Protecting armoured cable

[sparksburnout]

Yeah I know it's an odd title. Currently looking at a job where an SWA runs down a garden to a shed, but it is just laying on the ground and looks rubbish. I am guessing the last installer left it like that due to the difficulty in burying it, so at least you can see it........ The only run is between stone/concrete and a line of old trees that have been cut down to ground level, there is no way I am going to be able to get down 600mm or anything like it as the roots are going to spread out, there are about 15 old stumps and It would be near impossible to dig them out. So, any ideas of the best way to protect the cable in a shallow trench? Is it possible to contain it in some kind of galvanised metalwork, or cap it with stone or similar, to prevent spades/forks and the like from penetrating it? I am only going to have a narrowish trench and I am guessing it is only going to go down maybe 150mm? Obviously the SWA on its own is not going to provide enough protection.

 

[ruston]

Nothing to stop you putting it in ducting then covering it with tiles( or another suitable protection) and then markers or warning tape.

A quick Google came up with this, no doubt there will be many more.http://www.boddingtons-ltd.com/prod...otection/concrete-cable-protection-covers.php

 

[sparksburnout]

Thanks Ruston, they are probably a bit too wide but I suppose I could even use bricks and then warning tape stuck along the top of them.

 

[ruston]

150mm does not seem a wide trench to achieve to be honest. Just a spade width.

 

[GB.Kayak]

Yeah I know it's an odd title. Currently looking at a job where an SWA runs down a garden to a shed, but it is just laying on the ground and looks rubbish. I am guessing the last installer left it like that due to the difficulty in burying it, so at least you can see it........ The only run is between stone/concrete and a line of old trees that have been cut down to ground level, there is no way I am going to be able to get down 600mm or anything like it as the roots are going to spread out, there are about 15 old stumps and It would be near impossible to dig them out. So, any ideas of the best way to protect the cable in a shallow trench? Is it possible to contain it in some kind of galvanised metalwork, or cap it with stone or similar, to prevent spades/forks and the like from penetrating it? I am only going to have a narrowish trench and I am guessing it is only going to go down maybe 150mm? Obviously the SWA on its own is not going to provide enough protection.

If a job is worth doing ... I would hire an arbortech allsaw to cut through the roots, dig the trench and bury the cable properly!

 

[sparksburnout]

150mm does not seem a wide trench to achieve to be honest. Just a spade width.

Yeah I know but that's all there is between the old stumps and the existing stonework

 

[sparksburnout]

If a job is worth doing ... I would hire an arbortech allsaw to cut through the roots, dig the trench and bury the cable properly!

Cheers GB they look like a mean bit of kit!

 

[ruston]

If a job is worth doing ... I would hire an arbortech allsaw to cut through the roots, dig the trench and bury the cable properly!

Only way to be honest . If the trench is so bad to get in I would price the job accordingly.

If he can't even get 150mm wide without difficulty it's a bad job! Time he gets the base and sand in , it doesn't bear thinking about.

 

[Octopus]

Better left visible on the surface than fudging it!

 

[snowhead]

If the ground isn't suitable for digging a trench in why is anyone likely to be using a spade anywhere near the cable?

 

[GB.Kayak]

Better left visible on the surface than fudging it!

Depends on whether the cable will end up being covered in leaves and other detritus in the longer term ... when it is covered over and the tree surgeon is called in to remove and grind out the stumps ... what then if they miss any remaining signs of a SWA cable?

 

[VoltzElectrical]

Pictures would help here.

 

[Octopus]

Depends on whether the cable will end up being covered in leaves and other detritus in the longer term ... when it is covered over and the tree surgeon is called in to remove and grind out the stumps ... what then if they miss any remaining signs of a SWA cable?

At the end of the day its a question of judgement and a discussion with the client along with the costs.....

 

[davesparks]

What has the client asked you to do? If someone else has installed this cable and certified it etc have you been asked to alter it or what?

 

[sparksburnout]

What has the client asked you to do? If someone else has installed this cable and certified it etc have you been asked to alter it or what?

Read the bloody OP. The last installer has left it on the surface and it looks ----. Its in an area where there is not going to be any disturbance of the ground as it will be covered over with a top dressing of broken slate. Personally I think it is unnecessary to try and get it down to 600mm as the disruption does not warrant the likely-hood of it being disturbed, I was originally thinking of going shallower and covering it with a protective barrier and tape - what's wrong with that?