hi guys, just looking for a general consensus on the depth to burying SWA in a garden area which would be expected to be maintained by gardening forks and spades etc, I intend to line trench with sand and lay marker tape approx 150mm from the surface, what depth would be acceptable, I'm edging for 600mm total depth
Depends on the exact circumstances - flower beds generally are cultivated to a shallower depth than say veg plots for example. But I normally go at least 500mm deep.
Where the soil is cultivated I don't bother with tape just 6" deep though - it wouldn't last a season - but I put an extra run a few inches above the duct.
and very close to surface under concrete paths that are unlikely to come up before the wiring. Seconded that your 60cm idea is about right for a normal garden. Not perhaps enough for ploughing or if the erection of marquees with steel spike pegs is expected
12" is big for a garden spade and routine cultivation would be limited to one spit. However, when planting a tree or shrub, even in an established bed, it may be necessary to go deeper. 600 mm for the cable is plenty.
