Know Before You Dig
From understanding what 811 covers to knowing when to call a private locator — here's what every homeowner, contractor, and developer should know before breaking ground.
If you're planning any project that involves breaking ground — even a small one — knowing what's underground before you start isn't just smart, it's essential. Underground utilities are out of sight and easy to forget about until something goes wrong. A struck gas line, a severed electrical feed, or a damaged sewer lateral can turn a straightforward project into an expensive, dangerous, and potentially life-threatening situation in seconds.
Private utility locating exists to give you the information you need before any of that happens.If any of the following apply to your project, a private utility locate should be your first call — before equipment is rented, before contractors arrive, and before a single shovel hits the ground:
Residential Projects
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Installing a fence, deck, or pergola
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Adding a pool, hot tub, or water feature
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Planting trees or large landscaping installations
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Installing landscape lighting or irrigation systems
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Building a detached garage, shed, or accessory structure
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Adding an addition to your home
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Replacing or repairing a sewer lateral or drain line
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Installing a new septic system or private plumbing
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Waterproofing a basement or crawlspace
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Performing foundation repairs or underpinning
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Adding or extending a driveway or hardscape
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Running power, water, or gas to an outbuilding
Real Estate Transactions
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Pre-purchase sewer scope inspection to assess lateral condition before closing
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Documenting existing utility locations for disclosure or due diligence purposes
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Identifying potential underground conflicts before listing or renovating
Commercial and Industrial Projects
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Pre-construction utility conflict investigation
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Excavation planning in areas with unknown or undocumented underground infrastructure
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Locating private communication lines, electrical feeds, or site utilities not covered by 811
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Environmental testing and core drilling — we locate and mark subsurface obstacles at intended core locations to help avoid costly and dangerous strikes on existing utility lines
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Most property owners and even many contractors don't realize that the sewer lateral should be located and marked before an 811 ticket is ever filed — not after. Here's why that order matters.
When you file an 811 ticket, you are required to white line your intended excavation area so utility companies know where to send their locators. But if your sewer lateral runs through or near that area and its path is unknown, you are essentially defining your dig zone blind. You may be planning to excavate directly over a lateral you didn't know was there — and 811 will never mark it because it's a privately owned line.
The ideal sequence looks like this:
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Schedule a private sewer lateral locate first — we trace and mark the full path of your lateral from the cleanout to the connection point using electromagnetic locating equipment and sonde transmitter technology, giving you a clear picture of exactly where that line runs on your property
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White line your excavation area — now that the lateral is marked, you can define your dig zone accurately, routing around the lateral or adjusting your project plans accordingly before anyone else arrives on site
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Call 811 — with your white lines in place and your lateral already documented, the 811 locators can now see both your intended dig area and your marked private lateral, giving everyone on the project a complete picture before excavation begins
This approach protects your lateral from accidental damage, gives your contractors the most complete information possible, and ensures your 811 ticket reflects the full picture of what's underground in your work zone. It costs nothing extra to do it in the right order — and it can save thousands in repair costs and project delays.
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This is one of the most common questions we get — and the answer matters more than most people realize.
811 — Call Before You Dig
When you call 811, you are not scheduling a locate. You are notifying public utility companies — gas, electric, water, and telecom providers — that excavation is planned in your area. Each utility company then sends their own locator to mark their lines within the public right of way, typically within three business days. This service is free, it is required by law before any excavation, and it is an important first step.
But it stops at the meter.
Everything on your side of the meter — every private line, every underground feed to an outbuilding, every irrigation system, every propane line, every sewer lateral — is outside the scope of 811 entirely. Those lines will not be located, marked, or documented through an 811 request. That responsibility falls on you.
Private Utility Locating
What Happens After 811 Stops Private utility locating covers everything 811 doesn't. Using professional grade electromagnetic locating equipment, we trace and mark privately owned underground utilities on your property — the lines that run from your meter to your home, between structures, and throughout your property that no public utility company will ever locate for you.
Where 811 stops, we begin.
Residential
Think about everything underground on a typical property that has nothing to do with a public utility company — a pool with buried supply and control lines, a propane tank with underground feed lines, landscape lighting wired from a panel, a detached garage or shed with buried electrical, a private well or septic system, or an irrigation system with non-metallic piping throughout the yard. None of these will be located through an 811 request. If you dig without knowing where these lines are, you are taking on all of the risk yourself.
Commercial and Industrial
Larger properties often have an even more complex picture underground — private electrical feeds for parking lot lighting, buried communication and network infrastructure, steam lines, compressed air lines, fuel lines, and site utilities installed by previous owners or tenants with little or no documentation. The 811 system was never designed to address these and won't locate a single one of them. A private utility locate is the only way to get that picture before excavation begins.
We understand that projects move fast and timelines change. We do our best to accommodate same-day and next-day requests whenever scheduling allows, though availability cannot always be guaranteed. When your timeline is flexible, scheduling three to five days in advance is ideal and ensures we can be there when you need us.
Regardless of your timeline, contact us and we will do everything we can to get your locate completed before your project is impacted.
Please note that same-day and next-day availability is limited and cannot be guaranteed. Contact us directly for current availability.
Yes. Coastal Empire Subsurface Locating is fully insured. A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is available upon request. Additional time may be necessary for client specific certificates to be issued by our insurance provider.
Pricing is based on the scope of the project, location, and estimated on-site time. We offer a straightforward minimum service rate that covers standard residential locates, with hourly pricing available for larger or more complex projects. For commercial and industrial work, half-day and full-day rates are available.
We are a small, owner-operated business and take pride in offering professional service at competitive rates. Contact us directly for a quote specific to your project — we are happy to talk through what you need before you commit to anything.
Every property is different and every project has its own variables. If you are not sure whether you need a private locate, the answer is almost always yes — and a quick conversation with us costs nothing. Reach out by phone or through our scheduling page and we will help you figure out exactly what you need before work begins.
Where 811 Stops, We Begin.