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I heard through a co-worker that Yard Crashers was not calling 811 before digging. There is pipeline infrastructure that needs to be protected. Accidently hitting a line can be harmful to the community and to the environment. It is DOT law and a free service. Please do the right thing by preventin damage. For more information, read below:

• Every digging project requires a call to 811.
• Calling 811 at least 72-48 hours prior to digging notifies utility companies of the intent to dig and gives representatives time to mark the appropriate lines.

What is 811?
• 811 is the national number designated by the Federal Communications Commission to prevent the unintentional strike of underground utility lines while digging.

Who should call 811?
• Everyone! Homeowners and professional excavators alike need to call prior to all digging projects — large or small.

Why should people call 811?
• Ensuring that the approximate location of underground utility lines are clearly marked before digging reduces the risk of striking a line, which can lead to serious injuries, disrupted service to an entire community, and potential fines and repair costs.

How does 811 work?
• 811 can be called from anywhere in the country.
• A representative from your local one-call center will answer the call to determine the location and description of the digging site.
• The affected utility companies will be notified of the intent to dig.
• The utility companies will send a professional locator to the digging site to identify and mark the approximate location of the underground lines.
• When lines have been marked, you are free to dig carefully around the marks.

When should someone call 811?
• Lines need to be marked for each separate project, such as installing a rural mailbox, putting up a fence, planting trees or building a deck.
• Call at least 72-48 hours prior to digging to allow time for professional locators to mark the approximate location of utility lines.
• Even if you’ve hired a contractor, make sure the contractor calls 811 to have lines marked.

What happens if you don’t call?
• There are 170,000 utility hits annually, and one out of every three hits is the result of the digger’s failure to call 811.
• Hitting an underground utility line while digging can cause serious injuries, disrupt service to entire neighborhoods, and potentially result in fines and repair costs.
Who is behind 811?
• The Common Ground Alliance (CGA), a leading association created to prevent damage to the underground utility infrastructure and ensure public safety and environmental protection, promotes 811 along with organizations from 16 stakeholder groups.

Where can you learn more about 811?
• To learn more about 811, visit www.call811.com.

If you have questions, please respond to this discussion board.Thank you for you committment to public safety and environmental protection.

Good advice. Keep in mind on these shows like Yard Crashers, Bath Crashers, House Crashers etc there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes such as permits and inspections. Since they are putting these shows up on TV you can be fairly certain that if permits and inspections are required they are happening. Nothing would make a mid-level bureaucrat's day more than taking down one of these TV shows. So when they decide they are going to swing into a town to do one of these shows they get all of this lined up before hand so they can do the show.

811 is a free call to a National Clearinghouse that tells you how to contact your particlular State's 'Call-Before-You-Dig' service.

While calling the 811 hotline is free, State 'Call-Before-You-Dig' services usually are not free.

In order to utilize your State's 'Call-Before-You-Dig' service, you must register with them and pay an annual fee.

This service is not free to homeowners but rather is intended to be utilized and paid for by excavating contractors.

Calling 811 will only provide you with information on how to contact your paid "call-before-You-Dig' service in your State.

Be prepared to register and pay at least an annual $100 (or more) fee to access your local "Call-Before-You-Dig" utility marking professionals.

I called 1-800-DIG-RITE so that I could decide the best place to have my landscaper plant a tree. There was absolutely no cost involved.

Every place we have lived, has had a one call before digging line in the phone book & now on line. And it has ALWAYS been free. The Water, Power and Natural Gas companies come out and mark/flag the lines prior to any digging and construction. It is law now and there has never been a fee involved. It is in the utilitie's/public's best interest to avoid any damage that would disrupt public services.

Perhaps there still are some areas in the country where marking under ground utilities may be fee based?
And especially if you have your own well and septic, the water/sewer utility companies would not know where those were and it would only affect you, should you break into them when digging.

quote:

Originally posted by LastTripToTulsa:
811 is a free call to a National Clearinghouse that tells you how to contact your particlular State's 'Call-Before-You-Dig' service.

While calling the 811 hotline is free, State 'Call-Before-You-Dig' services usually are not free.

In order to utilize your State's 'Call-Before-You-Dig' service, you must register with them and pay an annual fee.

This service is not free to homeowners but rather is intended to be utilized and paid for by excavating contractors.

Calling 811 will only provide you with information on how to contact your paid "call-before-You-Dig' service in your State.

Be prepared to register and pay at least an annual $100 (or more) fee to access your local "Call-Before-You-Dig" utility marking professionals.

Everywhere I have lived the subscribing utilities (Phone, Electric, Gas, Cable, Water) pay the fee not the homeowner. I work for a telecom company and we have a department that handles the one call look-ups and then we either send our people out or a contractor to mark the lines. Marking the lines is much cheaper than dealing with the affects of "backhoe fade" on a fiber cable.

With waterlines my town will only mark up to the meter which sits 10 feet off the curb, I have to guess where it is beyond that but fortunately it is buried a little deeper than the CATV. In the north the water line usually isn't much of a worry because they bury it deep to protect it from freezing. The further south you go the shallower it is buried. I once cut my CATV line while aerating my yard at my last house. The cable company "buried" the line about 1" below the sod. If installed properly aerating a yard should pose no danger to your buried utilities.

Good reminder. Call before you dig....even if you know where the utilities are.


doug @ www.novahandyman.com

Only thing Sparky and others here have demonstrated is that they have not lived everywhere in the US or Canada, where calling "Call-Before-You-Dig" services are not universally 'free'.

In may states and provinces, 'Call-before-you-dig" services are only funded my membership fees paid by member excavating contractors... and where homeowners or other non-professionals cannot join.

Check with your state or provincial regulators before you dig....and find out in advance if owners must pay for or are even allowed to call into the system.
----------------------

In order to utilize your State's 'Call-Before-You-Dig' service, you must register with them and pay an annual fee.

This service is not free to homeowners but rather is intended to be utilized and paid for by excavating contractors.

Calling 811 will only provide you with information on how to contact your paid "call-before-You-Dig' service in your State.

Be prepared to register and pay at least an annual $100 (or more) fee to access your local "Call-Before-You-Dig" utility marking professionals.[/QUOTE]

Everywhere I have lived the subscribing utilities (Phone, Electric, Gas, Cable, Water) pay the fee not the homeowner. I work for a telecom company and we have a department that handles the one call look-ups and then we either send our people out or a contractor to mark the lines. Marking the lines is much cheaper than dealing with the affects of "backhoe fade" on a fiber cable.

With waterlines my town will only mark up to the meter which sits 10 feet off the curb, I have to guess where it is beyond that but fortunately it is buried a little deeper than the CATV. In the north the water line usually isn't much of a worry because they bury it deep to protect it from freezing. The further south you go the shallower it is buried. I once cut my CATV line while aerating my yard at my last house. The cable company "buried" the line about 1" below the sod. If installed properly aerating a yard should pose no danger to your buried utilities.[/QUOTE]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LastTripToTulsa,

According to this webpage for call811.com the service is free for homeowners.

http://www.call811.com/about-us/default.aspx

I can't speak to Canada and there may be some utilities that want to charge a homeowner in the USA somewhere, but I would bet they are a very small minority.