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Dig trenches, lay conduits and backfill

Install the shared utility trenches planned in site-16, ideally in one campaign, before landscaping and driveway surfacing.

How

1. Before any digging, ask the national locating service to mark buried lines. Example (US): 811 is the national call-before-you-dig number, the marking is free, and Indiana asks for at least two business days notice. Example (UK): LinesearchbeforeUdig provides plans of buried cables and pipes, free for domestic users. Even remote land can have buried power, phone or pipeline routes.
2. Dig trenches to the code depth for each service, with separate positions or trenches as required.
3. Lay bedding, then conduits and pipes, with warning tape above them before final backfill.
4. Install spare conduits with pull strings and seal ends.
5. Backfill in layers and compact, without sharp stones against pipes.
6. Restore and reseed the surface so trenches do not become erosion channels.

Safety: Use your country's dig-safe or utility locating service before digging near any existing buried services, and do not work in unsupported deep trenches.

Do these first

• site-16
• site-19

Sources

1. Solar Site Evaluation (SolarPro magazine reprint). Solmetric / SolarPro, accessed 2026-11
2. 811 Call Before You Dig. Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, accessed 2026-11
3. Line search before you dig. Electricity North West, accessed 2026-11
4. Utility Depths (Building Publication B07). Boulder County, Colorado, accessed 2026-11
5. Buried Depth of Water Pipe (Plumbing Code 305.6 interpretation). North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal, accessed 2026-11

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