If you are a Homeowner or a Contractor and you know there are buried utilities within the designated work area, it is highly reccomended that you call for a private mark out.

A full mark out is EVERYTHING in the designated work area. Note the image of a standard home on the left. Here you can see the color codes as a national standard for each specific utility, as well as how the home is fed from off of the street.

With the exception of the natural Gas, most all utility companies only mark to the sidewalk or to where the curb stops (water shut off in municipalities) are. We cover a very large area of Upstate New York, and in our experience, the natural Gas is marked all the way to the meter by the utility company or their sub contractor. This is standard for NYSEG, RG&E, and National Grid up north and northwest. However, any Gas after the meter is private, examples would be outside kitchen, heated pool, heat to an out building etc...

Note in the image, you can see that this home has phone, cable, electric, water, and sewer all feeding this home in different areas that are generaly left unmarked. (check with your utility companies to see where they leave off in their responsibilities). This is where it becomes so important to call for a private mark out (PMO).


 
Damage Prevention Specialists / Underground Locators in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier Regions of NY
What Is A Full Mark Out
There is also another level of buried utilities one needs to be concerned about that does not show in this example image. Most of us have electric running to our garage, and maybe even natural gas for heating. Phone lines are run to garages or out buildings at times as well. Our heated swimming pools, hot tubs, utilize both electric and Gas. Remember any Gas after the meter is considered private and needs to be marked out. There's the lighting for driveways, walkways, the flag pole, as well as electric running out to the driveway gate in some places. There is a whole network of utilities we as Homeowners bury over the years that allow us the comforts of comfortable home living.

At times, a full site analysis will result in our technicians marking out buried utilities. We proceed to mark out any and all tonable utilities with paint and flags in the designated work area regardless of how many may be present.