Why You Should Still Call a Utility Locator When Revisiting a Project

Utility Locating

Underground utility locating is an extremely important and necessary step for any construction project. Excavations that do not safely locate utilities run the risk of a utility strike, which can result in serious damage and disruption to the local area. Indeed, professional utility locating services can mean the difference between a safe construction site, or a dangerous one. 

When revisiting a project, it may seem unnecessary to hire a utility locating team — but having sub-surface level utilities expertly located near any new excavation is crucial. To learn more about why you should still call a utility locator when revisiting a project and the benefits that come with hydro vacuum excavation, keep reading.

Safety is Assured

The first priority on any construction site is the safety of the crew and the public. This is why all necessary precautions should be taken to create a safe working environment with a crew that is regularly educated about on-site safety measures.

Excavating a construction site can be a dangerous process if it is not carried out with care and modern techniques, such as hydro vacuum excavation. With our underground utility locating services, your construction site will remain a safe and secure place with a minimized risk of accident or injury.

When you’re revisiting a construction project, it’s important to be certain of the locations of the utility lines and other sub-surface level structures that may be under your site. While you may have verified the locations previously, markers left behind could have been affected over time and may no longer have the same accuracy. 

Instead of risking an expensive and dangerous utility strike, you should have a professional team of vacuum excavators return to the site to carry out further excavation. This will provide you with visual verification of the utility line locations and give peace of mind before moving forward to work on the site.

Hiring a professional utility locator also prevents dangerous gas lines from being struck, which have been known to cause explosions and fires. These are incredibly dangerous for anyone in the nearby vicinity, including members of the public, and can cause serious delays to your project. 

On the other hand, while electricity lines are less dangerous when struck, they can still cause major implications for the surrounding community. For instance, if the power at a local hospital is cut, it can cause debilitating problems for doctors and patients. This can, in turn, result in large fines and even community ire while the line is repaired.

Lower Overall Costs

Another reason to locate utilities at a site you are revisiting is to reduce costs. While this may seem counterintuitive given professional fees or already having located utility lines in the past, choosing to call utility locator to the site is bound to save you on money and time, and can serve as a good way to give you peace of mind. 

As mentioned above, a utility strike is a very costly accident that can simply be avoided. While in recent years repairing damaged utility lines have become less expensive, fines imposed by local government councils have risen steeply. Not to mention, if a utility strike affects the local community, you may also have to deal with time-consuming civil lawsuit actions. 

To avoid these unnecessary costs, use utility locating services that will safely and efficiently identify the exact locations of all utility lines or underground structures, such as pipes or other objects that are often not found on utility maps.

It is also much easier to budget for excavation services than for unforeseen and high fines or repair costs. By preparing your budget ahead of time to include hydro vacuum excavation, your project will be able to proceed smoothly and on time without any delay.

Benefits of Choosing Hydro Vacuum Excavation

When it comes to choosing the right utility locating services, it’s important to choose a method that is safe, cost-efficient, and friendly for the environment. Hydro vacuum excavation utilizes low flow and high water pressure to accomplish the dislodging, and is an ideal method for areas with slippery or slick surfaces, or places suffering from soil erosion or instability. 

Aside from this, however, the hydro vacuum excavation method also presents a number of other benefits, such as: 

  1. Minimal Surface Disruption: For any project, excavation can be a time-consuming and disruptive activity to other work taking place on the construction site. Hydro vacuum excavation is the least invasive method and will only minimally affect your construction site. This is especially helpful for anyone who is on a tight deadline or wants to carry out other work on the site while the excavation work is being carried out.
  2. Modern Technology: Alongside our vacuum excavation equipment, our team can utilize RADAR technology, which will make for a more efficient excavation process. Using both utility line maps and Ground Penetrating RADAR, our team can get a better idea of the location of utility lines, how many holes need to be dug, and how deep those holes will be. This information will also provide your project with an accurate price estimation before the actual excavation project begins.
  3. Visual Verification: Perhaps the best advantage of choosing hydro vacuum excavation is how incredibly accurate it is. By visually identifying the locations of all utility lines and other sub-surface level structures, you can rest assured that utility lines will not be struck, and your site will remain a safe environment.

Overall, it is important to use a utility locating service even when you are revisiting a construction project to ensure that locations of lines, pipes, and other underground structures are accurately identified and recorded. The right method is also just as crucial, and the hydro vacuum excavation will help you save time and money while maintaining the highest of safety standards. 

Get Utility Locating Services with Util-Locate

Util-Locate is the #1 utility locating service and underground locator of choice for industry professionals in Southern California. With our professional underground utilities locator, you can be sure that we’ll use state-of-the-art technology that’s the best in the industry. 

If you decide you want to acquire underground utility locating services for your recent project, call Util-Locate at (885) 885-6228 today.

Knowing What’s Buried Underneath Before Excavation

Excavation Site

Before beginning an excavation project, it is essential to know the underground utilities found within that region. This will help you avoid circumstances that will slow or stall your projects such as court orders due to interference with underground utilities. This is why you need to hire qualified private locator services to help you identify locations underground infrastructure.

We have compiled this article, to help you understand what underground utilities locating services entail, its benefits and the best company to hire for this service. Let us get started.

Services offered by private locators

If you are beginning an excavation project in an area, here are some services you will get when you hire our private utility locating services:

  • Detection of water pipes and sewer channels in the region. Util-Locate Company will guide you on the specific locations of water lines and sewer channels to avoid bursting these important underground utilities which can add on to your operational costs.
  • Location of underground telecommunication gadgets. Using our cable locating services, we will identify telecommunication cables, and other lines found underground in the area you want to develop.
  • Identification of underground tanks, gas, and electric lines, Util-Locate Company will mark all the electric lines in the region. It will also detect the gas supply channels to prevent gas leaks which can cause disasters such as fires and blasts.

Along with these services, Util-Locate also applies the latest technology such as the high-resolution GPR in finding untraceable storm lines, sewers, and conduits.

Benefits of hiring a private locator

  • Public locators will locate only public utilities.

Simply said, if you privately own a utility, then State Locators are not viable to help you with locating services. This is why you need to hire a private locator company which will respond to your needs as quickly as possible.

  • Utility locating helps save lives and avoid damage to property. 

The cost of repairing damages is always high, and you know how painful it is to pay for something you never budgeted for because of a mistake. Damages can occur when you temper with infrastructures such as water and sewer lines.

Electrocution and possibly death can occur when you hit underground power lines. Gas explosions can occur when gas pipes are accidentally hit. All these can result in injuries and destruction of property which would cost a lot of money.

Save yourself these unnecessary troubles by hiring underground utilities locating services.

  • Utility Locating services helps save on operational costs

When handling a big project, chances are that saving money is one of your top priorities. Operational costs will surge if you end up damaging underground utilities such as sewer lines and water pipes. These unnecessary costs can be avoided by hiring a private locator to check the specific locations of these underground utilities.

Looking to find a private locator company that will help you identify the underground utilities at your excavation site? Call Util-Locate for the best locating services!

How to Accurately Locate Sewer Lines

How to Accurately Locate Sewer Lines

When homeowners take the initiative of digging into the ground, they might end up damaging the buried sewer lines. This can lead to a costly expedition that can be avoided by contracting a reputable private utility locating company.

Our company has vast experience in this field, and we are currently ranked the best private utility locating firm in Southern California. We have worked with several clients who have expressed satisfaction in our private locator services.

Why You Need a Private Locator Services

We are a reliable utility locator company that offers a variety of services regardless of the scope of the project.

The most common misconception is that sewer lines appear just a few inches below from the edge of sight. This is however not true and can lead to permanent damage on other public utility lines that lie below the line of sight. That is why you need a reputable company to help in accurately locating sewer lines.

At Util-Locate, we offer a 97% accuracy level that allows us to identify the exact location of the sewer lines.

How We Locate the Sewer Lines

Our technicians are highly skilled and have worked in the utility locating industry for quite a while. They know the basics surrounding sewer lines prospectus. Their vast knowledge is essential in helping them to accurately identify the sewer lines and fix them if they are damaged.

The technicians use electromagnetic sensors and GPR technology to send a signal that penetrates to the exact location of the buried sewer lines. The signals bounce back to the electronic devices that calculate the depth and the position of the sewer lines automatically. The technicians then interpret the signals accurately and start the process of digging down to the exact location of the sewer lines.

When to contact us

Most people make the mistake of contacting utility companies when they have already started digging or doing an excavation. This is not advisable as it might be too late and expensive because damage may have been already done onto the sewer lines.

Make an effort and call us for the sewer line prospectus job before you start the actual designing or digging process. This will save you the cost that would be incurred after damaging the buried sewer lines.

Our services will prevent your business from such situations and multiple lawsuits that may arise due to the disruption of a community’s sewer line system.

At Util-Locate, we understand the hustle that our clients go through while trying to locate a sewer line before beginning a construction process. We also know the risks that may come along with an inaccurate prospectus. That is why we have we offer the best underground utilities locating services that are beneficial to our clients.

Our team is dedicated to satisfying the needs and will stop at nothing than their approval. We have a track record that speaks for itself because we have been consistent in service delivery and we are not stopping anytime soon.

Kindly contact us at (714) 492-1380 for more information regarding our underground utility locating services.