RenovateKC

Standing in the trenches of renovation is a nice metaphor for all of the hard work that goes into a home renovation, but we have found ourselves literally standing in the trenches of renovation. Keep reading to pick up tips on how to trench and how not to trench based on our experience digging up 60 feet of an already ugly lawn.

The wiring in our detached garage is atrocious. It is so bad that our home inspector told us that he wouldn't park his car in the garage until we turned off the electricity. "Sure, it's been fine for years, but you never known when something this bad will finally burn the place down." Furthermore, the wiring out to the garage is pretty poor. We have 30 amps of electricity running through two tiny little wires that are far below the minimum height from the ground. Oh, and there's a birds nest built around those wires at the house end of the run. Truth be told, there are two pairs of wires running to the garage, but that second pair runs the light that sits between the two garage doors.

In discussing our options with the inspector, he mentioned that our two options would be to put in a new and higher run of wires or to go underground and hide the wires all together. Underground sounded like the most pleasing final result, but the idea of digging a trench from the back wall of the house to the garage sounded slightly back breaking, at least for a soft computer programmer like myself. That's where it pays to have friends with trucks and a love of heavy machinery.

Slow down now...

Before we show off the heavy machinery, let's talk safety. Our house is in an old neighborhood that sprang to life in 1927, and all of our electrical utilities run overhead. The layout of the plumbing indicated that our gas, water, and sewage all ran from the house to the street rather than through the backyard. With that in mind, many people may have forgone the quick, free, and painless process of calling for a utility locate. One more time, quick, free, and painless. Why skip a step that could save you from making a mistake that would surely set you back in time, money and health?

Two steps were required to get a locate done on our property. First, I bought two cans of white spray paint to mark the path of our proposed trench. I was carded for the spray paint, which amused me. Next, I made a 5 minute call to the Missouri One Call System one afternoon over lunch, and we were cleared to dig on the upcoming weekend. The utility location service wrote in paint next to my white dig line for each service that I was clear to dig. The marking was a little ambiguous simply because the little flags with their phone number said "buried [gas|electric] line" right next to paint that read "OK MGE" (Missouri Gas Energy), etc.

The Big Dig

Now back to that heavy machinery. My buddy, Joe, said that we weren't friends anymore if I didn't invite him over whenever heavy machinery was on the job site. He's a little redneck like that, and he'd hate to miss the opportunity to tear up someone else's yard. That works for me, especially given the fact that I had never touched a trencher and I drive a Ford Escort. His full sized pickup had a lot easier time pulling the trencher than my car ever would, and his experience running the beast really paid off. The schedule of events looked something like this:

1. Pick up 80FT of cable rated for 50 amps and direct burial, conduit, fittings, a hole saw, and an electrical panel at Home Depot
2. Pick up the trencher from the rental place
3. Trench!
4. Attach the conduit and fittings to the house and garage
5. Lay the cable, fishing it through the conduit at both ends
6. Cover the cable
7. Eat Lunch
8. Attach the electrical panel
9. Return the trencher

I met Joe, we proceed to Home Depot, and things immediately start to go wrong. Our first HD doesn't have the wire we need. 30 minutes lost driving to another one and getting another associate to cut us the wire. We pick up our other supplies, and we head to the rental place. Our second bad experience of the day was watching the rental company's mechanics cannibalize two trenchers to get ours up and running, 30 more minutes lost to that.

Soon, the trencher is off the trailer, and Joe's digging into our excavation line. After a rough start due to some stones and the remnants of an old clothesline, things are humming along. A few more whole bricks turn up in the soil as we near the garage, but nothing major. Then perceived disaster strikes. It appears that the concrete pad that makes up our driveway extends beyond the side of the garage where there appeared to be dirt and grass at first glance. A bit of worry sets in while we go over our options. Do we beat it up by hand with sledge hammers? Do we get a hammer drill? Do we go back to the rental outfit and rent a small jackhammer? My sister and dad stopped by at about this time to admire the predicament while they were in the neighborhood. After a few calls to directory service, AKA my mom and her phone book, we were on our way to rent a jackhammer.

Humble Pie

About half way to the rental place, I get a phone call from my sister. All that horrible tough concrete? Yep, wasn't concrete at all, it was just a row of cinder blocks set into the ground. My dad had poked and prodded with a shovel until they started popping out one by one. My dad wanted us all to go to college so we would be smart and successful, but who was the smart one, really? Thanks dad, you simultaneously saved us a load of time and money while reminding us that with age comes wisdom. 20 more minutes with the trencher and we were ready to move on.

Check and Double Check

We start assembling our conduit and fittings, and we realize that they are not all the same size. Home Depot is one of my favorite stores lately, but their conduit and plumbing fittings are a mess. Be warned. By this time we are running short on time with the trencher, and soon evening will set in. Joe laughs at me as I try to wrestle the trencher back on to the trailer, and then we are off to return it and make our third trip of the day to Home Depot.

This time around, everything starts to come together. The electrical panel was hung after dealing with some terrible nails that didn't want to drive into the old studs. Despite our lack of a fish tape, we were even able to get the cable into both the house and the garage successfully. Woo hoo! Of course, we were working in the dark at that point, and we left a large amount of carnage strewn across the yard and driveway. Click the picture to see the carnage notated. With that all said, how'd our schedule turn out?

1. Pick up 80FT of cable rated for 50 amps and direct burial, conduit, fittings, a hole saw, and an electrical panel at Home Depot
2. Pick up 80FT of cable rated for 50 amps and direct burial, conduit, fittings, a hole saw, and an electrical panel at the other Home Depot
3. Pick up the trencher from the rental place
4. Wrestle with the clothes line pole
5. Trench!
6. Find a potential place to rent a jack hammer
7. Turn around one the way because we were dumb and short sighted
8. Lunch
9. Finish trenching
10. Attach the conduit and fittings to the house and garage
11. Return the trencher
12. Buy more fittings
13. Attach the conduit and fittings to the house and garage
14. Lay the cable, fishing it through the conduit at both ends
15. Cover the cable
16. Eat Lunch
17. Attach the electrical panel
18. Return the trencher

We ended with a success, but it was a long day in the making. If I had to do it all over again, I'd buy my materials ahead of time, dry fit them, and better clear the area so I knew what potential obstacles would slow us down. Kate and I bought Joe and his girlfriend dinner as a token of thanks, but deep down, I think running heavy equipment and watching me struggle with the same heavy equipment made his day.