Raleigh Building Codes ~ underground utilities question (house, street , paint)

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Are their any local codes that regulate how deep buried utilities must be installed on a property? I have had theutilities marked out on my property in the past and I stay clear of those areas, but today I was preparing a small flower bed along my back fence (nowhere near the utility markings) and I came across what appears to be a buried phone line. It is only about 1-2" below the ground surface and appears to run diagonally across my backyard. I don't know it an active phone line because my phone box is actually just a few feet from the curb in my front yard and the mark out for the phone line were from the street in the front of my house to the box, not from my backyard fence to the box!

Anybody else come across shallow utilities before? I would love to find out if this phone line is supposed to be there and if so, why it isn't buried deeper. For now I am just going to stay clear of it!

Thanks!


~ NRG

[JQ Public]

I'm sure you already know, but there is a number you can call and they'll come by and paint orange lines where they know underground wires are. Maybe you can ask them about that one too when they come by?

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy

Are their any local codes that regulate how deep buried utilities must be installed on a property? I have had theutilities marked out on my property in the past and I stay clear of those areas, but today I was preparing a small flower bed along my back fence (nowhere near the utility markings) and I came across what appears to be a buried phone line. It is only about 1-2" below the ground surface and appears to run diagonally across my backyard. I don't know it an active phone line because my phone box is actually just a few feet from the curb in my front yard and the mark out for the phone line were from the street in the front of my house to the box, not from my backyard fence to the box!

Anybody else come across shallow utilities before? I would love to find out if this phone line is supposed to be there and if so, why it isn't buried deeper. For now I am just going to stay clear of it!

Thanks!


~ NRG

NRG,

What you see is pretty common.
I have seen phone and TV cables, single lines feeding one house, just below the surface many times.

Do you have a utility easement along the back of your lot?

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

NRG,

What you see is pretty common.
I have seen phone and TV cables, single lines feeding one house, just below the surface many times.

Do you have a utility easement along the back of your lot?

Thanks for the response Mike. I do have a sewer easment along the back of my lot. Not sure if that helps. I guess I am just surprised the line is so shallow and that it runs through the middle of the lot and not along the boarder (I am on a corner lot) and that it wasn't marked by the NC one call guy when he came out althoug hhe marked a phone line somehwere else on my lot. It is almost like I have two different phone lines going through my yard. The second one (the one I found today) seems to be coming from a direction I wouldn't expect in light of where my phone box is located on the side of my house or where my neighbors phone box is for that matter.

Thanks!