Is It Up to Code? Do You See the Hazard? [Electrical Safety]

While doing some volunteer work recently, I was removing broken sidewalk stones and digging down a few inches to eventually add sand and new pavers. I was surprised to find an underground wire from the building feeding a lamppost some distance away. Fortunately, the wire wasn’t damaged by the shovel, but this was definitely an electrical hazard, and it could have resulted in an electrical injury. The local codes require the wire to be buried underground by 24 in (60 cm) or, if protected by metal conduit, 6 in (15 cm), but this unprotected wire was only 4 in (10 cm) below the surface. It is easy to become complacent during a simple job like this and not look for any electrical hazards. We often assume that previous work was done properly and that all codes were followed.