Warning: Found a buried junction box under a patio in Austin

I was digging post holes for a fence last week and hit a buried junction box that someone just poured concrete over. Has anyone else run into unmarked boxes like that and how do you handle the liability?

3 comments

3 Comments

webb.ben1mo ago

Had a buddy in Phoenix run into the same thing a few years back. He was digging a fence post near the sidewalk and his shovel hit a metal box with wires sticking out, just buried under six inches of dirt and old grass. Turned out it was an old cable TV junction that someone covered up when they redid the lawn. He called the utility company and they came out, marked it, and told him not to touch it. Liability wise, they said if he didn't know it was there and didn't damage anything, he was fine. But he was sweating bullets for a week worrying about getting sued.

hollyl451mo ago

Just six inches down? That's basically a decorative feature at that point. Someone really went for the minimalist landscaping approach with their old cable box. Your buddy must have had that special kind of panic where you stare at a hole for twenty minutes waiting for the internet police. Glad it worked out, but man, the things people just bury and forget about.

terryk101mo ago

Guess they wanted a surprise cable box garden.