I'm tilling up my side yard to put in a walkway and lay some sod.

I know my water and gas lines run through there, do I have to call the Texas Excavation Safety System? I won't be digging very deep but I really don't want to cause any problems.

I know for a fact the phone/cable/electricity don't run through that yard, so the only final concern is the wastewater. Anybody have any advice?

I think you can call 811 for this kind of thing. I certainly hope nothing is shallow enough that you'd hit it with a tiller, but it can't hurt to call!

[This message has been edited by tmanAg08 (edited 5/4/2007 2:05p).]

all utilites should be much lower than anything you would till. it is free service and if time permits call them. they may even tell you if you need it.

however I called and they located lines for some deeper work I was doing. came to find out the phone line was only 2" deep in spots where it should have been much deeper

Only call if you are in an easement. The service lines are yours. If you break them, you fix them.

Sometimes they will bury the utilities before final grading is done when they are building the house. Don't expect everything to be deep.

I have seen them run the cable and telephone along the ground and 'bury' it when they lay the sod on top.

call Dig tess. Let them mark everything and you are in the clear if you hit something that wasn't marked.

My parents put in a flower bed a few years ago. It was in an area that had some lines running through. But as they were only tilling the didn't think they would hit anything so they wanted to be sure. When they got things marked they couldn't find out how deep things were, which was the only cause for concern. They didn't hit anything but they knew it was risky.

Thanks for the advice.

I called them, I guess I won't be doing the work this weekend after all.

I actually know where all of the lines are except for the wastewater, but given that I'm using a tiller I don't want to be nailed to the wall if I cut something.

I don't think they will mark your service line. You should probably look for a cleanout.

I specifically asked if they would mark that, and she said they would. Now whether they do or not is another story.

they will only mark water and waste water from the street to the meter, you can look at you blueprint of the house and find out where they put the line in. It should be pretty deep. Also why are you going to till your yard, why not go get a load of compost and top dress, it will do your lawn much better and not be so damaging. You can do a ton of damage to tree roots with a tiller and you may also trigger germination of new weeds. You best bet may be to rent a sod cutter to take up the old stuff , dress with compost and then lay sod on top.
Happy to help

There is no old sod, it's just weeds. The soil is also very compacted and consists mostly of sand.

Given that there aren't any trees in that part of the yard, I figure the best solution is to till in some compost so that I can both loosen the soil and give it some nutrients.

I'm also going to run some sprinkler lines while I'm at it so that I don't have to manually do it all the time.

I know my phone and cable are about 3 inches below the surface in my backyard... watched them put them in.

if it is sandy then you really dont need to till, trust me I have been in the landscaping business for the last 4 years and I've also taken many soil and turf classes at A&M. Tilling is great for gardens when you need to have loose soil, and unless you till your lawn every year, it wont make much difference in the long run. Do yourself a favor and rent a sod cutter if you must do something, it will work to get the weeds out and you wont end up with a swamp for a yard next time it rains. You could save yourself a ton of time and use a 20% vinegar as a herbicide, to spray the weeds, wait 2 days, water the area to wash off any remaining acid, then top dress with compost and then sod on top. This kills the problem weeds (even the roots) and give a nice base for your new grass to grow into.

They will locate the electric service line. It is the responsibility of CSU to get to the electric meter. If you cut the line though, you will be held responsible if you did not call a locate. Call 1-800-DIG-TESS and they will have everyone out there for locates within 2 business days. I had to call them for some work I was doing and they kept me from hitting my service line.

[This message has been edited by Somebody (edited 5/4/2007 5:31p).]

uncover, won't that promote a shallow root system for the grass?

The electric service is above ground, so I'm not worried about that. The only thing volatile under ground is the gas line.