Wow! That's the stupidest thing I've heard of in a long time. What a moron, spending all that money and saving a few hundred by not laying conduit. If it was the homeowner's decision, he deserves all the pain he's in for. That's going to be a constant source of trouble.
Not at all - The homeowner hired a custom installer (not me) and the installer did not use conduit, nor mention conduit. With most wiring, if you are using direct burial, there is no issue with it as long as you aren't running it through spots which are likely to get dug up.
The problem is, this stuff really was run straight across a landscaped area, and there are plants basically right on top of the wiring.
The homeowners had nothing to do with the decision, because there wasn't one... had he known conduit would have made sense, he likely would have gone with it. That's why some people pay for custom installers, and why some installers shouldn't be hired.
