horizontal boring ideas needed - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

ConstSvcs · 11-01-2009, 08:15 AM

Hi all,

I need your thoughts on this. On a current job of ours the customer has decided to switch from overhead to underground electrical service. The path to the closest pole will require us to cross the driveway apron of the house next door. The driveway we need to cross is stamped concrete ! So.......as I have seen cable contractors do in the past........I was thinking of pushing a sleeve if thin wall 4" steel across the apron. The ground is course to fine sand and should be fine at the depth of my 3' trench.

Any thoughts? I want to avoid dealing with cutting, patching and matching the stamped concrete.

Tom T

TimelessQuality · 11-01-2009, 08:58 AM

How wide is the drive?

Since when do you guys pick the shortest distance?

ConstSvcs · 11-01-2009, 11:41 AM

driveway is 12' wide

Williams Ex Co · 11-01-2009, 11:54 AM

BorZit tool.... 12' should be a breeze. www.borzit.com

tgeb · 11-01-2009, 11:58 AM

I would try either one of those pneumatic "bullets" or a gas powered auger with bit attachments.

I know a plumber that used to auger a 2" hole under drives and walks with a bit welded to black iron pipe, he would add pipe sections as he worked the bit into the boring.

It worked pretty well.

The problem with just pushing a pipe through, is the pipe will then be filled with compacted soil, unless you cap the pipe and then you will have difficulty getting it through.

With the sandy soil you say you have, I would consider a jetter attachment hooked to a pressure washer, and follow it into the boring with 3 or 4" pvc pipe. But I have a washer and jetter attachment.

I am sure there are dozens of other ways to skin this cat, just pick one.

tgeb · 11-01-2009, 03:48 PM

That borzit tool looks pretty neat, similar to what my plumber friend used with water injection, and it looks like it would handle hard soils and rocky stuff better than the tulip bulb auger he had welded up.

custom patios · 11-01-2009, 05:33 PM

[quote=tgeb;798739]I would try either one of those pneumatic "bullets" or a gas powered auger with bit attachments.

The bullet is a great tool. I used it to span about 20 feet of entrance at a shopping center to run irrigation. had to make sure my starter trench was nice and level first. theres no guarantee though cuase if you hit a rock, it deflects and starts a new path. back it up and try again. being that you said its sandy it should be no prob.

Noodle · 11-01-2009, 08:46 PM

I would be carefull in sand with a "mole" (bullet) because we have lost one because it dive bombed after about halfway across a 15' to 20' span. Of course that is just my experience with them. I would also like to point out that I have had very good experience's with them too.