Underground phone line cut to house

[Pete C.]

5 pair flooded cable seems to be what they stock for underground service. That's what they used on my service which is a single line / DSL.

[Pete C.]

It may be on their side of the demarc, but it was damage from illegal digging (law says call the call before you dig number first), so they'd be within their rights to charge to repair the damage. If say a big mole had eaten the cable, no charge.

[Pete C.]

It's definitely *not* the original cable, those color codes are much newer than 1974. I'd expect probably within the last decade or two. BTW, that is called "flooded" cable and the gel inside helps keep out moisture.

[usethisone2007]

Yes, its on their side, BUT I hadn't called first. That's the catch. And I don't feel like rolling the dice assumming that they will fix it for free. I'd almost rather fix it myself than pay who knows how much. I'm sure I can do the job once I find the right splicers and the proper/best way to waterproof it. I dug up some of the line as it ran away from the house to try and get some slack and after about 10 feet distance it was still just 5-6 inches deep. I would use the reasoning that it wasn't run deep enough if I thought I had a chance, but its almost not worth taking that chance. There is not alot of money floating around right now to waste on them doing a repair that I could do, although not nearly as quickly.

Just wondering if anyone else had them fix it for free after such an obvious violation of the standard procedure of calling first and then digging carefully.

phil

[Pete C.]

Low voltage / low current lines like phone lines or cable lines are not normally buried very deep. Around here they use a vibrating cable plow to pull the cable perhaps 8" deep. If you can get a few inches of slack you can pretty readily make the splice just fine.

The easiest way to make the splice will be with the "UR" type gel filled IDC connectors. The easiest way to protect the splice, which is similar to the old underground splicing kits the telcos used to use, is to pot the splice in silicone. Get a small container like a 35mm film can, poke a hole in the bottom and the lid and thread them over the wires on each side of the splice location (before making the splice of course). Make the splice and then slide the film can over the splice. Fill the can with regular silicone caulking and then put the lid on it. It will eventually cure solid and protect the splice well.

[Pete C.]

When I did the CBYD thing prior to trenching new conduit to get proper power out to my shop, each utility came out with their cable locator, clamped the transmitter around the appropriate wire at the house and then tracked back accurately locating the wire back well past my designated work area, marking and flagging along the way. No surprises though, nothing in the way for 75' or the 80' run and then the last 5' was at the point where everything came to the house so I had to hand dig that section to avoid the phone, power and two cable lines.

[Pat]

I cut mine recently. My phone company said it would cost $75 unless I had called for underground locate. I had and the fix was free.

[Jim Redelfs]

Contrary to popular belief, the phone company NEVER fixed (or did) ANYTHING for "free". Never. Not directory assistance, pre-wiring in the good, old days, zippo.

EVERYONE - all phone subscribers - paid for those services as part of their monthly bill.

We invented socialism, folks. Judge Greene tore it all down in the Modified Final Judgement and Final Divestiture of that old, mean, evil Bell System.

It all began to fall apart with the advent of charging for Directory Assistance. Think about it: Why should *I* pay - as part of my phone bill - for DA operators that I never use, but are OVERUSED by those too lazy to use the phone book?

Why should I pay for the damage you did to your buried service wire?

You probably will - and SHOULD - be charged for the repair of the telco line (their property).

The technician that repairs the damage gets a paycheck as does the technician that works for the locating service that you SHOULD HAVE called.

My "attitude" is driven by my constant amazement that the assumption that the phone company will do [whatever] for "free" persists 23 years after the big breakup. We're just like any other company now: You incur cost, you pay for it.

[Jim Redelfs]

Safety tape? For (low voltage) communication cable? That's new.

[Jim Redelfs]

Unless the official locating marks (if called for) were "off" by more than

18-inches or the locator was a "no show", the digger pays.

Have you called them? If no, you should.

If a simple, permanent repair is done, it should be less than $200. Homeowner's insurance covers such things but I can't imagine anyone with a deductible less than $200.

That's OK and quite common. Just don't attempt a DIY "permanent" fix. It will fail and, in the frost belt, it always dies in January or February when the frost is 3-feet deep. In such a case, I just lay a temporary wire on top of the ground and the hapless homeowner gets to mow around it for x months until a new drop is placed or I come back, dig up the newly landscaped yard and do the repair at that later time.

Bite the bullet and have the telco fix it properly. It will last MUCH (years) longer and you will enjoy trouble-free service for it.

Look at it this way: You'll probably never cut another buried line.

[Jim Redelfs]

It'll fail.

All the silicon goo/caulk/sealant/whatever isn't even CLOSE to the encapsulant used for "official" buried splices.

In >34 years I've lost count of all the DIY buried splices I've dug up. Sorry.

[Jim Redelfs]

He got off cheap if it was a main cable, damaged in more than one place.

I worked yesterday (Sunday) and restored service to a rural residence (acreage) whose phone line was augered apart in four out of five holes mechanically dug for tree planting. They just drove in there (no locates) and started blowing holes in the ground. Look overhead: There's NO WIRES up there! Where are they? Also, just because there ARE wires in the air, it does NOT mean there aren't ALSO buried wires. Some utilities bury their lines, others hang 'em because it's cheaper.

1 cut = 2 splices 2 cuts = 4 splices 3 cuts = 6 splices etc.

After the first cut, I just abandon the wire and order a new one to replace the destroyed wire. Of course, to restore service to the affected customer, I laid a temporary wire across the expansive lawn of the neighbor that cut the wire.

Call before you dig, folks! You're already paying for the locating service as part of your utility bills.

Heck, there's anywhere from 240 to 8kVAC down there! Then there's gas, water and more.

[Jim Redelfs]

...and your life.

[Pete C.]

Safety to protect the cable, not the person digging. Bury cable deep, bury safety tape shallow so it hopefully gets dug up and noticed before the cable gets hit.

[Pete C.]

Or he can just get cable modem service, go VOIP, port his current number and ditch the evil TELCO forever...

[Jim Redelfs]

5-pair "drop" wire was quite common, particularly to larger homes in nicer neighborhoods.

You must live in a shack on the wrong side of the tracks. [ducking] :)

Seriously, single-pair drop was common but we usually placed TWO of them.

2-pair drop was WIDELY used.

Those places with just one (1-pair) are usually OLD farmsteads. Even then, I suspect the crew was running short of wire at the time.

Also, just because more and more folks are using their wireless (cell) phone for their voice needs, don't think that "the land line" is going away.

Just today I was unable to install a THIRD line to an old farm house. The two, single-pair drops were already in use. Now the customer has to wait while we get a permit from the county to bore across/under their road to place another drop to the house.

In the early 1970s, a MASSIVE effort was made to bury the services to thousands of rural customers formerly fed by open wire hanging from poles and glass insulators. We buried two pairs to homes that were on 4 to 8-party lines - a SINGLE pair feeding 4 to 8 customers. We thought it was overkill. It was - until today, for this particular farmstead.

[Jim Redelfs]

Buried splices are like light bulbs and hard-disk drives: It's not IF - it's WHEN.

Left undisturbed, buried cable/drop will outlast the house. Put a "hole" in it and you can set your timer:

Even the best buried splice, done properly by a telco technician will eventually fail.

[Jim Redelfs]

Dream on. You damage, you pay.

Why should it be any different just because it's a telco? If you knock over a fire hydrant or utility pole, you pay for that.

[Jim Redelfs]

A VERY big mole - with a tile spade! :)

The OP should swallow his pride (and parsimony) and call the telco. Whatever they charge, they would probably accept payment in installments - probably with no interest. No big deal.

We USED to be the Mean, Evil Bell System. Not any more!

[Jim Redelfs]

Even if you HAD called first, but still cut the line, you'd be liable - unless the locating marks were "off" by more than 18-inches. In that case, the locating company pays.

Aw, if it's that close to the house, dig a nice, LARGE splice pit for the telco technician and even open up a nice, deep trench to the house. The repair guy might then be inclined to use only ONE splice - to a NEW length of

5-pair - and run it to the house. If you don't have an official "SNI", he might even install one.

Still, you pay for the repair. It won't be THAT bad.

No dice. Depth is NOT static.

Only amateurs inquire about depth when a locator is doing their work. Locating devices can give a (very) ROUGH estimate of depth, but it is never divulged officially. One must HAND DIG within the "hand dig zone" which is usually 18-inches on EITHER SIDE of the locating mark.

Think about it: Short of 6.5 on the Richter scale, that line won't move left or right over the years. Depth is another matter entirely. Erosion, construction, landscaping all have the the effect of "raising" a buried line.

If you bury a line 36-inches deep, then scrape off 30-inches, what you do have?

Is there ever?

...or as good. (It wouldn't be "wasted" money.)

The days are LONG GONE (many years, now) that such repair was done for "free".

If a buried line is damaged, SOMEONE screwed-up. Either the locator or the digger. Regardless, one of them pays. The telco virtually never "eats" such repair work anymore.

Do it now and avoid what might otherwise lay ahead: When your DIY splice fails, they may come out, discover your DIY fix, and bill you at that time for an "official" repair. (Pay 'em now or pay 'em later, yadda, yadda...)