# Core aeration over buried cable



## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Hi everyone,

I'm hiring someone local to core aerate this well. I have this ugly scar almost all the way around the house from when ATT buried my internet cable soon after the house was built. It hasn't recovered because I neglected the lawn the last 2 years and just recently started taking care of it, so I do have a good amount of stolons starting to work their magic.

Has anyone had experience in this situation? Obviously, the safest thing is to avoid the areas all together. But I want to punch those places as they seem really hard and compacted. I would call ATT to ask how deep they bury the cables, but no matter what they say, there's no way I'd be able to confirm how the job was actually done in my case.

Throwing in a couple pictures for reference. All thoughts welcome - thanks, everyone.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Most companies bury by machine at anywhere between 12-24 inches. You SHOULD be safe, but as you mentioned there is no way to know. AT&T probably subs out their burying services so it would be really hard to get a real answer.

Maybe a friend with a high tech metal detector could help you out if you know anybody into them, but that's probably the only way you're going to know for sure.


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## Madao (Sep 23, 2021)

When I was doing some edging I came across ATT/Cox lines barely 4in deep. I don't know if they were originally lower before settling/erosion.

I would probably recommend checking a few spots by hand for depth for this and any other future projects.


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## Bombers (Jul 14, 2020)

Lawn paint the entire run while it's still visible and tell your guy to aerate around it. Good thing there's enough room to work around both sides of the cable.


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## SouthernTiftuf (Jan 14, 2022)

They're supposed to be deep enough but my AT&T cable is like 3-4 inches deep so it doesn't always work that way. I would test it first or avoid the area in general.


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## pp6000v2 (Mar 8, 2021)

I too have not-as-deep-as-it-should-be cable that was replaced and buried by Charter after the old line was deemed unsuitable. I figured it was buried about a foot. Digging to extend some irrigation pipes revealed it was only a couple inches below grade.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Thanks for the input, everyone. That helps me in my process. Much appreciated!


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## Superfalc (Apr 24, 2021)

It will be shallow. Call 811 is a free locate service. Just give them a few days lead time. Stay 6" off the marks.


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## Mikeyp_1284 (Jul 23, 2021)

Just aerate over it and if you hit the cable so be it. That's their problem. You might be without Wi-Fi for a day or so but that's it. That's how I look at it anyway.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

@Mikeyp_1284 I'd consider that if I didn't need the WiFi to work from home.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Is it fiber optic or coaxial? If it's coaxial, I would just take the chance of hitting it and you could always do a quick patch to hold you over until AT&T could come properly bury it. I wouldn't even know where to begin with fiber optic though. Judging from the scar it left in your yard, I would think they buried it pretty deep but like mentioned before, you never know.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

It's coaxial. I saw them briefly as I glanced out the 2nd story while they were doing it with their Ditch Witch, but at the time I wasn't thinking about how deep it was being buried, and didn't bother to ask. I wonder how much it would set back the healing of those scars if they aren't aerated. I would hope the soil beneath would still benefit from all the punching on either side. First time doing it, so I don't know if it's worth risking it and have them go right over the whole thing.


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## agrassman (May 26, 2019)

AT&T barely puts the cable in the ground. Mine was cut last year from aeration. I was talking to the techs that came out to run a new line. They told me it happens all the time every spring/summer. They beg mgmt to require it to be buried deeper. Apparently it is cheaper to run it shallow which is faster for them and to just redo ones that get cut.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

@agrassman thanks for letting me know. Better not take my chances on this one.


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## itslogz (Apr 21, 2021)

I cut my spectrum cable digging out shallow rocks, it was about 2-4" deep, never even thought to worry about a cable so shallow


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

@itslogz I've been doing the same thing around my lawn. It's amazing the freakin boulders that the builders laid sod on 🤦‍♂️


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## Kdaves12 (Aug 10, 2020)

I have cut my cable 3 times (twice during aeration, once with a ProPlugger). It's extremely frustrating to say the least. There is an area in particular I desperately needed to aerate and let breathe, so I personally pulled up the cable, aerated, then reburied deeper.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

@Kdaves12 that's some commitment right there! Now I'm also remembering there's a gas line. Sweet. So if you never hear from me again after Thursday, it just means I blew up along with my house.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Most states have an 811 number you can call for them to come mark utilities... NC is the same. I'd do it anyway just to show AT&T you tried before cutting their line. When they show up for the repair, let them know they may want to take their time to properly bury the cable because aerating is something you do annually.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Amoo316 said:


> Most companies bury by machine at anywhere between 12-24 inches. You SHOULD be safe, but as you mentioned there is no way to know. AT&T probably subs out their burying services so it would be really hard to get a real answer.
> 
> Maybe a friend with a high tech metal detector could help you out if you know anybody into them, but that's probably the only way you're going to know for sure.


My fiber cable was no where near that depth from ATT. They hired some flunkies to bury it after the install, and I had to rebury. They didn't even make it 2-4 inches in some places.


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## Mikeyp_1284 (Jul 23, 2021)

Redtwin said:


> Most states have an 811 number you can call for them to come mark utilities... NC is the same. I'd do it anyway just to show AT&T you tried before cutting their line. When they show up for the repair, let them know they may want to take their time to properly bury the cable because aerating is something you do annually.


811 usually only marks in public right of ways. If it's your private property you will probably have to hire someone to do it. Maybe you can talk them into it once they get out there though since it's not a lot of work.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

They marked all the way to the house for both me and my neighbor. Gas line was the biggest concern with my neighbor.


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## thelawnlife (9 mo ago)

After I cut my 2" buried AT&T fiber line I watched the buried services tech "bury" the new line with a flat blade shovel all the way up to the fiber box..2-3" deep. On to the next one...


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## Automate (Aug 14, 2020)

Mikeyp_1284 said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> > Most states have an 811 number you can call for them to come mark utilities... NC is the same. I'd do it anyway just to show AT&T you tried before cutting their line. When they show up for the repair, let them know they may want to take their time to properly bury the cable because aerating is something you do annually.
> ...


My house was built in 1998 and for some reason Comcast ran the coax from the street along one side of the driveway/garage, around the back of the house and then up the other side and into the house. 811 came out and marked it the whole length.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Maybe I'll go nuts on it next year when I aerate and have a few days off work. For now I'm going to avoid it. A related question- the areas on either side of that scar seem to have superior color and growth along most of it. I wonder if there is some kind of phenomenon going on there. You can see it in the 2nd picture. Maybe the fertilizer prills just hit either side of the elevated mount and settle there?


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## Automate (Aug 14, 2020)

Kenny Penny said:


> Maybe I'll go nuts on it next year when I aerate and have a few days off work. For now I'm going to avoid it. A related question- the areas on either side of that scar seem to have superior color and growth along most of it. I wonder if there is some kind of phenomenon going on there. You can see it in the first picture. Maybe the fertilizer prills just hit either side of the elevated mount and settle there?


Yes, low spots are almost always greener next to a higher spot. More water and fertilizers runs to the low spots. Also the grass does not get cut quite so short there and the tops of the grass are usually the greenest.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

@Automate yeah, that makes sense. They did the cable the same way at my house. Started on one side and went all through the backyard to the other side. That's the only way they could have done it since they couldn't go under the driveway. Sucks, but at least healing the scar is kind of a fun project within a project.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Sand has arrived. Aeration tomorrow. Then Saturday and Sunday the back breaking will commence. This will all be worth it. Right? 😆


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

I honestly feel bad for you guys in Suburbia. There was enough reports right here in this thread about AT&T cable guys doing a crappy job, that, it says a lot about their work.

Don't get me wrong, we deal with some of the same stuff out here in the boonies, but the 2 cables I've had run in my yard via windstream contractors were below 12". Now if only WIndstream did their jobs that well......


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Best laid plans.

Only got a tiny fraction of the cores out of the yard before the heaviest rain of the year arrived. Sand is drenched and lots of cores will dissolve before I can get them up. Was planning on starting the leveling on Saturday. Will wet sand be manageable at all? Or better to wait until it's dry? Will my aeration have been for naught?


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## Humbert810 (8 mo ago)

On the topic of 811. 811 is contracted to mark ALL utilities from the street to the service termination.

Electric - Transformer at street to your meter base

Cable - Pedestal/Street to your box on house

Water - Main line to your meter box

Natural Gas - From the main line to your gas meter

This same procedure is used by all 811 contractors. Anything after the metering device or home termination will not be located.


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## Humbert810 (8 mo ago)

Kenny Penny said:


> Best laid plans.
> 
> Only got a tiny fraction of the cores out of the yard before the heaviest rain of the year arrived. Sand is drenched and lots of cores will dissolve before I can get them up. Was planning on starting the leveling on Saturday. Will wet sand be manageable at all? Or better to wait until it's dry? Will my aeration have been for naught?


That sand will be useable wet but much easier to handle once it has dried out. Your aeration will still be intact as there wasn't anything to fill the holes other than water. My advice, let the sand dry out and have at it! No worries!


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

@Humbert810 thanks. What about the fact that all the cores just dissolved back into the lawn? Aren't I losing out on that benefit if so many of those holes are just going to be filled right up again?


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## morte (7 mo ago)

As others mentioned, they use a contractor to bury the cables and they do not follow the rules. They are supposed to bury it 8" deep, the main line is around 48", but not the service to the house. It is common for the FTTH (Fiber To The House) to only be a couple of inches deep and they'll try and make you pay a service fee for hitting it unless you can get a supervisor out to validate that it was not buried properly.


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## Humbert810 (8 mo ago)

Kenny Penny said:


> @Humbert810 thanks. What about the fact that all the cores just dissolved back into the lawn? Aren't I losing out on that benefit if so many of those holes are just going to be filled right up again?


The cores surely have dissolved some but the odds of them dissolving and filling the holes completely back up is almost impossible. Is the aeration as deep as before? Maybe not. Will you notice the difference? Probably not. I wouldn't be concerned. Someone here will chime in that has more experience if they have found otherwise. I'm sure you're not the only one who has had this happen!


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Thanks for that. That's giving me some optimism. I've been so discouraged the last couple hours thinking all the work got flushed down the crapper.


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## Humbert810 (8 mo ago)

Kenny Penny said:


> Thanks for that. That's giving me some optimism. I've been so discouraged the last couple hours thinking all the work got flushed down the crapper.


You will have the fruits of your labor soon enough! Trust me. A day after seeding a brand new lawn and putting down 40 bags of peat moss we got a torrential downpour overnight. I woke up and thought everything was gone. 2 months later my brand new Bermuda lawn is filling in! You will be fine!


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Thanks, sir. Love that picture, by the way. &#127482;&#127480;


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