Do I need to call Miss Utility for small slab?

[Fr]

Hi. I'd like to pour a simple 3' x 8' concrete slab (4" thick) as a walkout from my basement's sliding door. Since I don't really need to dig very deep into the soil for this, I'm wondering if I still need to have my local utility companies come out and mark the location of underground cables. For that matter, if there are buried cables right under this area, is it even a good idea to put a slab on top? Or should I put something more "temporary" (bricks on sand, patio blocks, etc.) that I can remove easily if needed? Thanks for the help.

Fr@nk

[badgolferman]

What would it hurt to call them out? It's free and you will not have to worry about possibly cutting something.

[SQLit]

Calling them is pretty cheap insurance.

I have seen phone cables just covered over in a yard. Do not concern your self about the concrete. The utilities where I live will avoid it or go under it. If replacement becomes an issue.

[Fr]

Yeah, you're right, and I do plan to call them out. I guess I should've asked this question differently: what I'm really wondering is if I can still throw a 4" slab on top of buried cables at all. I mean, if I don't have to dig down deep enough to disturb the cables, can I still pour concrete on top? The cables would be undisturbed.

But of course they'd now be buried under a 4" concrete slab...

Fr@nk

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sure. but there is probably nothing under there anyway. If you don't see anything coming into the house in that area you are probably safe. Right at the door is a dumb place for anything to be routed, but you never know. In most areas, 12" is the minimum to trench and you are only going 4".

[Cliff Hartle]

I doubt you will ever need to get to the cables. Its not like there's a junction box down there. The only thing I can imagine is a problem with a water or sewer line.

If there is any problem a new line will probably be run and it will just be run around the slab.