(Ballpark) how much cost to bury power line

[terracore]

We need to choose between getting rid of some trees or burying a power line. It's probably about 50' long. Does anybody know how much something like that would cost, what is the process like, is there any recommendations on who to do it?

[Seeb]

Is it the service to a house.

[Rob Tucker]

I suggest you call Big Island Excavating (966-9005). The ground conditions will have a lot to do with it. You need to either dig (dirt) or hammer (lava). 50' is not a long trench. My memory is the trench will need to be about 18" wide and a couple feet deep. An upfront cost, which is not helped by the small project, is the cost to mobilize.... that means trailer up the excavator and deliver to site and return. That can sun a few hundred dollars. Beyond that it is machine time. Rates can vary with the season. Busy times cost more. Slow construction season costs less.

The electrical conduit should be a size larger than you think you need. It is not a bad idea to put a spare (vacant) conduit in at the same time just in case.

The conduit will be placed on a bed of sand int he bottom of the trench and covered with a foot of sand. The finish filling the trench with whatever you have. You don't want rocks against the conduit.

Good luck.

[terracore]

Thanks for the info everybody.

Yes, the service is for a house, to replace the existing overhead line.

[Tom.Yost]

Last year I built a garage, that houses my off-grid PV system, and needed to run power from my meter to my transfer switch and then back. I paid about $2000 for 125' of trenching that had to be hammered. There was very little blue rock. I used Moore Excavation and the work was very precise and billed by the hour. I seem to remember that the trench had to be deeper than 2'. Probably so that the conduit was still deep enough after the sand is added to the bottom of the trench.

I used Scott from YES to do the electrical work and it was around $500 and then went up a little when I added a fourth conduit in the trench. He was already doing the PV install, so I probably got a break on pricing.

My sand costs were buried into another concrete job, so I could get it wholesale, so I don't know how much I paid. I would budget for up to $1000 for the sand (pipe cushion) based on how much I just paid for rock wall sand (retail).

The big complication would be if your meter is on your home. You can only bury your power within your TMK and the meter will have to be on the street end of your run, on a pole.

[beejee]

After the conduit is properly buried, is it okay to drive over the trench area - for instance if your trench straddles your driveway?

[Tink]

As long as you have conduit buried minimum 18 inches, and schedule 80 PVC electrical conduit, yes.

Community begins with Aloha

[beejee]

Thanks Tink.