PSA: A bad detail callout nearly cost me a whole set of foundation plans

I was working on a big commercial job in Tacoma, a new warehouse. I had to detail a tricky corner where the foundation met a sloped site. I was in a rush and just called out a standard 12-inch footing depth on the section. The boss sent the set out for a site check, and the guy in the field called back. He said if they dug that deep at that spot, they'd hit an old buried utility line that wasn't on any of the city maps. My heart just dropped. I had to pull the whole sheet, re-coordinate with the civil engineer, and re-issue with a step footing detail that kept us clear. It added two days to the schedule. It taught me to never assume the ground is clear, even on a 'new' site. Has anyone else had a close call with buried site stuff that wasn't on the plans?

3 comments

3 Comments

joelwells12d ago

Remember hitting a water main once... scared me half to death.

quinn96812d agoOG Member

We had a pipe burst in our old apartment building last winter. The sound was like a car crash right in the wall. Honestly, the cleanup took weeks and the whole place smelled like wet concrete. It's a legit terrifying feeling.

abby_wilson513d ago

That old utility line in Tacoma, did the city have any record of it at all, or was it a total ghost? I'm trying to picture what kind of line it was. We found a forgotten septic tank once on a rural lot that was supposed to be undeveloped land. The backhoe bucket scraped the top of the concrete lid and we all just froze. Had to get a tank scan and everything. Makes you wonder what else is just sitting under the dirt with no paper trail.