who responsible to call before you dig? homeowner or contractor (Louisville: home builders, contractors)

[yakmar]

who is responsible to "call before you dig" prior to laying down concrete front stairs, the homeowner or contractor? Who's responsible when they cover up the gas shut off valve?

[lifelongMOgal]

http://www.kentucky811.org/know.php (broken link)

https://www.kentuckypower.com/global...1-Kentucky.pdf

[veggienut]

I'm taking a wild guess and from what I know, but most likely it is the contractor's responsiblity.

[yakmar]

yea, that's what I think... but I can't find anything else on the internet about the responsibility.
thanks

[bobbyjewell]

I work for a local electrical contractor as a supervisor. To a degree, the answer is both the contractor and the homeowner.

Your contractor should make the call to B.U.D. because the person ultimately liable is the person who puts the shovel (or backhoe) in the ground. The call needs to be made at least 48 hours in advance of the dig (by law) unless it's an emergency. All contractors have an ID# and receive a confirmation # when they make the call. So they can easily remain in contact with B.U.D. about getting it marked.

However, I would think as a homeowner you would want to be sure the ground was marked before anything got started just to avoid the inconvenience of a utility being cut. You would not be responsible for the cost to repair, but you would be the one without power, or heat, or water. It would also be your yard that would be further torn up to make the repair.

If something went wrong, they would be liable. You would be inconvenienced. That kind of makes you both responsible to make sure the call gets made. Don't ya think?

Hope that helps.

[yakmar]

BobbyJewel,
thanks for your information! it really does help! Unfortunately, the stairs have been laid and it covered the gas shut off valve.
Now, my question is, who needs to pay to fix the problem. The gas company drilled a big hole in the stairs and put the shut off valve to be flushed with the stairs but filled the rest of the hole with gravel. As you can imagine, it looks really bad!
As the home owner, I am out of state and my aging mother is at home and she can't help much. Would you have any other info on Contractors Associations that I could contact to further my investigation.
I continue to look through the internet to find a Contractors Association or somewhere that I could nail down some solid information to take back to my contractor, who continues to say there's nothing he can do about it.
Any information you can provide to me would be helpful.
Thank You!

[bobbyjewell]

Originally Posted by yakmar

BobbyJewel,
thanks for your information! it really does help! Unfortunately, the stairs have been laid and it covered the gas shut off valve.
Now, my question is, who needs to pay to fix the problem. The gas company drilled a big hole in the stairs and put the shut off valve to be flushed with the stairs but filled the rest of the hole with gravel. As you can imagine, it looks really bad!
As the home owner, I am out of state and my aging mother is at home and she can't help much. Would you have any other info on Contractors Associations that I could contact to further my investigation.
I continue to look through the internet to find a Contractors Association or somewhere that I could nail down some solid information to take back to my contractor, who continues to say there's nothing he can do about it.
Any information you can provide to me would be helpful.
Thank You!

Well, I am not exactly sure this is what you are looking for, but the Louisville Home Builders Association can be reached at 502-429-6000. We have the second largest association in the country!! If you used a reputable contractor, they are most likely a member.

BUD (Before U Dig) can be reached at 1-800-752-6007 if you would like their input.

[tomocox]

I know the answer.... There is no doubt that I am absolutely correct on this. Don't dare argue with me about it. It is a fact that whomever failed to call is always at fault.