Anyone have any good idea's how I can get a power cable under a concrete drive? It's only about 6 foot I need to get past... If I can get a flexible plastic trunk down there I can then push cable through (it's a straight run) cost effective DIY solutions please!

James

i take it you don't want to take up a a strip across the drive, lay the cable in a plastic tube, and then fill the hole/strip with concrete?

only other thing i can think of, is dig holes down each side of the drive, they'd have to be quite big, and see if you have any luck hammering a metal tube through the earth under the drive, hoping there's no rocks under it, wash the tube out and push the cable through, or take the tube out and swap it for plastic if you prefer

Yeah a trench through the concrete isn't an option - how deep are the foundations likely to be?

James

You need an impact mole

Train a mole.

Image deleted by owner

.
Or

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Dig a small trench beside the drive square to it.
Lay a scaffold tube in the bottom and hit it wiv a big ammer.
Wash out pipe with a hose.


Still prefer the mole idea.

Paul G

[Edited on 12/3/10 by 907]

or drains, gas mains,electric supply cables! be careful if your only option is a hole under your drive mate!personally i would get the stone saw out,dig the cable down with a plastic duct around it and fill it back in again.

any chance of diagrams of buildings? that way we could come up with alternatives.

i have used an overhead solution that can be removed when not in use using outdoor sockets.

I've not done it, but I've heard of using a hose basically and letting the water jet clear the path as you push the hose under the driveway. Backfilling it may be a problem though.

is it possible to go round the drive? increase the length of the cable

When we had the new mains water pipe fitted there was no way I was going to smash up our driveway (which had only been laid months prior...I know bad timing and all that!)
We got a bloke in with one of those 'mole thingys'
Unfortunately I was at work when he came and did it, but it must have worked as planned as by the time I got home we had nice new blue poly pipes entering the kitchen and into the outside loo and only a small patch of concrete where it enters the buildings and a small area at the side of the house where I assume he had to put a Y type joiner in to feed both kitchen and bog

Must have set the mole off in the stop cock hole on the boundary as he didn't have to touch the new driveway, not sure how he guided it or anything

I recall it being quite pricey to have done, but a bargain compared to re-doing the driveway!

Regards
Rob

Hi

I've seen similar to this done:-

http://www.askthebuilder.com/Underground_Wire_Tunnel_Video.shtml

But the bloke simply used some 1" steel pipe, bashed it through with a sledge, and then pushed the soil out of the centre with a drain cleaner..

As far as I am aware the cable has to be; 1) Armoured
2) At least 0.5M below the surface
3) Have coping stones over it (in this case the drive should suffice)
4) Electrical hazard warning tape above it to indicate a potential hazard if anyone starts digging in the future.

Sticking a bit of twin amd earth in a plastic pipe is a definite no no.

Thanks everyone, some great tips and advice there - I'll draw up a diagram to get a better idea - it's to get power to my garage which is in a block... There is the possibility of going overhead, but I wanted to avoid it...


James

[Edited on 12/3/10 by cloudy]

MOLE

Please , Please ,Please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dont try and mole a hole yourself unless its a silly stupid short length and you are 100 % sure there is nothing in the way ..
Please get a pro in
you would not believe the chao0s and damage a mole can cause ...
it only takes say a large bit of quartz in the ground to set it off in a different direction or trash a sewer pipe or mains cable
ergo.... our firm dont rent any more .........
and we would rent the MD,s Granny if there was money in it

quote:

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Originally posted by Confused but excited.
As far as I am aware the cable has to be; 1) Armoured
2) At least 0.5M below the surface
3) Have coping stones over it (in this case the drive should suffice)
4) Electrical hazard warning tape above it to indicate a potential hazard if anyone starts digging in the future.

Sticking a bit of twin amd earth in a plastic pipe is a definite no no.

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