How to bury Cat6 cable?

[PoorUB]

I have a CAT6 direct bury cable I want to dig in. Anyone have any easy quick and cheap ways to get it 5-6 inches down and 75 feet? I know it should be trenched, and should be deeper, but I am not going to do it so please skip that part of the discussion. I probably will end up using a spade and just working a slot into the soil.
Just my back yard. Grass and black dirt.

 

[Blueshound_GJ]

Maybe a cheap 4” trenching shovel.

I have this one, it works great for lifting small areas of sod too.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-40-in-Fiberglass-Handle-Trenching-Spade/5005844053?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-sol-_-ggl-_-LIA_SOL_242_Tools-Watering-Storage-Sheds-_-5005844053-_-local-_-0-_-0&gclid=CjwKCAjwscGjBhAXEiwAswQqNBhShx1JOOeOK2sfKN74Q4Ty1OuSFc6FuJ_VmPDuqD7QyhZ9aWlORxoC4y8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Also this if you've got rocks!

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Fiskars-5-lb-Composite-Handle-Forged-Steel-Garden-Pick/1001039388

 

[shedfullatools]

I just use a sod cutter, rock it down all the way in and just back and forth to open up the slot left behind. Small Cables fall right in and you can close the slot back up with your foot. Fast easy and neat

 

[dcg9381]

Grass and black dirt.

Lucky. Shovel/Spade sounds fine to me. Once side, then the other, all the way down.
Consider putting it in 1/2 or 3/4 PVC conduit. The trench doesn't need to be bigger. It's not buried deep, very easy to hit and cut without PVC.

 

[CoogarXR]

Or use a manual lawn edger. It's easy to stomp into the ground, and it makes a straighter slit than a shovel would.

 

[FredWanaker]

75' - hire a kid or rent a ditchwitch. Personally I would dig once, put in pvc conduit with the proper elbow radiuses and number of degrees of bend max, then use a vacuum to **** a string through it and pull the cable. Not only will it be better protected, but it will be easy to replace if need be. I have a 40' run of many conductor sprinkler cable I did that way 25 years ago. One segment died and there were no spare ones to use. It took us maybe 30 minutes to pull a new cable a month ago. I was so thankful that I put that conduit in, some of it is under a concrete walk now. But if you are looking for cheap and easy only then use a shovel to dig a 3 or 4" deep Vee in the soil, put the cable in the bottom of the Vee and cover it. Don't waste your time digging 6" deep in a trench if you don't mind replacing it again when someone hits it accidentally putting in a shrub, or some ground squirrel / mole decides to take a chomp.

 

[larry4406]

The cable guys here use a robust version of the lawn edger like @CoogarXR posted for “short” drops like yours.

 

[rancherbill]

I know it should be trenched, and should be deeper, but I am not going to do it so please skip that part of the discussion.

Just lay it on the surface and be careful when cutting the grass. The house next door had the telephone line just laying on top for 5+ years until be had a lapse and cut it.

 

[Hooked]

Just lay it on the surface and be careful when cutting the grass. The house next door had the telephone line just laying on top for 5+ years until be had a lapse and cut it.

Phone company wanted to do that for my 400' run while they waited on the scheduling folks to get the burial crew out here. Said it would only be a couple weeks. I told them to just hang on the light poles cuz a couple weeks would turn into much longer and either our dogs or the ZTR would find it long before the crew arrived. LOL

 

[BFBOB]

Use direct burial cable - Home Depot had it in Cat5 (by the foot) when I needed some a few years ago. Hopefully they'll have Cat6 by now. otherwise, I agree the slit a few inches deep will be the quick and easy way, and last quite some years. If you cheap out and don't use direct burial rated cable, you're asking for trouble, and soon.

That's a specialty cable that IT distributors often sell by the foot. Ask around if you know any electricians who might be willing to get it for you.

 

[PoorUB]

Use direct burial cable - Home Depot had it in Cat5 (by the foot) when I needed some a few years ago. Hopefully they'll have Cat6 by now. otherwise, I agree the slit a few inches deep will be the quick and easy way, and last quite some years. If you cheap out and don't use direct burial rated cable, you're asking for trouble, and soon.

That's a specialty cable that IT distributors often sell by the foot. Ask around if you know any electricians who might be willing to get it for you.

I have quality, direct bury cable.

 

[mike93lx]

I use an ice cutter/scraper for stuff like that. Similar to the rounded edger picture, just squared off. Doesn't really have a good place to step, so that's the downside.

 

[BillK]

Funny because I ran across a video a couple of days ago of a guy using a sawzall with a long blade to do exactly the same thing. He was cutting two slits and digging out between them but you could just run one groove and just push the wire into it.

 

[plout99]

I used a chainsaw with a sacrificial bar and chain when I enclosed an acre with invisible fence wire for dogs. It worked great not sure it would be wide enough for direct bury cat 6.

 

[mike93lx]

I used a chainsaw with a sacrificial bar and chain when I enclosed an acre with invisible fence wire for dogs. It worked great not sure it would be wide enough for direct bury cat 6.

That right there is a damn good idea. A trencher is mostly just a huge chainsaw anyway

 

[jonesg]

Pressure washer.

 

[Kent_B]

See post #5. I used one of those when I was burying around 400' of wire installing a vertical antenna.

 

[Denwood]

Along the lines of that sod cutter. Simple, clean, fast..no mess.

 

[Doug]

I have a CAT6 direct bury cable I want to dig in. Anyone have any easy quick and cheap ways to get it 5-6 inches down and 75 feet? I know it should be trenched, and should be deeper, but I am not going to do it so please skip that part of the discussion. I probably will end up using a spade and just working a slot into the soil.
Just my back yard. Grass and black dirt.

That's exactly what I did about 6 months ago with gel-filled cable. It's easy to find later if necessary as it's a straight shot from the exit from the house to the garage entrance.

 

[Poolshark314]

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[kbs2244]

"use a manual lawn edger. It's easy to stomp into the ground, and it makes a straighter slit than a shovel would."

this is what the cableTV guys do around here from the street to the house

the only problem is when you come to put a driveway across the cable
the driveway foundation goes deeper than the cable and will be dug up
that is what happened to me when I built my shop

I just cut out apx. 60 feet of cable and kept on going
I do not have cable TV

the same co. has had a surface laid wire across my driveway along the street from their round distribution box to my neighbor for over 2 years.
I just drive and mow over it

 

[sea2summit]

Have a friend with a subsiler? Done this twice, works great.

 

[Moss]

I have done irrigation lines (3/4" poly) and many times we would just use a square shovel and kick a slit into the soil at a slight angle. Then you can use the shovel to open up the void just a enough to get the cable in there. The best part about this method is you can push the sod back down and the walk over it a few times and you can barely tell anyone was even digging. The slight angle is the key, no mess and the grass grows back over the slit quickly. With a small cable this would work even better.

 

[bmxdukie]

Pressure washer.

100% this.. zero degree tip and away you go .

 

[PoorUB]

A friend has a edging spade, used for digging in plastic lawn edging. It has a wide rectangular spade about 5" tall. I have used it before to put in edging and it should work to bury the cable. I think I will either water the lawn the day before, or wait for rain and the soil should be softer. It is a bit dry and hard right now.

I have some things going on, but should get to it in a couple days.

 

[f121]

75ft I’d price up renting a cable layer. Around here it would be £50 for the day and do the job in no time at all.

Personally I’d use a trencher on an excavator or skid steer and lay a duct. I’ve never regretted laying a duct, only regretted not laying enough ducts

 

[mike93lx]

75ft I’d price up renting a cable layer. Around here it would be £50 for the day and do the job in no time at all.

Personally I’d use a trencher on an excavator or skid steer and lay a duct. I’ve never regretted laying a duct, only regretted not laying enough ducts

A trencher rental is a couple hundred bucks for 4 hrs and the wheeled units are no fun. Track drive is the way to go, but they cut a 6" wide trench is make an absolute mess, which is worth considering if it's in a lawn.

conduit is good jdea, especially if it is only a few inches deep. Cutting that wire will be easy and it can't really be spliced

I had to move the fiber line going to my house and laid a conduit for Verizon to pull through. It's only about 6" down and losing that wire because someone was planting a bush would be a bad day. For something non critical, it might be worth the chance

 

[goldtang]

If you have to go through lawn run a lawn edger just over the width of a trenching shovel break up the lawn at short Lengths then dig out dig soil to required length , lay the Cable orange hi voltage tape over it just for laughter and fill in , 25 plus meters at dads place took us a some time no rush and a few beers

 

[nadogail]

Have a friend with a subsiler? Done this twice, works great.

CAT cable is best buried with a CAT Tractor

 

[dchawk81]

We buried our cat out by the old oak tree.

Wait you said how. With an old shovel and lots of wailing from the wimmin.

 

[Buck_nekid]

If you have access to a tractor this is the real deal.

 

[PoorUB]

Have a friend with a subsiler? Done this twice, works great.

If you have access to a tractor this is the real deal.

Knifing it in with a tractor is a bit over kill in this situation. With the house, deck and shop in the way there isn't room! Also I do have some utilities in the way, one reason it is getting buried shallow.

 

[rlitman]

I've "buried" 1/4" drip irrigation tube in a slot cut by my edger blade. It'll get you down a couple of inches and the slot disappears when you step on it.

 

[mike93lx]

Just get it deep enough so if you ever aerate, it doesn't let out the pixies

 

[PoorUB]

I've "buried" 1/4" drip irrigation tube in a slot cut by my edger blade. It'll get you down a couple of inches and the slot disappears when you step on it.

A lawn edger was my first attempt, but my edger will only get about 1-1/2" deep.

 

[rlitman]

A lawn edger was my first attempt, but my edger will only get about 1-1/2" deep.

Yep, that's about all it will do. But the question is one of risk vs reward. If it's deep enough to keep from surfacing itself quickly, what does 1" or 3" really matter? And if you spend let's say 3 hours doing the shallower method and 9 hours going deeper, if you have to replace the shallow one once, you're still way ahead.

 

[sea2summit]

Knifing it in with a tractor is a bit over kill in this situation. With the house, deck and shop in the way there isn't room! Also I do have some utilities in the way, one reason it is getting buried shallow.

Shoot, I'll hold your beer.

 

[PoorUB]

Yep, that's about all it will do. But the question is one of risk vs reward. If it's deep enough to keep from surfacing itself quickly, what does 1" or 3" really matter? And if you spend let's say 3 hours doing the shallower method and 9 hours going deeper, if you have to replace the shallow one once, you're still way ahead.

I aerate my yard, I don't trust the 1-1/2" is deep enough.

 

[FredWanaker]

then answer your own question, dig a proper trench, put it in conduit and be done with it. I soaked my front area, heavy clay, and my neighbor and I used a 2" trenching shovel to put in 45' of conduit 12" deep that took maybe 2 hours, and then pulled the cable in the conduit. Cat 6 direct burial is just as easy to damage as cable is. We are both in our 70's and have back issues so if we can do it..... Do it once right.

 

[aardquark]

One of these will probably get you deep enough, just open a slit and slide in the cable as you go: square gardening shovel