Tracking a $20M Install: Disaster Strikes

Don’t let that guy with the sledgehammer near Bela Lugosi’s grave.

why wouldn’t you use metal conduit on a project like this?

PVC pipe is fine no matter what size job. Why the concern of not using metal. The extra expense has no benefit (well, stakes are indeed harder to drive thru metal, lol).

Price, the stake would have still damaged our pipes and still needed us to fix it.  We have miles of conduit in the project and once it is under concrete and intact its all the same.

How did you plan for the large void under the concrete that all of the conduit created? It would appear that this would cause different settling and the width of the conduit appears rather large. Did you go deeper? Cross the conduit with a bridge?
Great planning and discussion.

I’d say more of an inconvenience then a disaster.  Disaster to my mind would entail discovering that there were multiple punctures after concrete had poured.

I see the quality of the subs on this job is terrific.  Honestly I would blame a lot of this on mismanagement.  I would never allow men on a jobsite just driving random stakes where ever they so please.

Fred, I have to agree but the editors can always have their way after I submit the article.

James, you are right, someone wasn’t watching their crew, just glad my electrician caught it and saved the day.  So many subs working at a frantic pace can cause some problems and force us to be extra diligent.

John, once conduits were in place the area was back filled and compressed to some extreme level after which all pipes were rechecked for damage.

Is there a GC overseeing the job or someone that is knowledgeable in integrating all of the systems including wiring and conduit layouts documenting where the conduits are installed and to be installed, to avoid problems like this? Nothing should be haphazardly installed.

Even the best run projects can have problems, the real test is how those problems are handled and eventually resolved.  Not every sub has its own “hall monitor” and one careless laborer can cause problems. 
The entire incident from stake through pipe to repair and regrading happened over a 3 day period.  Given that everyone is busy I think it went well and our system worked as it should, identified the problem, fixed it, checked that the repair was sufficient then beat the laborer with the broken pipe and stake, all very professional.

“our system worked as it should, identified the problem, fixed it, checked that the repair was sufficient”

What was the system that identified the problem?

The electrician was checking the pipes with a conduit camera prior to the slab being poured and saw a stake through the middle of one.
The system was t o check all conduits before the slab went down and we had no way to fix a problem.  Simple system, good system.

This was indeed an avoided disaster.

Many years ago 1 of our 3 inch pipes that was being pulled thru from the main house to the clients beach house was snapped. Their solution was to dig where the conduit snapped and use duct tape to connect it to the rest of the pipe. The pipe was on a big roll and they used water/augers to pull the cable underground.

This made pulling cables thru the pipe a lot of fun… because water and sand are great for lubricating the bundles… < NOT!

Ahhh, conduit camera…excellent!

Every time you bury conduit, you roll the dice! Cameras were an excellent idea…you can never be too cautious!