Sewer Repair

[chim]

Anything deeper then 5 feet you need trench box or shoring OSHA law .... And you have to call dig safe for them to mark out all the utilities........

Benching or sloping may be used in lieu of a box or shoring if the location allows enough space. It's necessary to have someone with experience in excavating for this work.

 

[4570Man]

That's an idea, I can rent a trench box for $400 per week.

Those things are heavy. It takes a pretty decent size excavator to deal with one. Sloping the trench sides is probably more practical.

 

[ultrarunner]

The line in front of my property is 27 feet under the street... the old clay city main was in such bad shape the city had no choice but to replace it.

The worker was lowered on a winch...

 

[chim]

Several years ago we did underground work at a facility next to a river. Since it was over 20' deep and yards away from the river, a tremendous amount of planning and training was done before scooping any dirt. The installation was under the road shown by the red arrow. I saw a safety video of a guy dying in an excavation less than 4' deep on a project at an existing hospital. Medical people on site couldn't save him. OSHA requires a "Competent Person" for any excavating work, and they'd best be truly competent. We're not arguing about drilling a 1/4" hole in a ROPS here. This is serious stuff.

 

[Peter 315]

Several years ago we did underground work at a facility next to a river. Since it was over 20' deep and yards away from the river, a tremendous amount of planning and training was done before scooping any dirt. The installation was under the road shown by the red arrow. I saw a safety video of a guy dying in an excavation less than 4' deep on a project at an existing hospital. Medical people on site couldn't save him. OSHA requires a "Competent Person" for any excavating work, and they'd best be truly competent. We're not arguing about drilling a 1/4" hole in a ROPS here. This is serious stuff.

I install water main pipe I know how dangerous it is......Very serious stuff..

 

[Dwellonroof]

I finally got things flowing enough to buy some time so I did some research and I'm thinking since it is cast iron pipe maybe it is shaling and sewage is lodging on the rough surface.
I'll rent a longer auger with a small cutter as to clean as much as possible the rest of the way..maybe even get the camera guy back.

 

[ultrarunner]

I use a Spartan 300 cable machine... There are probably hundreds of attachments but start small and work up keeping water flowing to flush debris as you go.

 

[crashz]

My father's excavating company was built upon these types of repairs and I spent the better part of my teens and twenties in the trenches doing water and sewer repairs. If fact, we installed water and sewer service to a new home a couple of weeks ago. The mains were off the road, 9.5 ft deep and ground water at 7 ft. Live gas, telephone and over head electric all in the same area running parallel. Even with a great operator, I make sure to hand dig until I locate the utilities. Damage to the utilities and lost service is the responsibility of the excavator! We sloped and benched, but the fill material was inconsistent and loaded with large rocks. Though we were benching, the shoring box was needed.

I hadn't been that deep in a while and don't really miss it.