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Digging Soon?

If your simple home improvement project involves digging, you must contact your state’s 811 center a few days before breaking ground. If you’ve hired a professional to do work on your property that includes digging, make sure that they have called 811 or made their request online before beginning work.

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I'm a Homeowner

I’m planning to dig on my own property.

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I'm a Contractor

I’ve been hired to complete a project on someone else’s property.

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Fewer than half of Americans believe they need to call 811 before simple projects like:

 

Installing a deck or patio
Planting trees, bushes and shrubs
Installing a mailbox

 
 

An estimated 31 million homeowners are planning to complete home improvement projects that involve digging this year.

 
 

Nearly 40 percent of homeowners planning to dig will put utility service at risk by not calling 811 before starting a project.

 
 

This means that over 11 million homeowners will risk unintentionally damaging buried utilities, potentially disrupting utility service to themselves and their communities by not calling 811.

 
 

The most popular planned DIY home projects that involve digging in 2020 include:

 

Planting a tree or shrub (61 percent)
Building a patio or deck (30 percent
Building a fence (28 percent)
Installing a mailbox (13 percent)

 

811 In Your State

Make your request online, see the specific waiting period in your area or learn more about safe digging in your state.

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