Exactly.
Why some people have to keep their bit spinning the entire way through the wall is beyond me. The way I'll drill is to spin the bit enough to cut through the drywall. Then I stop the bit, and push it through to the next surface. I tap the bit against the surface to see if I am hitting the type of material expected (brick, stucco, wood, etc.). If it is, then I proceed drilling. Of course, this is after I have run around both sides of the wall to see if there's anything there. Also a good idea to weigh how probable there is to be something like a gas line in the wall by considering if there's a heater, pool equipment, or some other appliance nearby or along a logical route to the gaspack.
As for avoiding electrical, just drill your holes at the midway height of an electrical outlet and about 3-4 inches right or left of it. Any electrical cable has to run down or up out of the blue box and usually stapled once before moving to a horizontal run. Between that and the 3-4 inch horizontal distance from the box, you are likely to be in an area where no wires are present. It also cuts down the likelihood of nearby conduit or pipes since a horizontal run at that height would run into the electrical outlet. You just have to dodge a vertical run at that point.
When I was a cable dog, we had a lat guy that damaged an underground gas line enough to need a call to SW Gas. The gas line was only 4" deep, a big time code violation. Needless to say, the shop caught no grief for it.
Re: Teo Killed After Cable Tech Hits Gas Line
Member #: 40846
Registered: 9/19/2005
Posted:
1493
Name:
Duane Vick
Name:
Duane Vick
Company:
Self-Employed
Occupation:
Installer
Location:
Phoenix AZ
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