# How do you guys dig for sewer services?



## Marlin (Aug 14, 2008)

I've seen a bunch of guys here mention doing sewer services. I got to thinking about how you guys dig your trenches. Do you do it by hand, own a backhoe, rent a backhoe, hire someone to do the digging? 

Here septic lines are pretty shallow and most but not all could be dug by hand without too much trouble, a day for two guys. All the sewer lines start at at least 5' and some of them tie in as deep as 22'. Their is no way you're digging that by hand. We have a pretty big backhoe we use but I imagine that would be out of the price range of a smaller operation.


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## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

Vactor Unit unless it is deep.


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## Bill (Jun 17, 2008)

Back hoe. No way i would even consider doing it by hand.


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

I hire a subcontractor with a trackhoe. I locate the line with my seesnake, pull the permits, sell the job, etc. He digs the line and backfills, I install the sewer and collect $$$.:thumbup: I like it this way as I don't have to pay for an expensive machine and its maintenance, yet I still make decent profit.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

It depends on what we're doing.
A small shallow spot repair we'll hand dig it...

A deeper spot repair or, running a replacement line we'll rent a mini excavator for the day. Most of our work is done this way...










If the line is real deep we have a contractor that has larger equipment that we hire.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

pretty much exactly like redwood said. we used to have helpers/apprentice's that would do lots of the manual work but since the business was bought they got rid of them to save $$. now they like to use temp. workers that don't know how to do anything, sometimes not even how to dig right.






paul


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

rocksteady said:


> we used to have helpers/apprentice's that would do lots of the manual work but since the business was bought they got rid of them to save $$. now they like to use temp. workers that don't know how to do anything, sometimes not even how to dig right.


Why not just say you hire "Cans" of the side of the road and it's for cash...:furious:


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## trick1 (Sep 18, 2008)

We network with some really good excavator/sewer contractors. Get his bill, markup and submit with my invoicing. A great way to get the work completed and make a gross profit at the same time.


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## Wiser (Jul 25, 2008)

Shallow, short runs are dug by hand. Longer, deeper runs rent a machine for a day and mark up the costs of the machine. We don't do enough to justify buying & maintaining a machine.


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## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

You all don't know what it's like to use a vactor, this is a sweet way to open the ground up, remove the material in the the location desired, no mess to clean up, just the other day had to open open an area 4 x 3 x 4 to replace a 2-1/2 broken schd 80 MA going into a 2-1/2" ball valve feeding an apt complex, took less then 5 hours from start to finish, the good thing about is you can remove the material as deep as you like, no shovel even needed, sweet work in short time.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

The vactor is not an option here...
We have some rather large petrified potatoes in the ground. 
They won't fit up the hose and require hydraulic assistance to get them out of the hole...


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## Pipemaster (Jul 29, 2008)

*If its a simple clean out i'll have the apprentice dig it out, 3' is good for the spirit of all future wannabe plumbers.*

*Otherwise i'll rent a small backhoe or sometimes a big one, i've gone as deep as 22' for a lateral tie in before, and then you need shoring after 6' here*

*keep in mind you still need a ground crew while operating a backhoe to watch for hidden utilities, etc..*

*and for gods sakes please call dig alert !*


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## user4 (Jun 12, 2008)

When it is determined we have to dig the sewer up we leave the apprentice on the job with a wiping ladle and a five gallon bucket with instructions on calling us when he has the pipe exposed with a detailed material list so that we can go back and make the repair.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

Redwood said:


> Why not just say you hire "Cans" of the side of the road and it's for cash...:furious:


i don't hire anyone.

honestly i don't know where they get these guys, i've never had the use for one. i preffer to tell them it's going to take so many hours and just do it myself. what's the point of having somebody dig a trench when you have to go back and redig it? even if you don't have to do any work, if you have to make 3 trips to check on them you could be making money somewhere. 

i miss having helpers on staff that wanted to be plumbers. you could trust that what you told them would be done the way you wanted it done. plus it was a lot easier to speak with them in english. :thumbdown:






paul


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## Plasticman (Oct 14, 2008)

I used to get so frustrated when my ex boss would hire labor force to come in and help do a slab rough-in. Some of these guys no matter if you paint a line using a string, they still could not did straight. Don't even bother to tell them that you have to have fall or pitch from one end to the other. They will look at you like you are a space cadet.You are wasting your time. Let them dig, make them sweat off the alcohol and send them home. Then re-vamp and start all over again and do it yourself


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

We rent machines, I'm the driver of them. Shallow we hand dig, replacements we dig with a Mini-x


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## RGB Plumbing (Oct 10, 2008)

I hand dig most repairs up to 3 feet. Other than that i use a 7500 lb mini excavator that i picked up fairly cheap. It will dig to 10 ft. Most slab roughs i use one on or have the builders backhoe guy dig em then i come in and clean up the trenches by hand for a perfect slope. Some times its easier to rent one than it is to bring it in yourself. I charge for the rental fee and my hourly rate or a bid price for the whole job if it is a new construction or repipe.


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

Sewers are deep here. Backhoes required. Unfortunately, they usually do the repairs/replacement, too. State went nuts about thirty years ago.


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## para1 (Jun 17, 2008)

*mini x*


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## Bill (Jun 17, 2008)

If I have to dig deep or far I prefer a trencher with a back hoe bucket


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## TradeQualified (Aug 28, 2008)

It depends on the work, if can be done by hand, we'll do it by hand and save some money, but when there is no other option I hire a Back Hoe to digg it for me, the costs go up but quality always comes first.


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## TradeQualified (Aug 28, 2008)

It all depends on the job, if we can digg it by hand we'll do it to keep the costs low, but if a backhoe is needed we'll hire one to do the job


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## rrman (Oct 29, 2008)

We have 2 Backhoes and 2 trucks ,in philly area we're pretty busy.We have buster also but at least 5 townships have banned that.


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## kellybhutchings (Jul 29, 2008)

I am lucky. There is a really good plumber here that offers back hoe services and has never charged me more than 200.00 dollars to dig up a sewer line. Sometimes he even helps install the new one.


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## Wrenchboy (Oct 4, 2008)

Please breakdown how a vactor works.

I only have a vague idea.

How much do they charge a day?

What is an average minimum fee? per day.per hour?

My Best
Dave Doyle


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## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

Wrenchboy said:


> Please breakdown how a vactor works.
> 
> I only have a vague idea.
> 
> ...


Hi Dave,

We have a set hourly charge for it, $165 per hour, what is nice about the vactor is you don't have to worry about phone, cable, power, you name it lines that most fear they might hit and damage using a backhoe, the vactor will remove dirt and rock from the ground leaving all the vital utilities intact. It does a good job, it seems it's in use on a daily use, lots work it gets done for us.


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