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Putting in concrete pad on side of house and found this....

2K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  gregzoll 
#1 ·
Replacing driveway and running an extension up the side of the house and found that the conduit for the electric stops right below where the soil was. Checked with some people and was told that when the house was built this was standard thing to do. What is the proper way to lay concrete around the wires? Do I get a large plastic pipe and cut enough out of it to slide around the wires to protect them? I am worried about maintenance issues later down the road if the wires ever need to be replaced. When installed the pad will be above the existing conduit but below the siding by about 3 inches.
 

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#3 ·
if it were me I might consider running the wires (do you know where they go?) inside of plastic pipe before placing the concrete for your driveway. this way in the future it would be easy to pull new wires through the pipe. at least for that portion that is under the driveway

just a thought ...... good luck!
 
#4 ·
I would be careful when working around them while live. Probably would be best to trench out, so that you can have an electrician come in and back pull them back to where the power company feed is, and run conduit, then pull the wires back through the conduit.

As for that Ground wire, it appears to just be hanging in the air at this moment, not attached to any ground rod.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the input guys. That ground wire is actually attached to the rod. For some reason there is a lot of slack in it. I thought I would move it a little closer to the wires and have it inside my " protected" area. I have decide to go with a piece of pipe around the existing wires starting where the conduit ends and going a couple inches below the concrete. Then installing a second much larger pipe - 8-10 inches cut in half - as the form which the concrete will butt up against. This way there is no movement against the wires when the concrete heaves.
 
#8 ·
' when the concrete heaves. ' why would you anticipate / expect conc to ' heave ' ? ? ? :huh:
In northern climates when the ground freezes it expands and pushes things up. The water shutoff valve for my house is in the apron of my driveway. Well, the standpipe for it is. The valve is 5' under it. Anyway, the cap is flush during the summer time and about 2" lower than the driveway during the winter. That is how high my driveway heaves during the winter
 
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