Driveways and Pathways
When you have to lay cable accross driveways or pathways you have two choices, cutting through or tunneling under. Both are time consuming, but sawing through is by far the preferable method. We would tunnel under only when there is a narrow ornamental pathway that you just cannot cut through.
Saw Through Method
The saw method is the fastest and easiest way to get accross a driveway. You should budget about an hour for a driveway and about half that time for a pathway. The pro’s use this method.
Tools Needed:
- Circular Saw with concrete cutting blade
- concrete repair compound
- caulking gun
First find a location and prepare it to be cut. Look for an expansion joint or seam that is already in the driveway or path. Cutting a concrete driveway or path at the seam will result in a much easier and neater cut, but if there is no convenient seam, you can cut anywhere you please, just be sure to mark out a line before hand to keep the cuts neat. Clean out the area, seams and joints have often accumulated debris over time and may have weeds growing in them. A high pressure washer works great if you have one, otherwise you can use a stiff broom.
For the second step you will need a circular saw. (a cheap $30 model is fine) You will also need a blade for cutting concrete. Cheap masonry blades are available for under $5 and will be good enough for most cuts. But for some tougher jobs, you may need a diamond tipped masonry blade which will set you back about $15. Now use the saw to make your cut. The cut only needs to be an inch deep, although deeper is not a problem. When cutting go slow letting the saw do all the work and take breaks every couple of minutes to prevent your saw from overheating. Always wear safety glasses when making the cuts as debris will be thrown up. If you need to make lots of cuts. consider renting a concrete cutter from you local home improvement store. (about $50)
Next lay the wire in the cut you just made. You may need to clear out some of the debris or poke the wire down. You can do both of these easily with the warning flag poles that came with you dog fence system.
Finally caulk over the wire with a concrete sealant. You can buy cans of quick drying concrete at your local home imporvement store, they will cost about $3 a cannister. We like using Liquid Nails brand Concrete Repair. Cheaper brands are available in the $1.50 range, but we think the Liquid Nails brand is worth the extra in this instance because it tends to be more durable. Most caulks require a caulking gun for use, if you don’t already have one then you can buy one for less than $5 home imporvement store.
When caulk go slow and be neat as the caulk will be visible on your driveway. If you are not confident, use masking tape to cover the driveway on both sides of the cut and remove once you have finished caulking for a neater finish.
Tunnel Under Method
Tunneling under is tougher but neater. You will be creating a passage under the path or driveway. This avoids putting any cuts through the path and may be useful if you later decide to put in a sprinkler system or outdoor lighting. The downside is that it is time consuming, you will need to budget two hours for an average width pathway. Doing a driveway is a labor of love.
On the positive, tunneling under is something you would be unlikely to get if you hired professionals. If you are willing to put in the time, you can get a dog fence with no scarring of your driveway or pathways.
Tools Needed:
- PVC pipe (3/4 inch diameter)
- hack saw
Cut a length of PVC pipe the length of the required tunnel. Now cut the end of the pipe at a 45degree angle to make a sharp point. Dig a hole on one side of the driveway about a foot long and a bit deeped than you want the tunnel to be.
Use the PVC pipe to bore through the soil and create your tunnel. Go only half a foot at a time then remove the PVC pipe by twisting it and empty the soil inside the pipe.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
One alternative to make the “Tunnel Under Method” go faster is to insert a garden hose in the pipe and allow the water to wash away and expel the dirt as you work.
BTW – great site and great info. I’m moving into a new house soon and will definitely be buying my materials from you!
Just curious if you would leave the pvc pipe underneath the driveway. Also, I have an invisible fence which I am moving to my new property would the wires you have here be compatible and would you recommend 18 or 20 guage? Thanks
Matt – I would leave the pipe under the driveway, it is a useful conduit the next time you need to run something under (e.g. sprinkler system hose).
I would use 20 gauge that all the manufacturers use and recommend. The 18 g is not much thicker, is harder to work with (due to being stiff), and costs more. Our experience is that anything that is going to cut and break the 20 gauge is also going to cut an 18 gauge.
How would you suggest cutting through an asphalt rather than concrete driveway?
Mitch – we do asphalt the same way. Cut it with a circular saw, bury the wire and then patch it with some asphalt compound or caulk.
I’m installing a new asphalt driveway & a invisible fence.
Is there a chance that the current will not go through the drive because it is too thick?
Also, Is there any need to worry about the new asphalt melting the pvc as it is layed over it due to its heat?
Mike, I would put the wire in some PVC conduit to protect it from the heat
(hopefully that will not melt too much). It will also be useful if
you ever need to run anything else through there (sprinklers, etc).
Thickness is not be a problem because the boundary width is
adjustable and if the signal is not getting through you can just
increase the signal strength. Besides, I imagine that you are only
putting down a few inches of asphalt.
I ran mine through an existing corrugated 12″ metal drain pipe at the entrance to my drive. It’s at least 3″ underground. I was concerned about coverage, but it works just fine with a low (3′) boundary width settings. I’ve got a layer of asphalt, dirt and metal with no problems. You should be fine.
I might of miss some information but here are some questions. Does the collar pick up the signal from the wire if the wire is inside plastic conduit? Does regular 18 or 20 guage wire from a home center work or does this wire have t be something special for this task?
ADMIN – Hi Patrick,
(1) The signal will go through plastic/PVC conduit or piping.
(2) Regular hardware store wire wire works fine. Try and get wire rated for direct burial if it is available. This will last longer in the ground. Gauge is not particularly important.
How does heavy snow affect the effectiveness of a system?
ADMIN – Hi Donna,
Heavy snow is not a big deal, you just need to turn up the boundary width dial when it happens to compensate for the extra depth.
Can the wire run through the seam and then be caulked over?
This would seem to me to be the easiest option, yet I dont see it here?
Hi Jim,
Agreed. Running the wire through the seam or expansion joint and then caulking over is a great way to do it. We will add it during the next update. Thanks for the tip.
the property is fenced with hi tensil livestock fence which is electrified. how far
should the wire be kept from this type of fencing to prevent problems.
Admin – Hi Chuck
Ideally you want to keep six feet away from an electric livestock fence. Sometimes you can get lucky and get no interference with just a small separation, which is great because you can string the dog fence up on the same posts that are holding the dog fence and avoid burying. The only way to know for sure how the interference will affect system is to string up a short length and test it.
We are about to move to a house on the lake, we have a fairly small lot, about 100 feet on the lake and we are at the end of a cove with a dock. Would it be possible to somehow put the wire in pvc in the lake to allow the dogs to swim around the dock but not get further out into the lake? We have 2 labs and I would hate to not let them swim. Thanks!
ADMIN – Hi Amanda,
Some folks put the wire in an old hose pipe. This keeps the wire floating at the surface (although you could sink it if you wish, but depending on the depth, the signal may not reach the surface) You can also put the wire in PVC.
1st guestion: when tunneling under the asphalt driveway is there any depht restrictions.
2nd guestion: i already have a 1″ pvc conduit under the drive way for my auto gate controler cable. the existing cable is for 12 volt dc moter that powers the gate moter. useing the same pvc conduit for the fence wire will this efect the performance of the fence.?
ADMIN – Hi Ken,
There is no maximum depth, but the lower you go, the more you are going to have to turn up the boundary width to get through the ground. I would avoid going much deeper than six inches.
I think you could get away with using the same conduit, there is probably no current going through that wire when the gate is not in use so it is unlikely to cause interference. The only way to know for certain would be to test.
Will a cattle guard interfere with transmission.
Hi Bart,
A cattle guard will not interfere with transmission. (I presume you mean the metal grid that goes in the ground that stops cattle walking over it) An electric cattle fence can sometimes cause interference, you have to test a small section to find out — if it does you will need to separate them, usually by about 6 feet.
I’m considering purchasing this unit for my american bull dog who constantly digs under our chainlink fence. I guess I can run the wire along the existing fence but am questioning what to do once I reach the gate which is very wide (allows 2 cars to come onto property) Any suggestions? I really don’t want to cut into the road/driveway.
ADMIN – Hi Sharon,
You have three options if you don’t want to cut.
I live on a lake that is lowered in the winter months. I want to put the wire in the lakebed so the dog won’t escape when the water is down. Installers have told me that I can bury it in the lake bed or even leave it exposed. Any suggestions? Thanks
ADMIN – Hi Glenn,
You can put the wire underwater, either buried in the bed, or just in the water. You want to try and avoid doing any splices in the water, but otherwise it will work fine. Many people put the wire in an old garden hose to protect it, but you don’t have to. One thing worth noting, is that water installation are not always practical just from a liveability standpoint. A good proportion of our water installers end up eventually moving the wire back because the dogs use their new found freedom to swim and then track mud into the house all day long.
I read where others have ran wires through their drive metal drain pipe. Does this really work? Does it need to be ran on the top side of the pipe or is leaving it on the bottom ground sside fine? Also, who deep should wire be buried?
Thx!
ADMIN – Hi Jeff,
Running the wire through a metal pipe usually works perfectly. As always you want to check with the collar to make sure you are not getting any interference or any unintended amplification of the signal. Running the wire along the top or the bottom of the drain pipe does not make a big difference. We usually do the bottom because it is easier.
Generally when burying the wire, you just need it deep enough to avoid getting hit by the lawn mower. Two inches is plenty, but you can go deeper if you wish. One thing to note is that the deeper you go, the more you need to crank up the boundary width so that the signal gets through the ground. This can create problems with the boundary being too wide in other less deeply buried sections of the electronic dog fence boundary.
I have a 25′ metal drain pipe with 12″ diameter which goes under my driveway (culvert). I would love to put the wire through the pipe. Any ideas how to thread or fish the wire? It seems like electrician’s fish tape will not be rigid enough. I am tempted to attach the wire to my little dog and sen him through to the other side, but was hoping there was a less traumatic solution.;)
ADMIN – Hi Steve,
We usually use fish tape. 25 feet should not be too hard with fish tape. If you are having trouble getting it through, put a long ten foot piece of PVC pipe in the drain, then feed the fish tape through the pipe, so that at least the first ten feet is easy for the fish tape.
PS – Tying wire to the dog is inhumane. Generally we tie a thread to the little dog when we send them down the pipe, then we use the threat to pull through wire.