Private utility locates: what they cost and when you need one

Where 811 stops

We covered the basics of calling 811 before you dig in an earlier post — it's free, and it covers the utility-owned lines running to your property: gas, electric, water, sewer, cable, internet. What it doesn't cover is anything on the private side of the meter: your own sprinkler system, low-voltage landscape lighting, invisible pet fence, or septic lines. That's where a private locate comes in.

What a private locate actually is

A private locate is a paid, independently arranged service — not part of the free 811 ticket. A locator comes out and traces the lines you actually own, using the same kind of electromagnetic locating equipment utility locators use for metal or tracer-wire lines, and sometimes ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for non-metallic pipe — like plain PVC irrigation line or older septic pipe — that a standard locator can't pick up.

When you'd actually need one

Who provides them

Independent utility-locating companies handle most private locates. Some irrigation or landscape contractors can trace their own systems directly. For non-metallic lines that standard equipment can't detect, look specifically for a provider that offers GPR — not every locator does.

What drives the cost

Pricing varies by provider and job, but the factors that move it are consistent:

• How much ground has to be searched
• How many separate systems need tracing — irrigation, lighting, fence, and septic are usually priced as separate lines of work
• Line material — metal or tracer-wire lines are faster and cheaper to trace than plain non-metallic pipe that needs GPR
• Site access and how built-up or obstructed the yard is
• Turnaround time — a rush request typically costs more than standard scheduling

Who arranges it for your job

We don't build a private locate into every quote — most jobs never need one. But when we walk a site and think there's a real chance something private is buried where we'll be working, we'll say so and point you toward a locator we trust. Call it an occasional recommendation, not standard practice: not rare, but not common either.

Bottom line

If your yard has irrigation, landscape lighting, an invisible fence, or a septic system and you don't have solid documentation of where the lines run, a private locate before a big removal job is cheap insurance against hitting something expensive to fix.

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