View Full Version : cut through cable
my next door neighbour was digging out his garden to put in a driveway today and he cut straight through his cable:shocked: ,does anyone have any idea its going to cost him to get it repaired and what sort of timescale he is looking at before his services are restored?
I want ntl (oops, VM) to move the place where the cable enters my house about 2 metres to the left, as I'm about the have some building work done. They told me it would cost £25, which is their standard call-out charge, and could be arranged in a couple of days.
At least its only the cable. My father-in-law once hammered a fence post though a sewage pipe. The neighbour wasn't too happy when his toilet overflowed after a few flushes...
ah well,not as bad as he thought it would be
Nedkelly
19-05-2007, 16:58
Most of the time we dont charge for these as they were never put down deep enough or not put in protective tubeing :)
I'm waiting for the day my mower has a bite at my cable as they put it only an inch below the surface...
papa smurf
19-05-2007, 22:13
if its not 18 inches deep no charge
if its not 18 inches deep no chargeMines 3 inches down,fork nealy gets it everytime :Yikes:
Most of the time we dont charge for these as they were never put down deep enough or not put in protective tubeing :)
Deep? Does this mean our lovely green conduit that is laying on the top of the gravel in our front garden may not be at the correct depth? ;)
papa smurf
19-05-2007, 22:43
where i live its a wonder the tarmack didnt melt the duct:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Deep? Does this mean our lovely green conduit that is laying on the top of the gravel in our front garden may not be at the correct depth? ;)
Mine is also at 0 inches deep.
When my broadband was installed, they said the ground was too hard to bury the cable in my lawn (it was January). They said they would come back when the weather warmed up. That was over 4 years ago. :D
I suppose I should have phoned them in the meantime, but I just haven't got around to it.
At least the conduit is the same colour as the grass.
.
...When my broadband was installed, they said the ground was too hard to bury the cable in my lawn (it was January). They said they would come back when the weather warmed up. That was over 4 years ago. :D...
Perhaps "global warming" is written into the guidelines...
eddyizzard
22-05-2007, 19:48
Apparently we charge if it worked before YOU damaged the cable, however if you have any problems about the depth then inform us before you accidently cut through it.
Or better still make sure the job is done to your satisfaction before signing to say you accept it.
So what if you move in to a pre-installed house and aren't aware it is not burried correctly?
fixerman
23-05-2007, 12:33
My neighbour was having his roof replaced at the time the cable was being installed. He had stacked all the old tiles on his paved front. The installer just laid the cable, which is in a green flexible conduit, over the top of the stack of tiles.
The lesson here is to always be present when the installer comes to do the work. Don't even trust 'er indoors. No offence to the fair sex.;)
NTLVictim
23-05-2007, 13:32
My neighbour was having his roof replaced at the time the cable was being installed. He had stacked all the old tiles on his paved front. The installer just laid the cable, which is in a green flexible conduit, over the top of the stack of tiles.
The lesson here is to always be present when the installer comes to do the work. Don't even trust 'er indoors. No offence to the fair sex.;)
Please tell me there's a picture of the install...:D
fixerman
23-05-2007, 15:52
Please tell me there's a picture of the install...:D
Yes! There are a couple. How do I upload them to the Forum?
fixerman
23-05-2007, 15:56
Not done this before...so here goes!
fixerman
23-05-2007, 16:08
...and one more!
NTLVictim
23-05-2007, 16:33
They have GOT to be having a laugh...:Yikes:
When was this??
Oh, and on a side note, the wall pointing is erm...and, if it butts up against the house wall, it's bridged the damp proof course, check for damp inside.
Apparently we charge if it worked before YOU damaged the cable, however if you have any problems about the depth then inform us before you accidently cut through it.
But surely if it was buried deep enough in the first instance, he wouldnt have a problem now. :D
joglynne
26-05-2007, 14:45
...and one more!
Priceless :D Where did they put the box?
I'm glad that installer didn't lay the cable to my house. I've got a pond in my front garden and I would not have been amused if the installer had taken a short cut over the top of it.!
They have GOT to be having a laugh...:Yikes:
When was this??
Oh, and on a side note, the wall pointing is erm...and, if it butts up against the house wall, it's bridged the damp proof course, check for damp inside.
whos having a laugh if the tiles werent there in the first place it would of been done preoperly.its not vm installers job to move half a tonne of roofing tiles.
joglynne
26-05-2007, 15:13
whos having a laugh if the tiles werent there in the first place it would of been done preoperly.its not vm installers job to move half a tonne of roofing tiles.
But he could have asked the home owner to move them to one side though. Would he have just slung the cable over a car parked in the way, or would he have asked for it to be moved?:D
chickendippers
22-06-2007, 10:55
Not done this before...so here goes!
I wouldn't expect the installer to shift all those tiles, I don't think they're provided with folk lift trucks :rolleyes: But that tarmacking does look a little dogey.
But he could have asked the home owner to move them to one side though. Would he have just slung the cable over a car parked in the way, or would he have asked for it to be moved?:D
Or gone around them..
I would have thought as an installer, he would have refused the job as the obstacles, are not his problem, but it then leads to the question, do VM installers, get penalised if they cant complete a job?
AlabasterLyn
28-06-2007, 09:24
Do you think the quality of installation has gone down over the years? Looking at those pictures makes me think it has :rolleyes:
When I had cable installed in my old house, which must have been over 10yrs ago they made a really good job. They dug up all the side of my garden, laid the cable in and put all the soil and plants back. When they got to the 18ins of concrete between the soil and the wall of the house they dug the concrete out, laid the cable and recemented, once again doing a really good job.
The house I live in now has the cable coming in at the wrong side of the house and it snakes all over the front garden for about 30ft and it's a nightmare when we are trying to dig the soil over as it doesn't run in a straight line :shocked:
Lyn
I think the quality of installation is the same now as it's always been. Some areas have good installs, some terrible. It just depends which contractor Virgin have covering the area in question.
Hubby put a mattock through our shallow cable and ours was fixed FOC by a very nice VM engineer chap using a special gel and a box to cover the join.
NTLVictim
28-06-2007, 14:50
Hubby put a mattock through our shallow cable and ours was fixed FOC by a very nice VM engineer chap using a special gel and a box to cover the join.
I thought I was the only person in jolly old England wielding something as historical as a mattock...:D
I thought I was the only person in jolly old England wielding something as historical as a mattock...:D
Highly useful piece of kit the mattock. Frequently lent out to neighbours :D
Actually, this has got me thinking.
We're going to be having our driveway and paths re-laid at the front of the house. The VM cable crosses one of these paths just before it comes up the wall, into the brown box.
I've noticed that where it crosses this (concrete) path, they just seem to have chissled (or maybe mattocked :) ) out a channel about an inch deep, put the cable in it and smeared some cement over the top, in places you can see the cable (it's not in a conduit).
As this concrete will need to be broken up and then replaced with stone flags (and the base, sub-base etc), should be I ringing VM to get them to come and bury it deeper now or do I try and arrange them to come when my driveway is being done?
I could just leave it to the driveway firm but what if there is not enough slack in the cable for it to go deeper?
on in an hour!
29-06-2007, 13:57
if its not 18 inches deep no charge
woooh papa...spades depth..bout 10inches.theres never been any requirement to be as deep as other utilities which is the depth youve quoted ;)
---------- Post added at 13:57 ---------- Previous post was at 13:49 ----------
Actually, this has got me thinking.
We're going to be having our driveway and paths re-laid at the front of the house. The VM cable crosses one of these paths just before it comes up the wall, into the brown box.
I've noticed that where it crosses this (concrete) path, they just seem to have chissled (or maybe mattocked :) ) out a channel about an inch deep, put the cable in it and smeared some cement over the top, in places you can see the cable (it's not in a conduit).
As this concrete will need to be broken up and then replaced with stone flags (and the base, sub-base etc), should be I ringing VM to get them to come and bury it deeper now or do I try and arrange them to come when my driveway is being done?
I could just leave it to the driveway firm but what if there is not enough slack in the cable for it to go deeper?
as long as theres no damage to the cable when ripping up the old concrete and theres enough slack on it,theres no problem in putting the sub-base,base and then flags over the top of it,at least theres no chance then of catching it with your mattock..he he.
papa smurf
29-06-2007, 22:19
woooh papa...spades depth..bout 10inches.theres never been any requirement to be as deep as other utilities which is the depth youve quoted[quote]....road and streetworks act, there are clear rules for all utilities ,as laid down by act of parliament, there is no exemtion clause for vm ,18 inches for telephone cables,is the required depth not 10
I cut through mine and was quoted 50 quid. I soldered it back.
Begize, you could use a patch piece to extend it. Wrap it up in vulcanizing tape.
woooh papa...spades depth..bout 10inches.theres never been any requirement to be as deep as other utilities which is the depth youve quoted[quote]....road and streetworks act, there are clear rules for all utilities ,as laid down by act of parliament, there is no exemtion clause for vm ,18 inches for telephone cables,is the required depth not 10
i might be wrong but i thought private property ie gardens were different rules, around here we rarely see anything deeper than 4-6 inches if its in ducting and damaged we charge if its bare (very old install) we dont.
on in an hour!
30-06-2007, 20:57
woooh papa...spades depth..bout 10inches.theres never been any requirement to be as deep as other utilities which is the depth youve quoted[quote]....road and streetworks act, there are clear rules for all utilities ,as laid down by act of parliament, there is no exemtion clause for vm ,18 inches for telephone cables,is the required depth not 10
that may be so papa but i installed for 6 years and never once was i instructed that the depth in the garden/borders etc was to be anything like 18inches,and as for in the footways,if youd have been to as many repairs as i have where the other providers had smashed one of our ductings when digging down for theirs you would have seen our duct a good 4-6 inches above all of the rest i.e. water/gas/electric.i will check on monday with one of our civils engineers to be certain and i will let you know.;)
Joe_Curry
01-07-2007, 13:08
if its not 18 inches deep no charge
Dont know where you get that idea from. if you arent using safe digging practices, it doesnt matter how deep the cable is, that being said we also generallt dont bill homeowners for damaging their own cable unless theya re using a mini digger. And no i dont work for NTL
---------- Post added at 13:08 ---------- Previous post was at 13:03 ----------
woooh papa...spades depth..bout 10inches.theres never been any requirement to be as deep as other utilities which is the depth youve quoted[quote]....road and streetworks act, there are clear rules for all utilities ,as laid down by act of parliament, there is no exemtion clause for vm ,18 inches for telephone cables,is the required depth not 10
agreed however....i think im right in saying that a cable in a private garden would not be covered under NRSWA as it is by its very nature not in the highway(pavement or road) (not 100% though). That being said i would have thought anyone with anything about them would lay to 18 inches and duct it
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