# hydro excavating



## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

Im doing a repair at a hotel the repair entails tunneling under their valet drive area where all the guests drive in and out. There is no other way to get in or out of this hotel is surrounded by other high-rise buildings, so we have to tunnel And we have to do it fast so I got online and And found a company that does Hydro excavating I met with the guys they came up and looked at the job they were very professional I looked at their website and the other jobs they've done it's very neat technology. they r confined space trained and certified and have all the insurance req. they need to do the work. Does anyone have any experience doing this and can offer me any words of advice


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

acid waste said:


> Im doing a repair at a hotel the repair entails tunneling under their valet drive area where all the guests drive in and out. There is no other way to get in or out of this hotel is surrounded by other high-rise buildings, so we have to tunnel And we have to do it fast so I got online and And found a company that does Hydro excavating I met with the guys they came up and looked at the job they were very professional I looked at their website and the other jobs they've done it's very neat technology. they r confined space trained and certified and have all the insurance req. they need to do the work. Does anyone have any experience doing this and can offer me any words of advice


the Tunnel will be 6'x 6' x 100' long


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## bulldozer (Jan 11, 2009)

Hydro excavating is the way to go. Make sure you have a dp site that will accept the slurry. Some places like to test it before they dump to see if there is any co tamination in the spoils before they dump. For a job like that there really no faster or cleaner method.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Verify with them that their method of backfill and compaction will meet your building official's requirements.


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

plbgbiz said:


> Verify with them that their method of backfill and compaction will meet your building official's requirements.


thnx Im going to pour back with Flowable-Fill so im good there thank yall very much


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

Can you ballpark how much they are charging a linear foot?


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

TallCoolOne said:


> Can you ballpark how much they are charging a linear foot?


they are sending two trucks it will take them 24 hours to do 100' lineal feet at 6'x6' with disposal and 3 men per truck and includes 10 of a traveltime rate so it puts it at about 1100 per hour for everything and they provide their own confined space monitoring and equipment


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

acid waste said:


> they are sending two trucks it will take them 24 hours to do 100' lineal feet at 6'x6' with disposal and 3 men per truck and includes 10 of a traveltime rate so it puts it at about 1100 per hour for everything and they provide their own confined space monitoring and equipment


320 per lineal ft


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## drs (Jun 17, 2011)

I hope you got a check upfront from the people you are doing the work for.


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

drs said:


> I hope you got a check upfront from the people you are doing the work for.


na its An Omni hotel downtown this repair is chump change compared to alot of the work ive done for them I just wanted to make sure this is the best way possible but thank you for the concern


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

acid waste said:


> 320 per lineal ft


Not a bad price


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

PICS!!!!!


We must have PICS!!!!!


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

plbgbiz said:


> PICS!!!!!
> 
> We must have PICS!!!!!


fo shoooow


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

Please keep us informed because for that size in that amount of time sounds real fast. What is the repair you are doing that has to be 6' deep?


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

Cuda said:


> Please keep us informed because for that size in that amount of time sounds real fast. What is the repair you are doing that has to be 6' deep?


I'm going to replace six-inch main headed directly under the driveway. It's cast-iron but it has bellies and so as there tunneling we're going to support the old-line so it doesn't fall and they can continue to use it. And then were running A
new line Parallel with it and then do a tie in at each end one morning when everyone checks out. We need that size a tunnel because we're all big guys and we got to put in trench shoring While we are in there Or else the inspector will not enter.


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

Cuda said:


> Please keep us informed because for that size in that amount of time sounds real fast. What is the repair you are doing that has to be 6' deep?


As far as the speed goes that's why were using this method it is extremely fast and extremely efficient and we have no place to dump soils so the truck retrieves the spoils at the moment it cuts it


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

I only asked on the speed part because when we do hyrdro ex big rocks and clay slow us down but we only use a 4" hose and the big trucks you have coming are probably using 8' suction hose. Not knowing the layout if the method you are trying doesn't work could you just pot hole pits and use a mole to set the initial hole and grade and pull in a new line parallel to the old line?


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## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

Are you working on the old Omni in Austin or San Antonio?


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

justme said:


> Are you working on the old Omni in Austin or San Antonio?


san antonio


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

Cuda said:


> I only asked on the speed part because when we do hyrdro ex big rocks and clay slow us down but we only use a 4" hose and the big trucks you have coming are probably using 8' suction hose. Not knowing the layout if the method you are trying doesn't work could you just pot hole pits and use a mole to set the initial hole and grade and pull in a new line parallel to the old line?


the inspectors wont allow that method here and I'm not about to ask why or even start with them because arguing with an inspector here in SA it is like wrestling with a pig in the mud after a while you realize they like it and even if you could prove your case with the facts codes and their own Amendments they still laugh and suspend reality and the law and say " well I guess we'll see if you get a green tag or not go ahead and call it in for inspection" knowing full and well they arent even Going to get off of their truck with a green tag just a red one


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## Gettinit (May 9, 2012)

You have to find out what they like and ham it up.


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

Gettinit said:


> You have to find out what they like and ham it up.


they like cash and i dont like hamming that up

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

Gettinit said:


> You have to find out what they like and ham it up.


I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


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## Gettinit (May 9, 2012)

No cash. But being nice is always beneficial. It also helps to break the ice and possibly become a friend rather than the enemy trying to add to their stress.


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

Right on, the method I mentioned really needs very little inspection, after being done the inspector shows up you camera the line and run water to prove grade, done! A phone call to the inspectors before hand gets the partial go ahead. Since there is very little excavation they look at your exposed fittings and transition couplings, watch the video and all is good. You do not have to use a mole to make the initial bore you can use a directional boring guy as needed and the cost is lower than the hydro excavation. Equipment size is about the same for the footprint on the business. Not telling you how to do it just telling you what you can do if something goes wrong during the hydro excavation that bumps up the costs.


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

thank you for that but i talked to chief inspector and its a no go any other way than the way were doing it he wants the line anchored from the bottom of the slab

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

acid waste said:


> thank you for that but i talked to chief inspector and its a no go any other way than the way were doing it he wants the line anchored from the bottom of the slab
> 
> I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


It took a while for trenchless methods to be approved by our inspectors as well. Since they had not seen it before, they added a lot of extra steps to the process so they could be more confident of the processes. Cuda is right. It is all about communicating with them in advance. Sometimes it takes great diplomacy. 

As a result, now our inspectors are sometimes our biggest advocates.


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## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

After the boring job we did in Sherman Texas a few weeks ago , it is the only way go. Because you can get the new line in and ready to go before you touch the old line without having to do all the trenching and the dirt excavation.But I also understand how San Antonio can be .:yes:


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

justme said:


> After the boring job we did in Sherman Texas a few weeks ago , it is the only way go. Because you can get the new line in and ready to go before you touch the old line without having to do all the trenching and the dirt excavation.But I also understand how San Antonio can be .:yes:


thnx for the understanding its a huge city but still tiny minded

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

acid waste said:


> 320 per lineal ft


Good god, we charge the customer 130 a foot and that includes backfill. We also sub the tunneling out.


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

504Plumber said:


> Good god, we charge the customer 130 a foot and that includes backfill. We also sub the tunneling out.


do you have a safety guy on the payroll n use trench shoring in your tunnels n have a confined space monitor and attendant n certified entrants and pay union wages and benifits

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

504Plumber said:


> Good god, we charge the customer 130 a foot and that includes backfill. We also sub the tunneling out.


and we do sub the tunneling out to the hydro ex company

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


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## acid waste (Oct 1, 2012)

acid waste said:


> and we do sub the tunneling out to the hydro ex company
> 
> I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


or do u just pay your guys 25$ p/h n give them a 36"x36" hole n a handkerchief to put around their face n a box fan for air and make them provide their own flashlight and batteries

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


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## PlumberJ90 (Oct 10, 2012)

^ that's the company I work for. Lol


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## 504Plumber (Jan 26, 2011)

Couldn't make too much sense out of those posts, soooo... Maybe?


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## GREENPLUM (Jul 27, 2008)

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata


do you type that everytime?


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## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

GREENPLUM said:


> I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees Emiliano Zapata
> 
> do you type that everytime?


It's a sig line produced by the phone app just like my "sent from the jobsite porta-potty"

sent from the jobsite porta-potty


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## GREENPLUM (Jul 27, 2008)

Mississippiplum said:


> It's a sig line produced by the phone app just like my "sent from the jobsite porta-potty"
> 
> sent from the jobsite porta-potty


 
thanks , that makes me hate it even more


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## skitian (Apr 5, 2011)

update?? we want pictures!!! haha


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