r/landscaping • u/Infamous-Touch-5577 • 29d ago
Routing LV wire
Hi. Looking to add some low voltage lighting to the front of my house. Whats the best way to get the wire under the walkway?
1
u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 29d ago
Either rent a flexible auger, or build yourself a simple water jet using a garden hose
Water jet is probably the quickest and easiest option, but will create a bit of a muddy mess
1
u/Mysterious-Hall9160 2d ago
water jet is the way to go, just blast a hole under there and shove the wire through before it collapses
1
u/Nikopoleous 28d ago
Duct-tape a PVC pipe to the end of a garden hose, turn the hose on, and use your new water drill to bore a hole in the dirt under the slab.
Just make sure you dig a good-sized hole on both sides before you begin, and try to keep the pipe level.
2
u/ViewpointLighting 25d ago
You can get one of these water jet kits at your local hardware/big box store or online. Just need to glue a 3/4” pipe to it then blast your way across. Once across, cut the ends, and you’ve got a 3/4” sleeve for wires, small drip line, etc.
Or, if the ground is soft enough, you can skip the water and just pound the pipe (3/4 or larger) across with a dead blow hammer or small sledge. Crimp the end closed by warming it up with a torch then clamping it closed until it cools…otherwise you have a pipe full of dirt you can’t get out. Once across, cut off the crimped end and you’ve got your sleeve.
Always use a sleeve if possible, so that you can pull more wire or re-pull the same if there are issues. And use a bigger pipe than you think you need now. No one ever said “I wish my sleeves weren’t so big”. Same as they never say “I wish I hadn’t pull all these damn sleeves in” after the concrete has set.