Stump Grinding & Water Lines: Who's Responsible?

Who's Responsible?

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MasterBlaster

MasterBlaster

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My buddy's stump grinding guy hit a pipe this afternoon, and it got me to thinking.

I think if the homeowner needs to have the stump removed, then they should be responsible.

Or, is it the subcontractor who's actually doing the grinding? The tree company owner? In my case, the treeco owner, my buddy, will get it done and feel responsible for it.

Thoughts?
 
I've heard it both ways. I've heard its on the contractor and I've heard its on the home owner. Technically, its up to the HO to call 811 or whatever your service is that marks the lines I think, but generally the contractor will call as they have a business # with the service and it will generally be marked quicker and the contractor is notified instead of the HO if the area is clear or not, speeding up the process and saving the HO from having to call the contractor to let them know its all good(or bad)

EDIT: Looked at your poll, when I refer to contractor in my post I'm speaking generally of the tree care company since we're talking about stump grinding.
 
The subcontractor is responsible. Was the water line located before grinding?

Our 811 locate is called Julie. You can call or go online and submit the request. Technically we are supposed to have a locate for every stump removal.
 
Do you guys have anything like http://www.digsafe.com/ ?

Here all we have to do is call 811 and schedule them to come out and mark utilities. It's not done as often as it should be though. Digsafe wants the contractor to make the call.
 
In Georgia you call 811 and all the utilities will be marked before you dig it's free so there's really no excuse not to. It's simple I've used it many times with out a problem. I'm almost certain most states offer the same service. In my opinion it would be the subcontractors responsibility, since he's the one digging, and hit the pipe he should cover the repair.
 
I did not vote in your poll, Butch, because we have been told by the locating company that the responsible party is the one that calls for the locate. They also said, for that reason, they prefer it be the contractor that is doing the digging be the one to call it in. This is one of those things that could easily vary from state to state.

David
 
If I call diggers hot line and they come out and do a locate it is on them if I follow their minimum guide lines of 18" either side of their flags. They will only locate major utilities and nothing else ie. irrigation, lighting, invisible fence are all on the HO/PO to locate and not my responsibility.
 
flushcut said:
If I call diggers hot line and they come out and do a locate it is on them if I follow their minimum guide lines of 18" either side of their flags. They will only locate major utilities and nothing else ie. irrigation, lighting, invisible fence are all on the HO/PO to locate and not my responsibility.
Click to expand...

Good point that I forgot to state. If they marked it clear of the utilities they were contracted to locate and you hit one, its on them. We state right up front that if there is anything else, like irrigation lines, they will be gone with the rest of the stump. If there is going to be a problem with that we want to know right up front and discuss how it will be resolved if it occurs. Out here, propane is a real problem because no one locates it. We just make sure to ask the homeowner if there is propane and where the line was laid.

David
 
Also If I hit irrigation or something that was not disclosed by the HO/PO I try and fix it at their expense for materials and I'll toss in my time to be nice if I can fix it.
 
I voted it falls on the tree co owner at fault thinking the same as contractor. Here it is whoever is doing the digging (grinding) that is held responsible by law. Technically we are supposed to call in every stump to 811. I also ask HO about irrigation etc and if I have any concern point it out prior to work being done.
 
Here, the excavator is responsible for calling in the locate request. I've never seen a water line marked though. Only electric, gas, phone, and cable.
 
811 here too. Water, town or well, is not marked. That is a separate call, well excluded.
Who grinds stumps to 4' though?
 
The contractor doing the work is how it is here.
In AZ we called it "Blue Stake" and you had a number to call
In CA it's called USA and they have a number to call.
If you are doing the work, and it is not marked, you pay
If you are doing the work and they marked it and you hit it ... you pay.
If you are doing the work and called it in, it got marked, and you hit it because it is mis-marked... it is on them.
 
Here they only mark to the meter, which is true with most places I believe. Beyond the meter is owned by the property owner.

If you a utility owned line, it depends if you called to have it marked or not. If it was mismarked, it's their problem. The only exception I can think of is if it wasn't buried to state required depth. Last year I hit a gas line that was 3-4" deep (state required 12").

On lines owned by the property owner, it's their job to disclose them prior to work starting.

Line taken out of our contract's disclaimer:
"RC is not responsible for damage done to unknown septic systems, irrigation systems, underground wiring, unstable soil, etc."
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18
"RC is not responsible for damage done to unknown septic systems, irrigation systems, underground wiring, unstable soil, etc."
Click to expand...

That's mah boyeee!
 
I use the same kind of disclaimer, Carl.
It basically states that clients are responsible for knowing the whereabous of any underground installations.
In this well-ordered commie society it is a small matter to call in and get the location, but I don't want to take on the responsibility of doing it.
 
I never cut a utility line or pipe in all my years of stump grinding. But I think in other municipal areas it is happening more often because my insurance company has a new policy about damage to underground services. I forget what the extra fee they wanted to keep my deductible at $500 for underground damage, but I didn't feel I needed too but they warned me I would have to pay $2000 deductible for those claims if I ever applied.
 
I think it's foolish to not call in locates. We don't have to worry about water lines because they are below the frost line. Take your buddies situation and replace water line with gas or electric. We locate all stumps regardless if the HO "knows" nothois near.

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