Before you put a shovel or an excavator in the ground, there is one phone call that can save you thousands of dollars and keep everyone safe: call 811.
What 811 does
811 is the national "call before you dig" number. When you call, the utility companies come out and mark where their lines run, gas, electric, water, sewer, and telecommunications, so you know what is under you before you break ground. In New Jersey it is free, and it is the law.
Why it matters more than the fine
Digging without a valid mark-out does mean fines, and a strike leaves you on the hook for the repair. But the fine is not the real reason we call 811 on every job. The lines under your feet keep real people alive and warm and safe, and a careless bucket can cut that off in a second. People rarely think about it, so here is what is actually down there.
The internet line is a medical line
Most people picture a fiber or cable strike as a lost evening of streaming. For a growing number of homes it is far more than that. Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are now checked remotely, sending heart data to a patient's care team over cellular and internet connections so problems get caught early instead of in an emergency room (Medtronic). Home medical alert buttons for older residents place their emergency call over a phone or cellular line. Cut that connection and you sever the link between a vulnerable person and the people watching over them.
The power line runs the oxygen machine
Federal health officials track more than 4.6 million people who live independently and depend on electricity to run life-sustaining equipment at home, from oxygen concentrators and ventilators to home dialysis machines and infusion pumps (HHS emPOWER Program). Knock out a power feed with an excavator and those machines stop. For the person relying on one, minutes matter (American Lung Association).
The gas line is the heat
Hit a gas line in July and it is a scary, expensive mess. Hit one in January and you can leave a family with no heat in the coldest stretch of the year. That is not only a comfort problem. Water pipes freeze and burst inside the walls, and a cold home is genuinely dangerous for the elderly and for young children. A winter strike turns one mistake into weeks of repairs for the people who live there.
How we handle it
At JWSR we call 811 and wait the full three business days for the marks on every job, every time. Within two feet of a marked line we slow down, switch to hand digging or vacuum excavation, and treat every line like someone's life runs through it, because sometimes it does. If you want the plain version of how New Jersey mark-outs and the paint colors actually work, we wrote that up in how NJ mark-outs work.
Planning a dig? Call before you break ground, and if you are not sure what is under your yard, ask us. Call before you dig, every job, every time.
Common questions
Is calling 811 free in New Jersey? Yes, free and legally required. You call, and the utility companies send locators to mark where their gas, electric, water, sewer and telecommunications lines run before you break ground.
What happens if I dig without a markout? Digging without a valid markout carries fines, and if you strike a line you are on the hook for the repair. Neither of those is the real reason to call. The lines under your feet keep people warm, powered and in some cases medically monitored, and a bucket can cut that in a second.
Is a cut internet line really a big deal? More than people assume. Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are now monitored remotely, sending heart data to a care team over cellular and internet connections. Home medical alert buttons for older residents run on the same infrastructure. A fiber strike is not only a lost evening of streaming for everybody on that line.
Who is responsible for calling 811, me or my contractor? Whoever is doing the digging. If you hire us, we file it and keep the ticket number with the project. If you are digging yourself, it is yours to file, and New Jersey counts a homeowner as an excavator.
Still not sure how this applies to your property? That is what a free on-site estimate is for. Call 862-268-2510 or tell us what is going on, and we will give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you do not need us.