Skoti,
No worries - still at the long hard thinking stage with the gates.
I've been carefully digging a test hole to locate drain and power which I know are in the area - found both and of course they're exactly where I wanted to put the post!
More thinking to be done but at least now I know for certain where the services are. When we had the garage built I spoke with the various service companies to try and check where things run from the road but they have no record at all so I wanted to make sure.
Hopefully will firm up post position and get cracking with the next step.
Cheers,
Andy
Andy, you can hire a Cat scanner from a hire shop such as HSS or suchlike for a few quid. Make sure you hire one that will penetrate to the level you need to dig down to, cheap ones dont.
These are what all the utility and building companies use to check for buried cables etc. Worth the hire fee as the last thing you want to do is strike a cable especially considering most buried power cables are 11kv, not nice if you hit one! I have seen a lot of damaged caused by construction companies striking buried services in my old job working on London Underground. It was mandatory all areas were cat scanned prior to digging. If a company was found not to have used a scanner they were off the job, no question. Even if you only slightly damage the outer sheath of a power cable it will set up a weak spot, this is why you hear of power cables exploding within underground ductings, most of the time they have been previously damaged. Better to be safe than sorry.
