Flutterby™! : Ouch 2008-06-29 01:12:02.756961+00

Ouch

2008-06-29 01:12:02.756961+00 by Dan Lyke 5 comments

Went over to Hertz equipment rental this morning to look at what they had for trenchers, 'cause Cal West's trenchers all looked way bigger than would be reasonable in our yard. Ended up coming home with an electric jack hammer. Worked all day, with a short break to help a friend move mattresses and a trip to the hardware store when I broke a trencher shovel (rental, glad I got the damage waiver) and our little cart (replaced with a beefy wheel barrow). Got all the trenching done in the front yard, still need to trench about 30 feet in the back yard, but I think I'm clear of all the underground stuff.

Interesting note, I called USA North to have the various utilities come out and mark where things were so that I didn't cut anything critical. The various entities came out and wrote things in chalk on the lawn. "OK" appears to mean "somewhere in this vicinity there's some fragile stuff" (the main water line is less than 6" down, the other "OK" was somewhere near but definitely not on the sewer line), a detailed diagram means "we think there's a gas line here, but it's deep enough that you'll never find it".

Seems to be nation wide. I got similar prognostications, though no chalk lines, in the Southern Tier of NY. Just a "looks like it runs from here to there" for both propane and electrical.

Yeah, it was "worth the two days delay" useful, mostly in the butt covering department, but if I were doing this seriously I'd have a metal detector. I did end up crossing the presumed location of the gas line twice, nervous each time 'cause I'm chipping the trenches out of clay that's probably about as hard as steel gas line. Even chiseling stuff out with the shovel (rather than using the pick or the jack hammer) I doubt I'd know that I'd gone through the line unless I heard hissing or smelled it.

And the front is done. We've tested it off of the hose, the furthest sprinklers are a little low, but once we put it on the big automatic valves we should be fine, I think it's just a matter of how little water goes through a standard hose. I need to do a little PVC cutting and call for the inspection on that.

The neighbors said they'd gotten a bid of $1000 for installation, I scoffed, but since I have to rent the jackhammer again for the back yard, if I value my time at all that's quickly looking like not so bad a deal...

On the other hand, I'm sore in a good way. A weekend of hard labor is a good thing on that front.

It's more than covering your ass. Behold the worst case of not checking on the underground before you dig: the time the Chicago River sprang a leak!