I’m preparing to extend my patio and will need to pass wires to the far side for some new lights. I’m reading that it’s fairly routing to place PVC conduit under the concrete to allow pulling new wires if necessary later. Is there a particular kind of PVC that is best for this case? I already have lines buried just a couple inches deep in my yard in other areas. How deep is recommended and is it overkill to also bury PVC under the yard for the same reasons? I’m worried about a core aerator cutting the line and having no clue where, so having to trench the full length with fresh cable. What’s the best tool to trench ~60ft? Finally, in my mulch beds, I just have the wires on top of the soil, but under about six inches of mulch. Again, is conduit overkill or should I just bury deeper in the soil?
I use EMT it is stronger than regular. I bury all my yard cords 6" so a core aerator won't cut them. No PVC, just buried 6" with a straight shovel.
I have had issues with critters biting through my cables so I was forced to bury my wires deeper or route them through pvc (the standard grey coiled conduit). If you haven’t had such problems, you should be good. Whether you decide to bury your wires in conduit or not, I highly recommend you diagram your wiring layout and label your transformer wires. It is no fun trying to troubleshoot in freezing cold winter weather or while being attacked by mosquitoes in the summertime.
