Wires Crossing Sidewalks

[dnesci]

Looking for suggestions. I have to bring 24 Cat5 and 3 power cords accross the sidewalk leading up to my front door. I have built a ramp to go over the wies, but I'm a bit concerned about an errant snow shovel blade getting the wires when the heavy snow comes. I've considered also building an arch over the walks, but that is a bit more work. I don't want to dig up the yard to build a pass thru under the walk.

Any suggestions? What have you done is a similar situation?

[omzig]

I have a similar problem, except in my case it's a 12' wide concrete driveway that runs parallel to the face of my house that 80% of my display is on. I put the driveway in 2 years ago. Had I known then that I was going to be doing the blinky flashy thing, I would have run some conduit under it...hindsight is 20/20 I guess.

I have pretty much decided that I'm going to have to run everything overhead. There is a tree that's on the other side of the driveway. I was planning to bundle everything up, and run it from the house to the tree, trying to conceal it as best as I can. Either that, or I also considered making some sort of lighted archway that contains the bundle, but as you mentioned, that a lot more work.

[rlilly]

I'm planning on running the wires right across the sidewalk and placing a piece of plywood over the top. I may get fancy and attach shims on each side of the plywood.

[joneslights]

I run mine in the joints of the sidewalk. It takes a bit more wire, but sees to work fine for me.

[omzig]

Too bad these (http://www.handiramp.com/cordprotector.htm) are so expensive. They would work perfect for me. I'll have to see if I cand find them cheaper somewhere.

[joneslights]

Surely, those can be build with plywood and 2X4s. I know, don't call you Shirley...

[omzig]

Surely, those can be build with plywood and 2X4s. I know, don't call you Shirley...Yeah I know, I'm just trying to cut down on the stuff that I have to build. I've got plenty of things to build already.

[Wayne J]

Too bad these (http://www.handiramp.com/cordprotector.htm) are so expensive. They would work perfect for me. I'll have to see if I cand find them cheaper somewhere.

How about here........

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/114/0809

[omzig]

Ah, McMaster Carr...I've ordered plenty of stuff from them in my time.

The more that I think of it, I don't think that running cables on the driveway is such a good idea, regardless of what I cover them with. The reason is, it's not uncommon to have several freeze/thaw cycles in December in our area. Last year I had about a 4-inch layer of ice after a couple of different storms came through. I think I'm leaning back towards runing them overhead. Oh well.

[MrChristmas2000]

I put 3" PVC pipe under my Driveway and front sidewalk for running cables. I put a pull rope loop and pulley system to drag the wire through the pipe. When finished you can stuff the rope back into the ends and cap off the pipe for the season. I put sprinkler valve housings on either end to give ease of access to the pipe.

You can use a hose and a pipe with a spray nozzle to drill the hole under the sidewalk/driveway for the pipe. A driveway takes a little extra planning and work though.

This time of the year the grass grows back pretty quickly. Or you can cut plugs of grass, set them aside and after the hole is filled in put the plugs back, you won't know you did it within a few weeks. I usually use a shovel and cut lines parallel to the pipe ditch then slice up the sod in smaller squares.

Tom

[Macrosill]

I put 3" PVC pipe under my Driveway and front sidewalk for running cables. I put a pull rope loop and pulley system to drag the wire through the pipe. When finished you can stuff the rope back into the ends and cap off the pipe for the season. I put sprinkler valve housings on either end to give ease of access to the pipe.

.......

Tom
That is an awesome idea. I never thought of that. I will utilize that when I redo my driveway.

[dnesci]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I see that I'm not the only one with the problem. MrChristams2000 your hose idea is interesting. Could you give a little more explanation. Sod is not my problem, bushes, evergreens and my wifes flowers are the problem. Meshing with the wifes flowers is a definite felony in our house.

Don

[Michael]

I have to run 2-Cat 5 cables across my front sidewalk near the steps. I used a 3/4" PVC pipe with a rope inside. The cables just fit and I used the rope to secure the pipe to the corner between the sidewalk and first step using tent stakes. It survived 100" of snow shoveling and blowing without any problems. It blended in and no one ever tripped over it or even knew it was there. I plan on using it again this year.

- Michael

[Matt]

I just ran my wires (granted there were only a couple of Cat-5's and an extension cord) through expansion gaps in the sidewalk. Covered it with a piece of black duct tape and it was perfectly fine. If you run them below the base of a step tripping over them is not likely to be a hazard. In terms of protection from snow shovels, Michael's idea of running them through some PVC would work.

-Matt

[pete]

Will this work for you all?

http://www.lawnbeltusa.com/under-sidewalk.htm

Pete

[dnesci]

Will this work for you all?

http://www.lawnbeltusa.com/under-sidewalk.htm

Pete

It answers my question.

Thanks,

Don

[Dan Ross]

Any time I've ever had to go under a drive way, I just got the length of PVC needed then got a hose end adapter to hook the garden hose to the pipe, dig a big enough hole on the starting side to get the pipe as level as possible as it goes in the hole, turn the water on and start pushing. Some times I end up on the other side a little lower then planned but 95% of the time it works just fine.

[joneslights]

How deep do you usually go? My driveway has pea gravel under it, any suggestions?

[TERBObob]

Man , oh man ... what states you guys live in ????
Do as they do on the interstates ... simply use a masonry cut off in you skillsaw , cut a path about 3 inches wide , and then chip it out and put in your PVC pipe , then fill over with kwikcrete ( or mix up a bag or two of concrete ...
Did this on my sidewalk for Halloween electrical and air lines . If your sidewalk/driveway is older ... then simply add a little dirt to the mixture and it'll come out pretty close to original coloring before you hacked it up ;)
IMO - doing the trick with the pressure hose , although it DOES work , think of the long term effects . you will ALWAYS have loose soil under your drive . Water/ice gets in there and loosens it up more , then eventually , you will be right at the beginning where you will need to do as I stated right off the bat . First will come the cracking , then the un-even ness , and then ... then comes the MAJOR work . ( ask me and the city of Oelwein - thats where I live , how I know how $1900 in sidewalk repairs was caused from )

[dnesci]

TERBObob

I see your point, but a 2" pipe under a 3' sidewalk would probably not deteriorate that severly. It doesn't take the weight and there is not that much soil removed when pushing in the pipe. I would rather take the chance then put a patch in a uniform sidewalk leading up to my house. A patch would look bad real bad. I promised the wife that my DYI would not detract from the look or value of the house. It is supposed to fit in with "taste", her words.

[Dan Ross]

I usually go down 18" to 24" I've never had a driveway crack. I did this to my parents house about 15 years ago and the drive way is still fine (in the area of the pipe). The biggest pipe I have done this with is a 1" pipe maybe a bigger pipe would produce different results.

[ppohlman]

IMO - doing the trick with the pressure hose , although it DOES work , think of the long term effects . you will ALWAYS have loose soil under your drive .

I will have to agree with TERBObob. Having recently installed a sprinkler system, I had to use the pressure hose trick to get the pipe under the sidewalk. It worked wonderfully, but the water did wash out quite a bit of extra dirt; a bunch more dirt than the diameter of the pipe. Since it was the sidewalk, I was able to “re-pack” the dirt into the hole. But, when I started to try it under my driveway, too much dirt was being washed out and I decided to stop the process.


I see your point, but a 2" pipe under a 3' sidewalk would probably not deteriorate that severely.


I would rather take the chance then put a patch in a uniform sidewalk leading up to my house. A patch would look bad real bad

I totally agree if it is only under the sidewalk, but NOT under the driveway.

[Mr B]

For what it's worth, I have spent over 40 years in the construction business and I can tell you that if the concrete in a driveway was reinforced correctly when it was poured, you could have a 3"-4" void under the drive way and there would be no problem as long as the ends of the void next to the driveway were closed up and packed down.

While it might be better to use a boring machine to put the PVC under the driveway, the methods mentioned here for getting a pipe under the driveway will work just fine.

Mr B

[omzig]

Yeah the method of using water to go under sidewalks works well. I've used it myself a few times for running power to light poles. In my situation though, I'm kind of afraid to try it on my driveway because of the distance (12') and the fact that the soil on my property is very rocky. I'm not talking little stones either, I'm talking what I would consider small boulders in some cases! When I dug the footers for my addition, I unearthed many such rocks.

As far as compromising the integrity of the driveway, I'm not worried because I put the driveway in, so I know it was done correctly.

I was just talking to a friend of mine who is a plumber, and he told me about this: http://www.borzit.com/door/. He is going to let me borrow it this weekend.

Also check this out for short distances: http://www.sidewalksleever.com/index.php

[fkostyun]

I used the water "jet" method myself to get under about 10' of concrete to install a new water line to the house. Since it was a copper pipe I just soldered an end onto the "boring" end and drilled a hole in it, attached a hose bib on the other end, and pushed the pipe through - took about 10 minutes to get it through.

With a PCV pipe - glue an end on one side, attach a hose bib on the other, drill a 1/8" hole into the sealed end and push it through.

[omzig]

I forgot all about the conduit that I ran under my driveway for the LV driveway lights. I took the lights out last year, so I can use the conduit. Unfortunately it's only 1/2", but I think it will work for this year's show.

I did get a chance to try out the BorZit thing though, at my Dad's house. We put in a flagpole and ran an electric line for floodlights to light up the flag. The BorZit worked great! It only took about 5 minutes to go 14'. The hole was very clean and the surrounding earth was completely undisturbed. I wish I had my camera with me, but I didn't. It went through almost effortlessly. You don't have to put any pressure on it at all. It pretty much pulls itself through. If you ever need to do something like this and have access to one of these, use it. It makes a real clean hole and is a piece of cake. Some rental places have them.

[51fordf2]

I have put several pvc conduits under driveways. I take either a 1" or 1 1/2" piece, then take the pressure washer, and a piece of pipe, to fit the end, where the regular wand extension goes, at least as long as the conduit. Then, I have someone hold the conduit in place, turn on the water, and they push the conduit as the pressure cuts a hole so the conduit is almost like a sleeve, or similar to how they drill a well, with a casing. The advantage, is that the water and most of the dirt comes back out the conduit, so it doesn't have the voids below - the conduit has a nice hole, that it goes into, but doesn't saturate all the ground around it. Messy, and "it takes two, baby!", but works great! I also always use the sprinkler "box" on both sides, since they cover nicely, and makes access easy. Too bad I've never taken pictures - it IS comical, because the spray guy gets COVERED in mud and water...

R