Utility locations

[AzIron]

I had a friend cover a dig I didn't have time for witch is fine we trade a fair bit of work but the job was digging the electric service across a parking lot 800 feet to the curb

After 2 days of digging it's still not done and about 14 things have been ripped out that were in the way actually only 4 lines survived. In the aftermath of this of course everyone is mad and blaming everyone else but how do they expect a guy to dig around stuff that he doesn't know is there or where about that it's at. Everything that was broke has nothing to do with blue stake and one call all of it were systems for the car wash that's being built it's been in the ground 3 months

Now on the other hand after the first pipe was broke I would have pulled the plug on digging and had stuff marked out but my friend didn't after all the destruction the first day the super didn't stop the digging to solve the problem instead they take to calling me saying that the guys I sent is to slow and he has hit everything

Is the customer worth trying to keep it seems to me after all this they don't have enough common sense to do the job right

Sorry I guess I just had to rant a little but why is it always on the operator to figure everything out no one else wants to think ahead

 

[Bls repair]

No as builts ,sand around pipe , warning tape. These are standard around here. After second hit every thing should stop and get a new game plan.

 

[dayexco]

looks to me you'll be paying for a lot of repair bills. who pulled the permit? who 811'd? there's zero excuse for 14 utility cuts.

what a friend.

 

[oceanobob]

on site utilities are the worse it often seems....
Latest contracts make the contractor responsible for utility damage so they typically hire a radar for a lot of money but in these situations maybe it is money better spent? sorry to hear of this; I hate that sinking feeling when the bucket jumps or pulls up something....

 

[AzIron]

I would agree 10 of the 14 lines were just vacuume lines for the car wash 2 were water lines one was a drain to the interceptor and the other was a small data line to the second building i just can't believe no one had the where with all to stop and chase it for the extra half day it would have taken instead I was told it was expected that the operator should feel the line before he breaks it I asked the question that they seem to expect us to dig all 800 feet like there is something under the bucket in every scoop it's crazy

I am on the job by the hour and not responsible for any damage to existing lines but now I am more worried about reputation

I am about ready to pull the plug on the job they can get someone else cause they think there are 2 water lines left and the sewer line but there is no clear answer on where they are I told them no more digging until that's resolved

It just blows my mind the owner of the electric company and the site super and my friend kept digging after more than 2 lines were broke

And to answer the questions everything is coming from the building to service the parking lot so none of it will get pipe tape most of it doesn't even get tracer wire and the ground is really nice dirt so no sand to be a warning

 

[CM1995]

Yeah this is one of those gray areas.

How are you hired for the job - hard bid or unit price? What kind of language does your contract have in it for damaged caused by you or your subs?

Are you working for a sub to a GC or for the GC?

 

[AzIron]

Hired by the sub by the hour no contract so I am not held responsible for all the damage but it sure doesn't look good

And the guy I had cover the work was there billing direct to the sub it was not ran through me I just scheduled him cause I was already booked for those 2 days

 

[CM1995]

Hired by the sub by the hour no contract so I am not held responsible for all the damage but it sure doesn't look good

And the guy I had cover the work was there billing direct to the sub it was not ran through me I just scheduled him cause I was already booked for those 2 days

Well that's good you're not on the hook for the expense however I understand the reputation part.

This may sound like witchcraft but I carry a 1 foot long or so piece of copper ground wire in my truck. Some people use two but I use one.

Bend it into a 90 and use it to find buried utilities like witching for water. It works - it will find plastic, rubber, metal and concrete pipe in the ground.

When I run across these types of jobs it's a great back up and I've even seen some of the 811 guys use them.

 

[Birken Vogt]

This reminds me I had a sub offer to sell me his spare underground locator tool.

I forgot about it, well now you guys are reminding me, I need to call him asap.

 

[AzIron]

I carry a set of witches just for that you can't beat them until there is more pipe than you know what to do with

That particular job they wouldn't work on

I went over there today and finished the dig it really was a mess I smoothed things over with the customer. Fortunately the plumber is another customer of mine so it went ok when we exposed all the breaks had it all fixed by noon

 

[DMiller]

Ended up at the nuke I worked with Absolutely MILES of buried mostly abandoned but some still hot equipment they called in a engineering firm to print up the underground as built in a series of drawings. Took DAYS of perusing for contractors to finally start digs only to hit MORE abandoned crap, all work stopped. Finally got to using a company using Badger hydro excavation layout equipment, basically super sucker trucks with hydro lase wands to stir it up and suck it out expose narrow bands of excavation to allow larger machines to cut along.

 

[reddot556]

i hate unknown utilities

 

[Shimmy1]

i hate unknown utilities

Nice to see a post from you, reddot. On occasion, still look up your pics of the ditch you made with a V-bucket. Truly a work of art.

 

[CM1995]

i hate unknown utilitiesView attachment 258100

Nice some conduits and what appears to be a yellow natural gas line?

 

[Shimmy1]

Nice some conduits and what appears to be a yellow natural gas line?

There appears to be something else substantial on the other side of those conduits, something they had to tunnel underneath.

 

[reddot556]

There appears to be something else substantial on the other side of those conduits, something they had to tunnel underneath.

yea,a unknown cast in place concrete pipe!!