comm lines near power lines

jackwashere

I'm building a house. I am digging a trench for conduit and preparing an entrance for wires into the house. Can communications lines like for Verizon telephone/internet/cable tv share the same trench (separate conduit of course)? Can they share the same entrance into a house?

Code05

If in separate conduits-yes.

Same entrance means what?

jackwashere

I'm building a house out of ICF blocks. ICF (insulated concrete form) blocks are styrofoam blocks with concrete poured into the core. Same entrance means I inserted a 2" pvc conduit through the styrofoam before the concrete pour. Once the concrete pour is done you can't make 2" holes into the walls easily. So I have a 2" entrance through which all wires will enter the house.

jackwashere

Separate schedule 80 pvc conduits. They share the same 18" deep trench however. Power on the bottom Verizon on top. The trench was not wide enough to fit them side by side.

Code05

Assuming 200A service and service conductors in this 2" conduit, ya got a problem.

230.7 Other Conductors in Raceway or Cable. Conductors
other than service conductors shall not be installed in
the same service raceway or service cable.

jackwashere

100A service actually and the main breaker will be outdoor. The conduit going into the house will be occupied by 14/2 and 12/3 cables. Does this rule still apply?

stickboy1375

More than 3 current carrying conductors and you have to start derating your wires, this may or may not affect your specific outcome.

stickboy1375

Im confused, how were you planning on fitting more than one 2" conduit through a single 2" hole?

This is what I would do, from the meter location, run a 2 or 3" conduit for power, 2" for Telephone, 2" for catv, and a spare 2" for future items...

rrolleston

2" seems a little large for a line that will be max 3/8"

__________________
Please ask me about my special discount for people that shut up and stay out of my way! With Electricity there is the right way to do it and the dead way. Just because it works does not make it safe.

stickboy1375

Possibly, but around here, its what the utility requires, if the demarc location is at the meter, then he can certainly can use whatever size conduit he wishes, but if the utility is supplying the wire and doing the termination, its required to be 2" minimum...


Funny thing is that the cable company used to make us install 3". And if you never pulled wire before, you will never understand how much easier it is with a larger sized conduit... conduit is cheap anyway.

jackwashere

Verizon wanted 2" conduit on my ranch. But I think you guys are confusing something here. You're talking about conduit going from the Verizon handhole on the edge of the property near the road to the house. Then there's a Verizon box on the wall of the house that converts their thick wire into tiny little CAT5 wires. The CAT5 wire is what goes into the house from outside. The CAT5 wire will fit into a 1/2 or 3/4" conduit.

stickboy1375

I wasn't confused, I was assuming you were bringing everything into the house, not stubbing up on the outside.