That electrical run for my shed took three times longer than I planned

I spent last Saturday trying to run power to my backyard studio from the house. I figured it would be a simple trench and some conduit work maybe a few hours tops. But I hit a buried tree root about 2 feet down that took me an hour to chop through with a pickaxe. Then I realized my trench was too shallow after looking up code requirements again. I had to dig it all deeper by hand which added another two hours. The whole thing ended up taking me from 8am to almost 4pm just to lay the pipe. Did any of you run into similar digging surprises when setting up your studio?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma_ramirez1d ago

Oof, that sounds brutal. I mean, I think we've all had that "oh this'll be quick" moment that turns into a whole weekend project. I remember trying to run a line to a small greenhouse a few years back and I swear the dirt turned into rock about six inches down. At least you got it done though, even if your back is probably paying for it today.

oscarwilliams1d ago

Yeah, "dirt turned into rock" is a perfect way to put it, and @emma_ramirez, you're not wrong about the back paying for it today. I'd just gently push back on calling that a weekend project though, that's more like a solid two weekender if you hit surprises.