s digital cable, and high speed fiber optic internet.
they ran the fiber cable today, from one side of the yard to the other, underground.
6″ to be exact. they ran it along the edge of the concrete curb/driveway.
Seems to be that’s sort of shallow for a $$$$$ cable, no conduit. In addition, it’s the ideal location to run sprinkler pipes, plant flowers etc.
Seem odd to you guys?
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Replies
nope
i should be more concise.
is this risky? Is there a more acceptable way to do it?
I just know that next summer I will pull out the shovel to dig the weeds out of the edge like I do everyyear forget the cable is there and cut it.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I don't think that there is any code that covers this.And there is no safety hazard except for getting it tied up in an auger.Just below the surface seems to be common for cable companies.I would expect the phone company to be a little better, but I think that they are sub-contracting that out in many areas..
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Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Yeah, there's no real "risk" other than you having to pay to replace it later if you damage it. They probably buried a tracer wire with it (or imbedded in it), but that's not "hot" and SOP would be to not bring it (the wire) into the house, so it shouldn't represent a hazard of any significance even if struck by lightning.
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
Edited 12/22/2006 2:21 pm by DanH
No, it's not odd. Is it short-sighted, SOP, and will it cause problems later? Yes. It's all about passing the buck. And the American way is to cheap it now, and keep replacing/fixing it over and over. Actually seems un-American.
its the norm for both cable and phone the old joke is to lay it on the ground and kick a little sand over it .
just make good notes as to where it lays for future projects
Wow! 6" is pretty deep compared to what Charter's Sub-sub-sub-contractor did for mine. I can see it in on the surface for an inch or two in one of the flower beds.
You guys amaze me.
Certain practices amaze me.
Disregard for costs amaze me.
But I am easily amazed.
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If you do have a problem digging it up then get some HDPE CONDUIT to run it in. That is the yellow, blue, black tubbing that you see them burrying along side the roads where they installing fiber optic cables.But you probably can't find short sections of it.But go to Home Dumpo and get the same thing as PE water pipe. And it is cheap.Burry that and then get then to fish the new connection through it.Tough enough that you aren't easy to cut with a spade.
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Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
its not subs , I've seen verizon , comcast do the same whats usually done its the cable is laid out then they use a tool like a floor scraper to dig a shallow trench , tuck the cable in then stomp it down , 6" is deep , usually a couple of inch's at most and if there is a heavy root then the cable may actually sit on the surface where it crosses the root
I've done a lot of work in that area prior & know that roots & other obstructions wasn't the issue. Charter uses subs to do this aspect and from what I've learned there are several layers of subs, one guy dealing directly with charter hires it out to someone else who may hire it out to a 3rd. The guy that showed up here with a slitter looked like a meth addict and stank of alcohol.
In this particular case it was indeed the sub.
Thats exactly how they did it. The 'floor scraper'.
I wonder if they have to put the cable route on file at the city office?
That would really suck if I had to pay to replace their shallow cable.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Call Digrite, DigSafe, First Call or whatever it is called in your state. It should be listed in the front of the phone book and on the unitlity (Gas and Electric) bills or stuffed in the evelope from time to time.Have them mark it. EACH time..
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Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
bill, that is sound advice. Thank you.
I know that with this renovation I will be doing sprinklers, concrete walkway to the curb, and an undergound drain (I have to collect the roof run-off into an underground 6" pipe and run it from the back of the house to the street; coincidently right in line with my new fiber cable!!)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I've nicked the cable in my yard a few times and there were no charges - same with the phone. Both burried rather shallow.
OTOH, power - concrete guys at work cut a line with a backhoe. Then the geniuses wrapped a plastic bag around it, and covered it up. The neuteral was completly cut. Carpenters call me and say - hey, the whole project is without power. I get there, look around, no surrounding area without power so I log an outage ticket with the power co. All our T-poles are dead. They come out, find out what has happended, fix it and bill the concrete guys $1400. Power guys said that they probably could have fixed it and everything could just be brushed under the rug if they hadn't had to spend an hour looking for the cut, and if the whole thing was handled above board. Also the concrete guy's locate ticket was like 2 months old.
nothing on file as to location, for what its worth I know where my phone and cable are buried (oppisite ) sides of the yard and haven't cut either you can call and have it marked each time you dig if you do and hit it then your covered but the down side is they mark it with orange paint that stays around for a while also they don't just mark one ,all utilities will send there own guy out and mark or call and tell you they have nothing in the area Id be worried about orange over spray on the drive . I'm thinking of going with FIOS when they offer it in the area ( they are currently still burying the fiber ) and now I'm thinking about providing them a conduit path , like you the path would probably follow the drive and I'm thinking of paver's and a wider drive down the road
We were digging sewer trenches across a yard last month. Miss Dig marks everything (except the cable boys never cooperate)
I knew there had to be a cable in our path and went to the side of the house to see where it came out of the ground. It's a very large cable for TV and internet connections to a home office.
I found it and decided to tug on it a little to see which way it went. I just kept pulling and lifted the whole cable from it's 1" deep trench until we intersected the sewer line.
I can't believe how unconcerned these companies are about possible future damage to their cables.
So...no this is not an uncommon occurence.
What everyone else said.
The big question is, how do you like that fiber optic internet connection?
My house was newly built exactly 10 years ago in a new development (all houses built on empty land within 3 years).
Cox Cable, Quest Cable, Cox telephone, Quest telephone all simly laid their cable on top of the dirt and then sod was laid over it. Randomly laid, not straight lines, nuthin (cable that is, not the sod).
I guess it was up to me to come to the house, bury the cable and mark it???? NOT...
Although I must say, after putting in sprinklers, a pool, and landscaping, I am pretty good at repairing coax.
Edited 12/22/2006 7:34 pm ET by rwjiudice
Oh, forgot about the fence...... hired a pro outfit to put in a fence for the pool..... Nice, black aluminum, looks like wrought iron without the hassle of rust etc.....
3 years later, my power went out. Power co came out, ran a temp cable over the ground to my meter for a quick fix. I came home from work the next day, temp cable gone, power fixed.
A month later, PCo sent me a letter asking me who put in the fence, since they 'nicked' the underground PCable and it was a 'billable" repair. What I do????? OF COURSE I IGNORED IT. Threw the letter away!!!!
3 weeks later, I got a bill from the PCo for $1200 for repair. WHOA!!! I immediately called the number on the bill. I told them who installed the fence and they said 'no problem, they'd bill the fence co". The PCo guy chuckled and said hardly anyone calls in response to their first request for info but those who don't ALWAYS call when they get the bill!!!!
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/12/20/ny_village_sends_fake_1000_water_bills/"WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. --A suburban village is sending out fake water bills of more than $1,000 to dozens of residents "just to get their attention" because it hasn't been able to gain entry to read their meters.""It seems to be working," said Abe Zambrano, treasurer of Croton-on-Hudson. "About half the people have called already and we just sent the bills out on Dec. 15."
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Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.