Where are your services available?
Our office, near the town of Liberty, North Carolina, is close to the geographic center of North Carolina. Our primary service area covers the Triangle and Triad areas of he central Piedmont region of our state, and we regularly serve customers as far west as Banner Elk, NC, and as far east as Wilmington, NC.
What do you charge?
Fees for utility locating service at commercial, industrial, or other non-residential sites carry a four hour minimum charge, including travel time to your location. Sites requiring travel greater than two hours one-way may require additional fees based on mileage.
Residential service is available in the Triangle and the Triad with a two hour minimum charge at the same low hourly rate our commercial clients are billed.
Piedmont Locating Services reserves the right to adjust our hourly rates and/or service minimums at any time without notice.
Why are residential and commercial clients/sites billed differently?
Residential projects typically involve less complexity, take less time to complete, and thus entail less overall liability for our company.
We define residential sites as single family dwellings only. Apartments, condominiums, and other multi-family residential settings are considered commercial properties.
What are your payment terms?
It is customary to pay for residential services at the time service is rendered.
Piedmont Locating Services can now accept most major credit cards (VISA, MC, AMX, DISC), although we’d prefer to do so as a last resort.
Commercial clients in good standing are eligible for our our discount program, details on your invoice.
We reserve the right to refuse credit to anyone for any reason. All invoices are due upon receipt.
Are you insured?
Yes, we carry standard commercial liability insurance. Proof of insurance are available upon request.
What methods do you use to locate underground utilities?
Piedmont Locating Services utilizes proven scientific methods of electromagnetic signal tracing to locate most underground facilities. Most facilities that will conduct an electrical signal can be located by this method. We maintain a variety of single and multiple frequency locating instruments and constantly seek new and better technology.
Non-conductive materials such as plastic, clay, asbestos, and concrete will not carry an electrical signal, but that does not mean we can’t locate them. A technology known as ground penetrating radar (GPR), usually allows us to find these non-conductive facilities, however, soil type, compaction, and moisture content can adversely affect the performance of this technology.
If I hire Piedmont Locating Services, do I still need to call 811?
Absolutely!
You should always call 811 before you dig anywhere in the United States – it’s the law. Anyone who tells you their service can absolve you of this responsibility is putting you and your company at grave risk.
The utility locating companies serving your local area are contracted to specific service providers and as such have access to very detailed information about the facilities they were hired to protect. Piedmont Locating Services cannot accept liability for damage caused to these “public” utilities covered by 811 contracts due to any client’s failure to comply with the law.
We receive calls almost every week from people who do not realize that most utilities can be marked for free by simply planning ahead, making a phone call, and waiting a few days.
Even if you are working on private property, telephone, power, CATV and other utility owners whose facilities serve or cross that property are legally required to mark their facilities, typically within 48 hours notice, at no charge to you. Do not pay an independent locator for services you should receive for free.
Make calling 811 the first step in your damage prevention process every time you plan a project involving excavation.
If most locating services are free, why do I need to hire a private utility locator?
By some estimates up to 65% of all buried utilities in the United States are customer-owned private utilities that do not fall under the umbrella of “free” 811 protection. In general, once a utility passes through a metering device or other main connection point on your property it is considered private and its location/protection becomes your responsibility.
If you are uncertain of whether or not you need our services, please do not hesitate to call and ask. Our primary concern is your safety. If you don’t need us, we will tell you. Your future business or referral, not to mention our integrity, is far more important to us than simply generating one more invoice.
How long can I expect locate markings to last?
Locate requests made through 811 must be updated every 15 working days to remain legally valid. We go out of our way to find and use the highest quality marking paint available, so our marks should last at least fifteen days if undisturbed.
During mowing season, lawn trimming may cause marks to disappear faster than normal, so please consider your mowing schedule when planning for locates.
Return visits by Piedmont Locating Services to repaint faded or otherwise destroyed marks will incur additional charges unless follow-up agreements exist between Piedmont Locating Services and individual clients.
What are your qualifications?
Piedmont Locating Services is owned and operated by Jay and Diane Hubbard.
Mr. Hubbard has over twenty years of hands-on experience in the utility locating/damage prevention industry; protecting a wide variety of electrical, telecommunication, and pipeline utilities while employed by several contract utility locating and engineering firms. He has held positions as a senior field technician, damage investigator, claims manager, subsurface utility engineering (SUE) party chief, and field supervisor at one time or another during the past twenty years.
Prior to entering the utility industry in 1992, Mr. Hubbard studied electronics at Forsyth Technical Community College, in Winston-Salem, NC, and attended Western Carolina University for two years.
If you need professional damage prevention solutions or expert utility locating services, please call 336-391-5542.
