Folks,

Hoping to start digging the footings for the garage/porch extension in the next month.

There is gas/water/electric and probably phone lines down there.

Have any of you got any hints and tips.

Obviously will have to cut through driveway with an angle grinder then start digging at the garage wall nearest to the gas pipe in the existing garage to locate and work outwards. I know roughly where the water pipe is.

May hire a mini digger/driver

Have around 14m run to dig

Cheers all

ATB

Simon

hi do you know anybody in the construction industry who can run a cat over the site if you have to ask whats a cat get sombody to dig the footings make sure they have ins
Cheers Ali

yep its cheaper to pay a man and digger to come in for one day rather than hire a digger all weekend do all the work yourself.

The services won't be dug as deep as you think they'll be, so tred careful

Our gas supply was less than 1' deep ,digger caught it when we did our drive . Use a shovel near the services to find them

If you know where roughly they are then use a spade when you get near them like everybody has suggested. Once found just carry on as normal. Cutting through the concrete shouldn't pose a problem unless it has been laid incorrectly but usually it is about 150mm of concrete and 150mm of hardcore so you should be fine with a normal stihl saw and a good old hammer

I'd pay someone else to do it. My old mans dug miles of footing over the years and he still managed to burst a water pipe at our house, and he did that with a spade because he new he was close

Water pipe repairs are simple, electric and gas are a bit more serious.

I have my own mini digger for small jobs, but still get my dad to drive it, it takes half the time with someone who knows what they are doing.

Good luck with the build.

Problem is cats are blind to the plastic most services come in now. The other day the gas guys told me they ran out of lead marker pipe so they went back to using just plastic.... so the genny won't work.
Test dig to said service and then join up holes. Enjoy I have the joy of fixing services that others have damaged on a weekly call out. Diggers go through the stuff no problem ...... I even did it in my own drive to test what i was told a thousand times.

Pay someone else to do it.

Takes away all the risk of damage to services.

I got in touch with the gas people as I'd heard they had maps and was told no, start where the gas pipe comes out of the ground and work away.

Have put a post on mybuilder.com for a quote and will go that way if cheap enough

Cheers

ATB

Simon

Some of the services do not know were there own supply pipes are
as my house built in 1976 plus the other 5 on my side of the street are the only ones in our area who do not have water meters fitted, as the water board can not find the outside supply box/taps

we have had numerous vehicles and personel turn up to establish were our connections are, and still they don't know

so don't rely on anything you have been told, as I doubt the pipe work will be were they think it is

steve