As the snow melts and the days get longer, many Canadian homeowners are eager to tackle their long-awaited yard projects. Whether it’s planting a new garden, installing a firepit, moving a structure, or upgrading landscaping, spring is the perfect time to refresh your outdoor spaces.
Before you start digging, though, there’s one critical step you can’t afford to skip— scheduling an underground utility survey. Accidentally hitting a buried gas, power, cable, or water line can lead to costly repairs, legal fines, and even safety risks. Here’s an overview of the most common projects that put your property at risk and how a line location survey from Meridian Surveys can help you avoid these mistakes to get the most out of your yard this spring!
The Common Yard Projects That Damage Underground Utilities
1. Digging for Gardens or Firepits
While undertaking a simple backyard garden or firepit project may seem harmless, digging even a few inches can be enough to disrupt underground utilities. Water, gas, and electrical lines are often buried at varying depths, and striking one can cause immediate damage—or serious injury. Before breaking ground, even for a few inches, call Meridian Surveys for a professional underground utility location to map out buried lines to ensure your new firepit is safe and legal.
2. Burying a Pet
Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is always difficult, and some homeowners may choose to lay their furry friends to rest at home on their property. However, digging without checking for buried utilities could worsen the situation. Striking a utility line will add stress to an already emotional time and create unexpected repair costs and further disturbances. By booking a utility survey beforehand, you can guarantee a respectful and incident-free burial site for your furbaby.
3. Building a Pool, Gazebo, or Retaining Wall
Did you know you don’t even need to break ground to damage underground utilities? It’s true; heavy structures like pools, gazebos, and retaining walls can put pressure on buried lines with their weight, causing cracks or breaks over time. Before adding any permanent structures to a property, a utility line location from Meridian Surveys helps identify high-risk areas so you can adjust your plans in advance. This prevents long-term utility damage and keeps your investment safe.
4. Updating Fencelines
Planning to replace an old fence or install a new one this year? Call Meridian Surveys before you dig— most fence posts require deep holes for support, which can easily interfere with or damage underground utilities. If you accidentally bore into a water or sewer line, it can cause serious hazards, from flooding to infectious waste contamination. Even if you’re simply updating aging materials, a survey will help you avoid costly mistakes and ensure proper placement.
5. Clearing Yard Debris
Spring yard cleanup often involves removing tree stumps, large rocks, or deep-rooted plants. However, some of these elements may have grown around or even through nearby utility lines over the years. Pulling a deep-rooted bush out or relocating a heavy boulder can put stress on nearby pipes and cables, leading to unforeseen utility damage. A professional utility line location survey from Meridian will help reveal potential risk areas and help you clear your yard safely.
6. Working Too Close to Utility Boxes
Many homeowners overlook the utility boxes in their yards, ignoring them completely as they work in the yard. These boxes mark access points for underground power, internet, or gas lines, but their placement doesn’t always reflect the exact path of buried utility lines. Landscaping too close to a utility box or attempting to ‘push’ around it will likely damage nearby lines. To prevent service interruptions or hazards, an underground utility survey should always be done.
Let Meridian Survey Facilitate Your Spring Yard Cleanup— Book an Underground Utility Survey Today!
Spring is a time of renewal, and your yard projects should be exciting, not stressful; the last thing you want is a costly repair, service outage, legal fines, or even serious injury because you hit an underground utility line by accident. Before you start digging for any project this year, call Meridian Surveys for a professional underground utility survey. With our expert mapping and risk assessment, you can confidently move forward with your spring outdoor projects— knowing your property (and wallet!) are protected. Visit our website or contact our team to book your underground utility survey in Edmonton today.