sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring recommended depth for fiber with a direct burial jacket

What is the recommended depth for armored fiber with a direct burial jacket both under a driveway with heavy truck traffic and not under a driveway?

I would certainly put it in below the frost line - whatever that is in your area.

I've had to repair quite a bit of fiber that was cut by backhoes, saws, etc. Deeper is better, warning tape laid in the trench above the cable is recommended and rigid pipe is best.

Sam

Thanks Sam, Is pipe necessary with the direct burial jacket? Frost is at least 4 feet in Minnesota. One recommendation I have gotten is 1 foot below frost. That seems very deep.

We've always gone about a foot below the frost line and no, you don't need to put it in pipe.

1' below frost is about right. You don't need pipe and if it's a private driveway you're probably OK, but if it's public and the possibility of other contractors exist, I would recommend it.

Just based on past experience. I made a lot of money fixing cut fiber. Nothing like having to patch a 768 strand cable - NOW!

Certainly, just sign here..... :-)

Sam

For crossing a driveway have you thought of vertical inlayed fiber?

The city I live in (pop 750,000) is using this now instead of conventional trenched fiber for its city fiber backbone.

Its basically placed in a saw cut just a few inches below the pavement surface.

Here is a link to what the company that won the tender installed in the saw cut. https://www.teraspan.com/vif.php

Thanks, The company that needs the fiber will do the trenching. I have shared my concerns and your suggestions about protecting the fiber, An engineer from General Cable also sent information. We discussed installng pipe under the private driveway.

I think the standard is 3 feet deep and if you stick to the standard when your digging it back up you know to start looking at about 2.5 feet deep. If everybody sticks to the standard then everybody knows communication cable is 3 feet deep.So when your hammering in fence posts 2 feet deep and hit a fiber optic cable then you know someone didn't stick to the standard of burring telecommincation cable 3 feet deep.

Thanks to all for the information. Customer is a asphalt manufacturer and installation company. They had all the equipment to do the digging and install the direct burial fiber. I passed on to them recommendations for depth. We did the fiber terminations and connections to their network. We have done other fiber installations for them in the past, but they have always had buried conduit ready for us.

or you call before you dig and have everything marked and place your posts accordignly