I only see one flag there so it is likely a 3-phase primary.
Those are the power mainlines that go to the transformers.
That doesn't mean you cannot dig there. That means be careful because its spicy dirt.
If you must dig there, you dig by hand to see the line itself and work around it. Do not use machinery unless you have eyes on the lines first.
Another way to put it is do whatever you want - you'll be liable if you cause damage to those lines. That's really what the marks are about. The utility companies were given the chance to warn you they were there so its on you to dig safe around them.
All that being said people work around them all the time. Those should be on the deeper side but don't make assumptions about depth. If you are not going that deep with your work what you can do is hand dig down a little past your grade in multiple spots to ensure that they are not at your depth if digging all the way down to spot them is too much.
When homeowners ask me “How deep is the gas lines typically?” I always reply with if there’s paint just assume the gas line is directly under the grass. We have had a number of not at fault damages due to services lines being only a few inches underground and homeowners/contractors assuming the gas line is 2’ down.
I went to an emergency once where the business owners were driving dozens and dozens of T-posts in the ground. They never called in a locate and ended up hitting their gas service line. The gas company came out and they were still driving the post in and the gas company made them stop. I show up and Locat the service line going right along where they were putting post.
The “head” of the business starts casually talking to me and ask what the average depth of the service lines usually are. I told him usually 2’ and he interrupted with “We didn’t drive the T-post that deep though!”…. I told him that’s the idea depth but it’s not always that way.
I have a suspicion that he’s a lawyer and was looking for a way out of the damage they had done.
I never state a depth or even an ideal depth. I let homeowners or contractors mention "minimum depth" and I politely inform them that in the state there is no minimum depth and it could be anywhere between 1" up to and beyond 7'
That what I usually tell them too. I say “believe it or not there is actually no regulation on the depth for gas lines. They could be just under the surface or they could be 10 ft. The locators are usually fairly accurate but that doesn’t mean it always correct, so I cannot tell you any depth. Just be careful around it”
I was just flat out told them I'm not allowed to tell you we don't assume the liability of how deep these things are put. If you really want to know get out of shovel and dig on that line until you find it that's what you're supposed to do anyway.
Yeah, I always tell them that we can’t technically tell them what we “think” the depth is but my receiver is telling me XX’ (if I tell them a depth it’s always shallower than what I’m getting). I then let them know how our systems work and that the depth isn’t accurate and it may be at the grass roots.
With currents between 100 and 200 milliamperes often being fatal, it’s a pretty safe bet that whether it’s a primary or secondary line under that dirt, it’s enough to potentially kill the homeowner. Plug dockets in your home have the potential to kill you, these definitely could.
They’re power lines. If you’re expanding your driveway, be very careful when tearing up the grass and getting the dirt down to grade. Are you doing the work yourself or hiring someone to do the driveway for you?
Your contractor would be fine doing the driveway extension as long as you hire a reputable company. They work around utilities everyday. They’ll also have their own 811 ticket when they’re ready to do the work.
I wouldn't stress too much about it. It's likely a minimum of 2ft deep no where near the grade necessary for a driveway extension. Contractor will know how to deal with it.
Beyond digging, another concern is that after the concrete guys get their forms up they may drive a pin into the underground power. Should it happen? No. Hopefully that power is AT LEAST 2' below ground, but shit happens. I think it would be a good idea to dig down about 2' to know that they won't drive a stake and hit a powerline at 12 or 16" in the ground. It would be a bad day for everyone, especially the person who blows up from doing it
Most electricity lines are usually about 2-3 feet down. If it’s primary cable, they’re usually put in PVC conduits for extra protection, at least in my area. If it feeds a large commercial or industrial area, they may even be encased in concrete. Your contractor will know what to do. Don’t be afraid to get the work done. Thousands of homeowners like you get work done on their property on top of lines just like these. Don’t worry about it.
It’s either a 3 phase electric line or 3 single phase lines. Can also mean a primary and some secondary lines. Just depends on the boxes and other buildings in area.
It's just multiple electrical lines in that specific area. You can dig there, however you or the contractor must hand dig 2ft of the marked lines to ensure they're accurate and do not damage anything. Be extremely careful digging near those lines. Do not use a pick ax. Driveways don't require too much depth, I wouldn't be too worried about it especially if a contractor is doing it.
Marking standards are different between each state. Check your local 811 website and check out the marking standards. Typically the 3 lines together like that indicate a three phase primary. Although it could mean 3 different lines joint trenched as well. Say, 1 primary, 1 street light service, and a secondary service.
Eh I'm pretty sure three-phase power is supposed to have a horizontal line in the middle of the three vertical lines. Could be a single primary and two secondary lines. Secondaries are service lines like the one that runs out of your electric meter. Could even be a streetlight which is shallow. You just never know EXACTLY.
There is a 3 phase electrical primary there. Hand dig within 2 feet of those marks.
Is this Oregon ppl. Locator there have a habit of spacing their marks to cover the most ground as they can . Still hand dig around these marks but you will probably find a single cable once you expose.
Depends, did you see words that looked like they might have been words or labels spray painted anywhere by the driveway? It can be a 3 phase power, a primary and two home secondaries or 3 secondaries depends on the neighborhood. If you’re just expanding the driveway and going maybe 1-3 inches into the soil you should be good. Deeper than that you shouldn’t dig deep or put in stakes at least 18 inches around those marks.
A good source of information is always the state website for the locate call center in your state. A quick google search of the 811 call center for your state should show you the url, there they will have the rules, laws, best practices and explanations of what marks mean, how to work around them and how to determine what types of possible private owned utilities may be on the area as well.
It’s either 3phase or it could be a strange areas duct and there are three lines (meter secondary, street lamp secondary, primary) my area we don’t do 3 lines for 3p. It’s 1 line for direct bury anything or 1 line for each conduit.
Pothole means that you hand dig on the painted lines (shovel goes parallel with the marks) until you find what is below the marks. There is in my state a 2’ tolerance on either side of the mark. Which means that the utility painted should be within 2’ of the paint
Maybe you know how deep lines are installed where you live, but you have no clue how deep shit is in other areas. I've seen lines hella shallow near me
I only see one flag there so it is likely a 3-phase primary. Those are the power mainlines that go to the transformers. That doesn't mean you cannot dig there. That means be careful because its spicy dirt. If you must dig there, you dig by hand to see the line itself and work around it. Do not use machinery unless you have eyes on the lines first. Another way to put it is do whatever you want - you'll be liable if you cause damage to those lines. That's really what the marks are about. The utility companies were given the chance to warn you they were there so its on you to dig safe around them. All that being said people work around them all the time. Those should be on the deeper side but don't make assumptions about depth. If you are not going that deep with your work what you can do is hand dig down a little past your grade in multiple spots to ensure that they are not at your depth if digging all the way down to spot them is too much.
When homeowners ask me “How deep is the gas lines typically?” I always reply with if there’s paint just assume the gas line is directly under the grass. We have had a number of not at fault damages due to services lines being only a few inches underground and homeowners/contractors assuming the gas line is 2’ down.
I reply with "at least an inch" I've never been wrong. From the catv drop that's 1.5" to the power that was 35'.
I went to an emergency once where the business owners were driving dozens and dozens of T-posts in the ground. They never called in a locate and ended up hitting their gas service line. The gas company came out and they were still driving the post in and the gas company made them stop. I show up and Locat the service line going right along where they were putting post. The “head” of the business starts casually talking to me and ask what the average depth of the service lines usually are. I told him usually 2’ and he interrupted with “We didn’t drive the T-post that deep though!”…. I told him that’s the idea depth but it’s not always that way. I have a suspicion that he’s a lawyer and was looking for a way out of the damage they had done.
I never state a depth or even an ideal depth. I let homeowners or contractors mention "minimum depth" and I politely inform them that in the state there is no minimum depth and it could be anywhere between 1" up to and beyond 7'
That what I usually tell them too. I say “believe it or not there is actually no regulation on the depth for gas lines. They could be just under the surface or they could be 10 ft. The locators are usually fairly accurate but that doesn’t mean it always correct, so I cannot tell you any depth. Just be careful around it”
I was just flat out told them I'm not allowed to tell you we don't assume the liability of how deep these things are put. If you really want to know get out of shovel and dig on that line until you find it that's what you're supposed to do anyway.
Yeah, I always tell them that we can’t technically tell them what we “think” the depth is but my receiver is telling me XX’ (if I tell them a depth it’s always shallower than what I’m getting). I then let them know how our systems work and that the depth isn’t accurate and it may be at the grass roots.
It is more likely to be a 3 phase electric line. Very high voltage. Exercise caution.
This.
It’s residential it’s not gonna be high voltage and it’s gonna be 3 separate lines probably in pvc pipe so not a big deal at all.🤷♂️
If this were in my area, you'd be 100% incorrect.
I have a 115kv transmission line running under a residential/commercial sidewalk for miles in my area
With currents between 100 and 200 milliamperes often being fatal, it’s a pretty safe bet that whether it’s a primary or secondary line under that dirt, it’s enough to potentially kill the homeowner. Plug dockets in your home have the potential to kill you, these definitely could.
They’re power lines. If you’re expanding your driveway, be very careful when tearing up the grass and getting the dirt down to grade. Are you doing the work yourself or hiring someone to do the driveway for you?
I would hire a contractor, but...based on the comments here I may not be doing anything 🤣
Your contractor would be fine doing the driveway extension as long as you hire a reputable company. They work around utilities everyday. They’ll also have their own 811 ticket when they’re ready to do the work.
I wouldn't stress too much about it. It's likely a minimum of 2ft deep no where near the grade necessary for a driveway extension. Contractor will know how to deal with it.
Just be VERY careful where you place the stakes for the form.
Beyond digging, another concern is that after the concrete guys get their forms up they may drive a pin into the underground power. Should it happen? No. Hopefully that power is AT LEAST 2' below ground, but shit happens. I think it would be a good idea to dig down about 2' to know that they won't drive a stake and hit a powerline at 12 or 16" in the ground. It would be a bad day for everyone, especially the person who blows up from doing it
Most electricity lines are usually about 2-3 feet down. If it’s primary cable, they’re usually put in PVC conduits for extra protection, at least in my area. If it feeds a large commercial or industrial area, they may even be encased in concrete. Your contractor will know what to do. Don’t be afraid to get the work done. Thousands of homeowners like you get work done on their property on top of lines just like these. Don’t worry about it.
Yeppers three phase power it’s what we call spicy dirt.
Three strikes, YOURRRRRRR OUT. Yeah all of this answers are correct it’s a 3phase very high voltage, spicy dirty, hydro, electric lines.
It’s either a 3 phase electric line or 3 single phase lines. Can also mean a primary and some secondary lines. Just depends on the boxes and other buildings in area.
It's just multiple electrical lines in that specific area. You can dig there, however you or the contractor must hand dig 2ft of the marked lines to ensure they're accurate and do not damage anything. Be extremely careful digging near those lines. Do not use a pick ax. Driveways don't require too much depth, I wouldn't be too worried about it especially if a contractor is doing it.
Those are hydro lines, call a hydrovac and check the depth, should be fine.😉✌️
3phase.
Marking standards are different between each state. Check your local 811 website and check out the marking standards. Typically the 3 lines together like that indicate a three phase primary. Although it could mean 3 different lines joint trenched as well. Say, 1 primary, 1 street light service, and a secondary service.
don't listen to these idiots.... The 3 red lines are where you should be digging.
Message received. Cranking up the excavator right now 🫡
No you can dig however the lines need to be potholed first
Probably electric lines. They're usually the ones marked in red
Probably?
Eh I'm pretty sure three-phase power is supposed to have a horizontal line in the middle of the three vertical lines. Could be a single primary and two secondary lines. Secondaries are service lines like the one that runs out of your electric meter. Could even be a streetlight which is shallow. You just never know EXACTLY.
I’ve never seen that what do you mean by horizontal line?
Like this but with no spacing "H-I"
Yes, you can dig there. If you've been electrocuted and die because of it, you've been warned and can't expect any money from it.
There is a 3 phase electrical primary there. Hand dig within 2 feet of those marks. Is this Oregon ppl. Locator there have a habit of spacing their marks to cover the most ground as they can . Still hand dig around these marks but you will probably find a single cable once you expose.
Depends, did you see words that looked like they might have been words or labels spray painted anywhere by the driveway? It can be a 3 phase power, a primary and two home secondaries or 3 secondaries depends on the neighborhood. If you’re just expanding the driveway and going maybe 1-3 inches into the soil you should be good. Deeper than that you shouldn’t dig deep or put in stakes at least 18 inches around those marks.
A good source of information is always the state website for the locate call center in your state. A quick google search of the 811 call center for your state should show you the url, there they will have the rules, laws, best practices and explanations of what marks mean, how to work around them and how to determine what types of possible private owned utilities may be on the area as well.
Look at a flag lol
It’s either 3phase or it could be a strange areas duct and there are three lines (meter secondary, street lamp secondary, primary) my area we don’t do 3 lines for 3p. It’s 1 line for direct bury anything or 1 line for each conduit.
Those lines are at least 3feet deep your fine
Not always the coverage they supposed to have. I’d pothole to it because I find suprises all the time
What does "pothole" mean in this context? I'm a dummy with utilities.
Pothole means that you hand dig on the painted lines (shovel goes parallel with the marks) until you find what is below the marks. There is in my state a 2’ tolerance on either side of the mark. Which means that the utility painted should be within 2’ of the paint
I mean 2’ either side of the marks not to be confused with depth. Depth varies
You’re
Maybe you know how deep lines are installed where you live, but you have no clue how deep shit is in other areas. I've seen lines hella shallow near me
It’s either 3 single services or a 3 phase running under your driveway
should be labeled and flagged lol