"I think you guys here chastizing him for not getting a markout are being totally unfair."
If he is in New Jersey, he is required to get the mark out, and if he is digging in the back yard, he should have asked for, mark out of entire property, we do it for every dig job, no exceptions, anything that requires more then our hand to dig, also he may want to read the exclusions on his liability policy, for any dig work, if you are doing the digging and there is other then utility owned piping, it's your responsibility to locate the pipe, not the owners, there have been plenty of dig accidents, where utility piping has run thru back yards with easements.
No one is being hard on anyone, they are just pointing out the issues in digging.
We call locating services for ground rods.
For pools, how about using RMC you only need 6 inches, better installation and less digging.
