I’m digging 18-20” trench so my electrician can run line for a subpanel. Which is best to do? In SoCal so earthquakes are possible. The earth I’m taking out is super compact and I don’t want to risk anything that could cause structural integrity so I’m assuming the green run is best but my bbq will be against that wall and I’m concerned about the heat and aesthetics but the orange line can disturb the foundation of that ADU potentially and might make any future repairs harder since it’s gonna have more angles for fish tape to get through if needed. Happy to redo the pavers entirely to hide it but really concerned about disturbing earth since I don’t know ramifications and water does end up here when it rains. https://imgur.com/a/aSDYH3b
Comments
You are going to want civil to weigh in on this. and electrical because I suspect there is going to be a drainage angle to this.
Why is orange zig-zagging using five 90-degree elbows instead of just two 90 and one 45-degree elbow, to run diagonally under the pavers?
(I’m not a relevant profession, so I’m curious as to what stops the more “obvious” route that avoids the foundations, avoids the bbq, and avoids angles the fishtape will struggle with)
Does it have to be so high on the wall?
Green is best for pulling, red is best for heat against the wall.
The yellow you added in a comment is the easiest and cheapest if you don’t mind redoing the pavers. The only downside is if a lack of right angles bothers you but it’ll be under the ground and there’s nothing technically wrong with it; it would mean less wire and bends to buy as well.
You’re going to recompact the fill in the trench, so all of these concerns become moot. Do the one that has fewer turns.
Your orange line won’t work as it has at least five 90 degree angles. According to code, there can be no more than 360 degrees of direction change, total, from one pull point to the next.