What's the best way to dig a trench?

[marks]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

Rent a ride-on ditch witch and you'll be finished in an hour. For that small of a job it might be worthwhile to get an estimate from a local operator, in that by the time you un/load the trencher (or have it delivered $) you could be finished. And then the operator could be responsible if any damage is done. As others have mentioned not only to contact USA, but also look for culverts and such.

 

[SteveInMD]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

I rented a trencher for the exact same purpose. I got a machine that was too small and ended up going back and renting a mini-track-hoe to finish the job. A few sections of rocky ground stopped the trencher. If you go that route get a big machine.

I would put in at least 2" conduit. I ended up putting my telephone and cable TV in it. The phone company did it, but said they much prefer each utility in its own conduit for lighting issues. So you might consider putting a spare conduit run in while you have the trench open. Also, my wife has now decided she wants lights at the end of the driveway. I just wish she had come up with that before.

I'm glad I put conduit in and didn't go direct burry. The cable company decided the cable going to the street was bad three times since I put it in. Eventually they replaced the cable running down the street, as that was the real problem. And just last week Verizon came through with fiber optic service. Removing the Comcast copper cable and pulling in the new fiber optic line was a breeze. The best part is now I have competition for phone, internet, and TV.

 

[slowrev]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

Yep the satellite internet services won't work with VPN. Dang ! I am in the same boat, but worse, no cable and had to get ISDN, faster than dialup, but pricey and slower than DSL or Cable access...rumor has it that DSL is coming my way later this year.
Ben

 

[Scrounger]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

Slowrev

Give me a ping off list and we can talk about VPN over a SAT link. I've been able to do it in the past. It can be done.

 

[DannyD]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

where do you live? bx23 with bh, done!

 

[DMuldowney]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

I live in Brandon Township, Michigan. It's the furthest north you can get in Oakland County, and a bit SE of Flint. Charter Communications is the cable culprit. EVERYONE I've talked to about the 3 foot depth seems to agree that they are insane, but unfortunatly, Charter does not. I've tried everthing I can think of in trying to reason with them, but they just aren't budging.

Hopefully I can find a ditch witch that can handle the depth.

 

[Farwell]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

I live in Farwell Michigan (25 miles North of Mount Pleasant) and have Charter Cable with high speed Internet service. Charter did the under ground work because it was a short run. I had so many problems with the service and so many service calls that they finally did an overhead run and I haven't had any problems since. The original underground run was not in conduit. I live in a semi-rural area and this may be the difference.

 

[riptides]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

I am jumping in on your knowledge tid-bits and have sent you e-Mail accordingly.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

On topic, I rented a trencher and buried anything that was longer than eight-feet in length around my house. Then I buried all my down-spouts and drain-tile. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Inspector507]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

A ride on trencher will dig 3 feet no problem. A walk behind "might" do it. So you dig 2 feet, lay conduit in, pull in a pull rope and backfill. They can't see how deep it is.
The ride on unit will be more expensive, but you'll be done in no time and your body will feel better.

 

[Mike52]

Re: What\'s the best way to dig a trench?

Had a similar situation with Comcast here in PA. Have a 600' driveaway. They wanted $2300 to connect me. I called their local construction mgr (tough to actually get his name from them). We agreed that if I dug the trench, he'd supply the cable and do the rest for free. Called the CALL-BEFORE-U-DIG number, located all the stuff in the ground, and rented a trencher at the local rental center. set it on max depth (about 14" - 18") and let 'er rip. Cost me $150 for the day....

no conduit, they used burial cable (don't know the specs). Was a big thing....about an inch in diameter...not real flexible.