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I would like to dig a very narrow trench, nor more than an inch wide, by slicing the ground with a spade to form a line across my lawn. I will then bury the cable, and fill it back in with dirt and leave the grass to grow over the line.

My friend believes this will somehow damage the lawn, which makes no sense to me. Is there any harm in having a cable buried a few inches down?

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  • What kind of cable?
    – Niall C. ♦
    Commented Dec 4, 2018 at 20:19
  • Cat-5 internet cable.
    – temporary_user_name
    Commented Dec 4, 2018 at 20:19
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    The main harm will be to the cable, when you or somebody else has forgotten where it is and decides to plant a tree in the same place! Do the job properly, and either bury it deeper or put some armouring around it so a sharp spade can't cut through it.
    – alephzero
    Commented Dec 4, 2018 at 20:28
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    I had a fiber optics guy dig a hole through my steel gas line this past summer. Did it with a regular shovel. Line was 6-8 inches down. When they bury the fiber in a plastic sheath, they put it at about 6-8 inches down. I'm not going to dig or rototill in that area now.
    – Wayfaring Stranger
    Commented Dec 4, 2018 at 21:46

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My cable supplier replaced my failing line this way. Slit trench, drop and close. Grass showed no harm at all.

However, fast and easy practices have their cost as you will note in the comments If this was a connection I did not want to redo I would enclose it in outdoor grade plastic water pipe and live with the extra work to add bends around corners. You can still dig a slit trench and drop it in.

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