Why Every Project Needs a Design Utility Locate: Know Before You Design

If you’re designing a new home, addition, pool, or commercial buildout, one critical step is often overlooked: what utility infrastructure is underground.

Homeowners, builders, architects, and surveyors call us every week—usually after theirs or their clients’ permit applications are submitted—because they realize too late that they don’t actually know where the buried infrastructure is. Public locates are marked, plans are finalized… and then someone asks, "What about the privately-owned utility lines?" That’s when we’re brought in—often to find a water line or power cable running straight through the middle of the proposed work area.

The root of the problem? The free public One Call locate system isn’t designed for design. It was built for excavation. One Call only responds when a confirmed ground disturbance is about to occur—and in some cases, they're even instructed not to respond if no digging is imminent. That means you can’t request a locate just to “check what’s underground for planning” your layout.

That’s where Know Before You Design comes in.

This service was created to bridge the gap between concept and construction, giving property owners and professionals the underground clarity they need before submitting permits, finalizing layouts, or breaking ground.

Here are two real-world examples:

• A homeowner hired a pool contractor who called in the public locates. We were later brought in to mark the irrigation system and a few small lighting lines. As part of our standard process, we double-checked the public locates—and found a major issue. The public locator hadn’t properly isolated two communication lines from the power line to the meter and marked all three in the same trench, running toward the backyard. After isolating the cables, we discovered the main electrical service actually cut diagonally through the center of the proposed pool. The pool didn’t need to be redesigned, but the power line had to be relocated, delaying the installation—and the homeowner missed out on getting their pool in that spring.

• A dentist’s office brought us in only to find a water line for a planned expansion. I asked if they wanted us to check the full scope of privately-owned buried utility infrastructure. They declined. When the locate was complete, we identified not just the domestic water line, but also a fire line, fire connection pipe, two electrical lines, and the main irrigation line—all directly in the work area. They were scheduled to break ground the following week. What started as a simple water line reroute turned into a much more complex and costly rework.

This is exactly why design locates matter. Public markings and utility records—whether old or freshly issued—only show part of the picture. And even detailed design plans can be misleading. Just because a drawing shows a buried line going from point A to point B doesn’t mean it was installed that way. Contractors often take alternate routes during construction due to obstacles or site conditions. That’s why on-site verification is critical. Failing to confirm what’s actually underground can lead to redesigns, costly delays, utility strikes, and legal exposure.

Does every project need a full SUE (Subsurface Utility Engineering) investigation? No. SUE is ideal for large-scale municipal or infrastructure work, and if a municipality requires a formal SUE drawing, it’s best to hire a qualified SUE firm. We can recommend one if needed—just know that a full SUE project can cost three to four times more than a targeted private design locate. In fact, many SUE firms hire us to perform the locating when they’re at capacity, because of our technical expertise. For smaller private property builds, you need something faster, more affordable, and more focused—and that’s exactly what Know Before You Design provides.

Know Before You Design delivers exactly that. We conduct thorough, property-wide utility locates tailored for the design stage—well before any digging starts. Our approach is clear, efficient, and purpose-built for homeowners, builders, architects, and surveyors. And if your project requires a legal survey that includes underground utilities, we work closely with trusted surveyors who specialize in integrating our locate data.

So before you submit those plans or pull your permit, take the smarter route:

Know Before You Design.

You’ll save time, avoid surprises, and build with confidence.

Want more details? Visit our Home Owners and Contractors Design Utility Locates service page to see how we support architects, builders, surveyors, and homeowners during the planning phase.