Actually, a locate probably would not have prevented the instant
water feature. This was probably a main line being a part of
a 30 zone watering system. I talked to the irrigation guy who
shut off the supply, he said that sometimes the glue in
the joints weakens and it doesn't take much to jar one loose.
Heck, I was just pounding in a lath beside a disturbed rebar,
the point of the lath was probably 0.6' - 0.8' down.
It was a hot day, but this is not quite what I had in mind for a
cool down.
Scott
I bet I know why the bar was "disturbed".
That's a property corner? Appears to be in the middle of their yard.
> That's a property corner? Appears to be in the middle of their yard.
Maybe a PC/PT?
Looks like a PI in a back property line...maybe a golf course of somethin' to the rear of the instrument (camera). Nice grass.
i hit one with the tripod leg once
it was just before they loamed the place so the irrigation pipe was hundredths below the ground and i was running a level for a building height calculation. i think they duct taped it.
I was thinking something like that too, maybe a common area/open space buffer.
wish my back yard was that pretty.
Back in the late '70s I was chopping line in the jungle. When we popped out into a clearing I flung my brush hook down sticking it up in the ground. Water immediately started pouring out around it. I looked right and saw a pumphouse. I looked left and saw a house. Murphey's friggin law! I stuck my blade right into the peoples PVC water line. We were able to get some glue and a sleeve and fix it before anyone was the wiser.
After Jan 1, 2013, you might want to think about getting locates before you dig for property corners; in Washinton at least.
From the web site:
> (4) "Excavation" means any operation in which earth, rock, or other material on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by any means, except the tilling of soil less than twelve inches in depth for agricultural purposes, or road and ditch maintenance that does not change the original road grade or ditch flowline.
Sure sounds like digging for property corners to me......
A number of years ago I was surveying a parcel adjacent to a small private lake. The rear property lines actually fell short of the shore by 30 or 40 yards (a common area for all owners to enjoy the lake).
Anyway we had chained and turned angles and had some luck finding pins and got down to the last corner. Chained a couple of hundred feet, got line and turned the Schonstedt on. Low and behold a powerful squeel...
As we started digging the chainman was pussy-footing around with the shovel and a tree root that kept bouncing back. Frustrated, I grabbed the shovel, (with a "gimme that thang" kinda attitude) planted the blade on the root and proceeded to jump on it with both feet, full tilt.
What sounded like a 12 gauge shell exploded and filled all our eyes with dirt. As I dusted my face off and peeled one eye open I could see what was left of the shovel...smoking with the last 2" of the blade burned off. I had just cut a buried 220v feed to the boat dock.
lesson learned....o.O
Good thing you were doing an enthusiastic job of it, doing it that way you caused a fuze to blow, anything less might have started a fire somewhere up or down the line without blowing a fuze. Plastic shovel heads don't work very good except on a little fluffy snow. Wonder if I can obtain a grant, to perfect such a thing.
jud
We have a similar law in Florida but it does no good what so ever. You jump through all of the hoops and submit your locate ticket but you never see the first paint mark on the ground. Utility owners refuse to mark their lines for any ticket submitted by a surveyor.
So I tell my guys that if the ticket has been called in, we have met the requirements of the law. If the companies don't want to mark their lines, then we won't feel bad when we break one.
They will not mark for surveyors in Florida. Instead, they gave us an exemption if we break something less than 18" deep ... but I suppose that what is meant by "marked easements and right of ways" is debatable and surveyor could still get in trouble here ... plus, I believe state laws still call for 24" monuments in some cases, so....
>556.108 Exemptions
>(4) Any excavation of 18 inches or less for:
>(a) Surveying public or private property by surveyors or mappers as defined in chapter 472 and services performed by a pest control licensee under chapter 482, excluding marked rights-of-way, marked easements, or permitted uses where marked, if mechanized equipment is not used in the process of such surveying or pest control services and the surveying or pest control services are performed in accordance with the practice rules established under s. 472.027 or s. 482.051, respectively;
[flash width=420 height=315] http://www.youtube.com/v/lwqjO2j7__Q?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0 [/flash]
We had a guy speak at one of our meetings. He said the area to be located must be marked with white paint; 2 business days before you dig (disturb the soil).If you do not comply and break "anything" you will be dealt with severely!
Well, maybe not in so many words, but you get the picture.
He said it was a federal mandate(I hope that just didn't turn this into a political post...:-X ) because Washington was near the top of the list for violations and worst accident involving underground utilities.
How am I supposed to know how many holes I'm going to dig; how many stakes I'm going to have to drive in the ground and where, 2 business days before I'm there?
If your surveying in Washington after the first of the year, you better be careful.....
Radar
As I recall this has been the law in Washington for quite some time. Good luck getting anyone to mark for you when you tell them you are surveying. I usually just say we are doing hand excavation. Even then I have had the locate guys in the Tacoma area repeatedly tell me they will not locate for surveyors. Even when I was working for the regional power company who pays the one-call's bills.
And just to let you know, Oregon has the same locate requirement but they get 10 day to located for surveyors.
This could turn into a whole other topic on the lack of locates and as-built drawing you get when you call in for a design project.
Have a great weekend. Summer has finally hit the NW
Love your story, Payden!
when I need a 2 day ticket, I tell them we are setting control rods 30 inches down, rather than "pre-survey for design" as they would like that triggers the 10 day window.:-P
"Exemption" = just to lazy or can't be bothered.
If we submit a ticket and the utilities don't mark, I report them to SSOC for non-compliance at the same time I notify them that we have cut a phone line because it was not marked.