Home / Calling Before You Dig for Gate Posts

Calling Before You Dig for Gate Posts

By metal gates cedar park works

Anyone digging post holes for a gate in Texas must request a utility locate through the state notification system before the first shovel or auger goes in, wait for the marks, and hand dig inside the tolerance zone around each marked line. The request is free, it is the law, and it prevents the most dangerous mistake in a gate project.

Post holes for a gate are deeper and wider than fence post holes. A heavy leaf needs a footing that may reach three or four feet down and a foot or more across. Those holes sit right where service lines enter the lot. A strike on a gas line can cause a fire or an evacuation, and a strike on an electric line can injure or kill. The process below keeps the work safe.

Making the request

The statewide system takes requests by phone or through its website. The caller gives the address, the nearest cross street, the type of work, the exact area to be dug and the start date. Describe the area clearly, such as the front five feet of the lot along the driveway for ten feet either side. Vague descriptions lead to incomplete marking.

The system issues a ticket number and notifies the member utilities with lines near the address. Each utility sends a locator, and the marks should appear within a couple of working days. Keep the ticket number, since it proves the request was made and identifies the work if a question arises.

Waiting for the marks

Do not start digging until every utility on the ticket has responded. The system shows the status of each one, either marked, no conflict or pending. A utility that has no line in the area will say so. Walk the site after the locators have finished and look for paint, flags or stakes, then compare them to the list of utilities on the ticket. If one is missing, call to ask.

Marks last for a limited period, often two or three weeks, and rain, mowing and foot traffic can erase them. Photograph the marks as soon as they appear, with a tape measure showing distances to the posts and the house. If the work is delayed, request a renewal.

Reading the colors

• Red marks electric lines and cables.
• Yellow marks gas, oil or other hazardous material.
• Orange marks communication lines, such as phone and internet.
• Blue marks drinking water.
• Green marks sewer and drain lines.
• Purple marks reclaimed water and irrigation.
• White marks the outline of the proposed dig.

Each mark shows the approximate path of a line, and the width of a mark does not show the width of the pipe or cable. Lines can bend, branch or sit deeper than expected.

The tolerance zone

Marks are approximate, so the law and good practice define a tolerance zone on each side of a marked line, often a couple of feet, within which mechanical digging is limited. Inside the zone, the work must be done by hand, by careful probing or by a method such as vacuum excavation that removes soil without striking a line. Dig a small test hole first to expose the line and confirm its depth and direction, a technique called potholing.

Plan the post positions so that holes fall outside the zone whenever possible. If the best post position lies on a marked line, the choice is to shift the post, to expose the line by hand, or to redesign the gate. Do not guess.

Lines that are not marked

Several buried items fall outside the locate service. Irrigation pipes and valves installed by owners, low voltage landscape lighting, private gas lines to outdoor kitchens or pool heaters, and old abandoned lines are all unmarked. Search the area by eye for sprinkler heads, valve boxes and conduit stubs, and ask the owner and neighbors what was installed. Probing with a thin steel rod before digging can detect objects under the surface.

Consider hiring a private locating company for properties with many private lines. Using ground penetrating radar or electromagnetic tools, they can find metallic and some plastic lines that the utilities do not mark.

Digging near rock and roots

Shallow limestone is common in this part of Williamson County, and a post hole that hits rock must be drilled or broken, which can fracture nearby lines if the vibration is not controlled. Tree roots, another obstruction, can be cut within limits, though cutting large structural roots harms the tree and may affect stability. Moving the post a few inches often avoids both problems.

If a line is hit

Stop work at once. For a gas smell or hissing, leave the area immediately, keep everyone away from ignition sources and call the emergency number from a safe distance. For an electric strike, stay clear of the equipment and the ground around it, and call emergency services. For water, shut off the equipment and call the utility. Report every strike, even a minor nick, to the owner of the line so that it can be inspected and repaired. A damaged line that is buried again without inspection can fail later.

Records worth keeping

File the ticket number, the photographs of the marks, the date and a sketch of the post holes relative to the marked lines. If a question arises later, the file shows that the proper steps were taken. Give a copy to the contractor and to whoever installs the operator wiring, since the trench for that wiring needs its own locate if it extends beyond the original area.

A call before digging costs nothing and takes a few minutes. Skipping it risks injury, repair bills and a stop to the whole project.

Planning the dig to keep the work moving

Because marks take a couple of days to appear and fade after a few weeks, schedule the request to match the work. Ask for the locate about a week before the crew is due, which leaves time to check the marks and to adjust the post plan if a line turns up in an inconvenient spot. If the weather turns and the work is pushed back, ask for an update rather than risking digging into faded marks.

Prepare the digging tools in advance. Hand digging near lines calls for a sharp spade, a post hole digger, a probing rod and a bucket for soil. A small shovel with a rounded blade avoids cutting cable insulation. Keep a spray bottle of water to wet the soil for easier hand digging in dry clay, and lay a tarp for the soil so the lawn is protected.

Brief everyone on the crew about the marked lines before they begin. A short walk around the site, pointing at each color and explaining what it means, takes five minutes and ensures that a new worker does not start an auger over a gas line. Post the ticket number and the emergency phone numbers where the whole crew can see them.