I have a new construction customer that had called TWC to have new service put in. They said at the time they would take care of it. Now they busted moved in and want to charge them $6k(aka customer contribution) for the run to the house. Its a long driveway. The builder is going to do(trench) it for them. Just so I am sure what to drop and how deep.
RG-11 direct durial or something specific. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

How long is it from the pole to the house via the trench?

KOT

Conduit. It's not that much more and if they have a long driveway, it may end up being used for a camera or gate control at some point.

CONDUIT

How long of a run?
Will it be straight or lots of bends?

Ask TWC engineering what size they require.

Run minimum 2 conduits.

I wouldn't just put a 2" conduit in either. a 3" or 4" conduit will make life much easier to pull original wires through as well as future wires if needed. If you use the non-rigid conduit (we use the sealed Big'O, similar to what is used for weeping tiles), you can easily make bends and you can even find it with the pull strings installed.

Depending on where you are located a depth of at least 18" is best. If you are in an area that will get frost then a minimum of 24" is best to get below the frost line. To save service calls later on put the conduit in the trench then cover with 6"-12" of sand then get the underground utility warning tape ([Link: bradyid.com]) and place it on top of the sand. Then backfill as you would.

I am sure there will be landscaping being completed and this will just save a service call later or when they hit your wires and you have to pull all new ones.

Another vote for conduit. This is the only solution that both you and your client will never regret.

Since nobody mentioned conduit yet...conduit, two of them, 4" at a minimum!

F it, throw in two 14" ceramic drain pipes for ultimate future expansion. Go 24" if you would like to be able to personally crawl the wire through the pipes.

Even better, a walk way! It's a great selling point to those celebrities who need a secret way out.

KOT

You have not given info on distance. Sounds more like the are putting in a plant extension with a ped and tap on the porperty. They will be making some changes to the plant where it ties in. Never heard of them charging to put in a drop.

This sounds like a job for El Chapo's tunnel rats.

It was 10K for a 1200 Ft run for a clients house that I worked on last year.
I have another client in the same situation but wooded area between the house and the road. Way more money.
That is only a vibrating Ditch Witch dropping in a 1/2 HD 18"-24" down.

Every large estate I've been on or new property out in the middle of nowhere that doesn't have a drop...gets charged to have a drop $$$$ from the nearest node. They aren't going to get permits, verify other utilitiies, trench, lay conduit, pull thousands of feet of cable for free just to have a single new subscriber on their accounts.

Even with the money the cable company charges to put the drop in. It still will take 10 to 12 years of continued subscription to earn a positive money from the signal customer.

KOT