Directional boring? Anyone DIY a conduit under a drive/road?

[mpire]

I have a walking trail that crosses my driveway. I just found out that they want $6000 to deliver cable to the property.

I'm assuming its becuase of the trail. This used to be a railroad, but now its just a recreational walk way.

I was thinking I could run a pipe under it, I can dig down on either side and then maybe hook up a water line and drill across a few feet down. I am not sure if it would have a thick road base as you can't actually drive on it.

Anyone think I can keep a PVC pipe straight enough to make it all the way under? What size pipe would you go with?

 

[mike93lx]

Having been a railroad, wouldn't it be likely to have a significant base under it?

That looks like a very long distance to DIY with a pressure washer. I suspect you'll end up with a big hole that could run the risk of undermining the walkway.

Did you ask how much cheaper the bill will be if you put the conduit in?

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Talk to them and find out why it is $6000. Don't assume.

If that trail is built on a railroad road bed it has enough ballast under it to hold up a train.

I wouldn't attempt any sort of DIY bore.

 

[Codyboy]

I would first find out if that's why it cost that much. Utilities directional bore all the time , especially gas crews.
At least around here they do because the gas main only runs down one side of the road. Same with water.

But yes it's pretty easy depending on the size conduit you want to install.
I had to go under a double driveway for a gas line at the old house.
3/4 PVC with a cap on the end with some 2 or3 small holes so the water would jet through. The free end had a PVC female hose adapter.
Dug down about 18" and back about 2 or 3 ft to get the pipe to lay as flat as possible.
If I had to do it again I would adapt a pressure washer line and fittings to the PVC it would jet through with ease.

 

[bluedog225]

Train grade base. I can’t imagine.

 

[mm08822]

A few rocks worth of deflection and you'll be anywhere but where you wanted. You could easily become dead-headed against large rocks/boulders and then you're stopped dead.

I too, wouldn't consider that railroad bed just some random soil.

 

[knucklehead 61]

i have done this a few times.
using water pressure eroded too much soil & caused the driveway to crack over it eventually.
the next time i did it i pushed a steel pile under with the bucket of my mini excavator. worked perfectly. i ran power & water line through it.

 

[inphx]

StarLink + Google YoutubeTv?

 

[racecougar]

I'm in the directional drill camp here. That said, it'll likely be cost advantageous to have the cable company sub it out rather than hiring your own contractor to do the drilling.

 

[PCustoms]

Talk to them and find out why it is $6000. Don't assume.

Bingo

 

[cvairwerks]

You are most likely forgetting the need to get an easement to cross the path....Even if it's public, someone or entity owns it and has to grant an easement. By the time it's hammered out and the lawyers are done and it's recorded, it will be a few thousand of that 6000$.

 

[Beauregard]

StarLink + Google YoutubeTv?

This^^ Cable is a dying technology. Everything is moving towards wireless streaming. Our local cable company is ceasing operations on August first, prompting cable customers to switch to the internet. Starlink is a godsend in rural areas.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

You are most likely forgetting the need to get an easement to cross the path....Even if it's public, someone or entity owns it and has to grant an easement. By the time it's hammered out and the lawyers are done and it's recorded, it will be a few thousand of that 6000$.

Depends. If this is actually on the original posters property then it's very likely he doesn't need any sort of easement or approvals. If its past his property corners....then he would be much better off letting the fiber company deal with it.

If this is one of those "rails to trails" deals, the railroad right of way has been taken over by a trails group and he would at a minimum need to get permission from them.

If it was still a railroad? Forgetaboutit. Minimum I've ever paid to run a utility across a railroad was 5 figures. It's a whole moneymaking deal for them.

 

[jmarkwolf]

What about diy trenching and dropping in an approved culvert?

 

[mpire]

You are most likely forgetting the need to get an easement to cross the path....Even if it's public, someone or entity owns it and has to grant an easement. By the time it's hammered out and the lawyers are done and it's recorded, it will be a few thousand of that 6000$.

I have an easement from the railroad from forever ago and its attached to the property. There are rules. I can cut it and bury a conduit, but then I have to fix it back, but it would be a lot more work. My driveway is concrete, the rest of the path is asphalt.

 

[SD929]

I recently looked into directional boring to get conduit under my driveway for a new driveway gate , quote came in at $7500 - I feel your pain! I will opening and closing the gate by hand until i get really tired of it, and just cut out the section of drive and re-pour concrete for that section.

 

[Firebrick43]

I recently looked into directional boring to get conduit under my driveway for a new driveway gate , quote came in at $7500 - I feel your pain! I will opening and closing the gate by hand until i get really tired of it, and just cut out the section of drive and re-pour concrete for that section.

They make solar openers.

 

[SD929]

They make solar openers.

It's a double gate, I haven't found an opener that worked without a wire connecting the two units. I would just as soon put two instances of solar but none seem to work that way that I have found at least.

 

[Firebrick43]

It's a double gate, I haven't found an opener that worked without a wire connecting the two units. I would just as soon put two instances of solar but none seem to work that way that I have found at least.

Is it hard to press two buttons on single remote? You could also install an arch over the gates and run the wires in the arch?

 

[signcrafter]

How wide is the trail that you need to go under? I've done it a few times but never that wide. We used to just pound a 3/4" emt pipe under a sidewalk and then tape the wire to it and pull it back to get electricity out to post lamps. But that was only 3-4' sidewalks. I dug out my mom's foundation a long time ago to install drain tile and waterproof her basement walls. The driveway was 3' from the house on one side and there was a stoop to the door that I left in place and dug on both sides down to the footer. To get the drain tile under the stoop I used a piece of 4" PVC and my pressure washer inside the pipe to remove the dirt and push the pipe through. But again it was only 4' wide I had to go through.

Think if I was going to try to go under that walkway I would use a 2" or so pvc pipe. Take a 5' or so long piece and use a cap on the end so you don't damage the pipe and pound it in as far as it will go. Take the cap off and then use a sewer jet hose with a pressure washer, https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Cle...aterproof/dp/B0FL7MMCFF/?tag=atomicindus08-20. Stick that in your pipe and flush out the dirt. Then just keep repeating and adding pipe sections until you get through. I would dig a hole on both sides down pretty far to try and get below all the base that is there for the old tracks. The dirt will still be compacted from the heavy trains going over it but should be easier then the gravel base they most likely used.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

How wide is the trail that you need to go under? I've done it a few times but never that wide. We used to just pound a 3/4" emt pipe under a sidewalk and then tape the wire to it and pull it back to get electricity out to post lamps. But that was only 3-4' sidewalks. I dug out my mom's foundation a long time ago to install drain tile and waterproof her basement walls. The driveway was 3' from the house on one side and there was a stoop to the door that I left in place and dug on both sides down to the footer. To get the drain tile under the stoop I used a piece of 4" PVC and my pressure washer inside the pipe to remove the dirt and push the pipe through. But again it was only 4' wide I had to go through.

Think if I was going to try to go under that walkway I would use a 2" or so pvc pipe. Take a 5' or so long piece and use a cap on the end so you don't damage the pipe and pound it in as far as it will go. Take the cap off and then use a sewer jet hose with a pressure washer, https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Cle...aterproof/dp/B0FL7MMCFF/?tag=atomicindus08-20. Stick that in your pipe and flush out the dirt. Then just keep repeating and adding pipe sections until you get through. I would dig a hole on both sides down pretty far to try and get below all the base that is there for the old tracks. The dirt will still be compacted from the heavy trains going over it but should be easier then the gravel base they most likely used.

I read through the comments and they make good sense. Well, some of them.
I would give it a try. What could go right? Well, this is one way to learn what works or what doesn't.
After 3 days of struggles in the heat of the day $6,000 might look cheap.
On the other hand, a guy can buy a lot of gear, get the job done on his own and still have money left over from that $6,000.
BTW - can you rent a machine (like a Toro Dingo or similar) and attachment and do it with that?

 

[signcrafter]

I read through the comments and they make good sense. Well, some of them.
I would give it a try. What could go right? Well, this is one way to learn what works or what doesn't.
After 3 days of struggles in the heat of the day $6,000 might look cheap.
On the other hand, a guy can buy a lot of gear, get the job done on his own and still have money left over from that $6,000.
BTW - can you rent a machine (like a Toro Dingo or similar) and attachment and do it with that?

Ya I hate handing my money over to companies unless it's something I can't do or the cost to buy the equipment/tools is way more then paying a company. Even if it costs more to buy the tools then paying the company I would rather buy the tools because then I have them. I also hate renting for the same reason. But things like skid steers and mini's that cost 300-400 a day to rent vs many thousands to buy I will rent until I have enough flexible money to throw at one. But when I had a clogged sewer drain I bought a machine that cost a bunch more then renting because I knew I most likely would need it in the future. The way I think is that if it's going to cost 6000 dollars to have it done then I have 6000 dollars to spend on tools to do it myself. Yes, I could rent the machine for probably 300-400 dollars and get the job done but then I don't have anything in the end for that money. So I would most likely spend the 3000 on a machine to do it and then have the machine as long as I think I might use it down the road.

I would spend that 6,000 on machines before paying a company for sure. There are machines like the portamole, https://www.portamole.com or the little beaver, https://www.amazingmachinery.com/MD...ewAAPp23rJrx3-UkcUbYa5162rIquH1Uctpx4T1LbebKF. I didn't look into them too much but if I was in the OP situation I would look into the little beaver for 3300 dollars. I have looked into them before for doing fence posts. It's just a hydraulic pump on gas engine to power an auger to dig holes. I didn't know they made an attachment for horizontal boring until I googled now. That would be something I would use down the road and justify the price for this job and then have for doing things like fence and deck posts in the future.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Ya I hate handing my money over to companies unless it's something I can't do or the cost to buy the equipment/tools is way more then paying a company. Even if it costs more to buy the tools then paying the company I would rather buy the tools because then I have them. I also hate renting for the same reason. But things like skid steers and mini's that cost 300-400 a day to rent vs many thousands to buy I will rent until I have enough flexible money to throw at one. But when I had a clogged sewer drain I bought a machine that cost a bunch more then renting because I knew I most likely would need it in the future. The way I think is that if it's going to cost 6000 dollars to have it done then I have 6000 dollars to spend on tools to do it myself. Yes, I could rent the machine for probably 300-400 dollars and get the job done but then I don't have anything in the end for that money. So I would most likely spend the 3000 on a machine to do it and then have the machine as long as I think I might use it down the road.

I would spend that 6,000 on machines before paying a company for sure. There are machines like the portamole, https://www.portamole.com or the little beaver, https://www.amazingmachinery.com/MD...ewAAPp23rJrx3-UkcUbYa5162rIquH1Uctpx4T1LbebKF. I didn't look into them too much but if I was in the OP situation I would look into the little beaver for 3300 dollars. I have looked into them before for doing fence posts. It's just a hydraulic pump on gas engine to power an auger to dig holes. I didn't know they made an attachment for horizontal boring until I googled now. That would be something I would use down the road and justify the price for this job and then have for doing things like fence and deck posts in the future.

Another angle on buying the tool/s: you can try to sell them if you won’t need them again.

 

[BurtEggley]

I skimmed this and read a lot of assumptions but no finite answers. Might just me my bad eyes. What I was looking for was how far is the cable company taking the cable? 100'? 500', 1500'? Do they have equipment already there for your house on the public road, or do they have to add it? If so how far - 100', 1/4 mile, etc.? How far from your house is the nearest cable now - maybe they are having you pay for every foot of that. Does it come to your side of the street or is it on the other. Will they have to dig a trench across the street or go under it if it is on the other side? You say you have an easement across that once upon a time RR, or is there a cost involved in getting permission to cross it or can you just go out there and dig, have you read all the rules lately for it? Are there trees that have to pass thru to get across your property? What happens if the tree roots cut by the trench cause a tree to fall next winter or two, could they be considering something other than a straight line to avoid cutting those roots? They may be considering all these things in that quote. Unless you get a satisfactory answer from where you stand, Starlink would probably be the easiest these days. I have several remote works who use it, and they are very satisfied with it.

I have put in cable conduit before, I asked the cable company where they would hook up, dug a trench just shy of that spot, laid my cable and left it there for them to connect. They checked my work and said fine, all Ok. There are specs they will have on the conduit, and the cable based on the length of the run.

Good luck with it. As quite a few suggested, if you go with them, do ask them why it is $6,000.

 

[MOwens]

My friend owns a plumbing company. When they replaced our main waterline to the house from the city shut off they did it pretty ingeniously I thought. They dug a 6 foot trench by the shutoff in our yard easement and a 6 foot trench where the waterline goes into the house. They then used a big hammer drill with an attachment that screwed onto 1” gas pipe. A bit was attached to the other end and they bored 5 foot at a time with man power attaching 5 foot pipe sections at a time. It was actually pretty easy and I helped quite a bit and was surprised at how quickly it went. They bored about 80 foot to our house this way and were only off maybe a half foot. They then used the pipe to pull the water line back through. It was pretty slick and a lot cheaper than a boring machine.

 

[john.k]

We were working on a council job , with a horizontal boring and pipe jacking guy there.....his machine was 4/71 GM powered ......anyhoo ,for some reason he just took off and disappeared ,leaving all the gear there ....lots of auger flights, hydraulic jacking frame and hoses.......This was big problem for us ,as he was a fraction of other quotes.......So Serafin says '' how hard can it be........auger the hole ,jack the pipe . ''.......And we did ,too.

 

[Quickstep192]

Make sure the cable company will use the conduit if you put it in.

I put conduit under my driveway and under a planting bed so the cable or telephone company wouldn’t disturb my planting bed if they needed to get cable through. I even put in a conduit for each company.

When the cable company needed to run new coax, they refused to use the conduit I had provided.

 

[manwithtools]

Make sure the cable company will use the conduit if you put it in.

I put conduit under my driveway and under a planting bed so the cable or telephone company wouldn’t disturb my planting bed if they needed to get cable through. I even put in a conduit for each company.

When the cable company needed to run new coax, they refused to use the conduit I had provided.

That sure is strange refusal. I would think they would use your conduit with the conditional aspect of if it had any issues, they would charge you to run their own.

 

[PCustoms]

That sure is strange refusal. I would think they would use your conduit with the conditional aspect of if it had any issues, they would charge you to run their own.

A couple years back I had a trench open and issues with a botched fiber install (massive statewide infrastructure upgrade and 3rd party contractor scheduling/performance issues). Customer service insisted I needed 2" conduit minimum.

Point is they had no clue.

 

[Codyboy]

A couple years back I had a trench open and issues with a botched fiber install (massive statewide infrastructure upgrade and 3rd party contractor scheduling/performance issues). Customer service insisted I needed 2" conduit minimum.

Point is they had no clue.

Yes because they are reading a script.
Countless times I've had a customer tell me "the lady on the phone said........."

 

[PCustoms]

Yes because they are reading a script.
Countless times I've had a customer tell me "the lady on the phone said........."

Obviously.

Had I dropped in some 1/2 or 3/4 PVC it would have saved a ton of effort and re-scheduling later.

 

[Fav Onefour]

Make sure the cable company will use the conduit if you put it in.

I put conduit under my driveway and under a planting bed so the cable or telephone company wouldn’t disturb my planting bed if they needed to get cable through. I even put in a conduit for each company.

When the cable company needed to run new coax, they refused to use the conduit I had provided.

In our area they lay the line on top of the ground until a trenching crew can come by to bury the thing. I put in my own conduit through the yard, gardens, and under a retaining wall. I was concerned about the mess they would make with sprinkler lines etc. so doing DIY felt preemptive to repairs.
It was pretty simple to disconnect at the house and pull the cable lines after installing the conduit.

 

[Sumboodie]

Cable hasn't been relevant in several years. It'd be like buying a newspaper to get current news

 

[signcrafter]

My friend owns a plumbing company. When they replaced our main waterline to the house from the city shut off they did it pretty ingeniously I thought. They dug a 6 foot trench by the shutoff in our yard easement and a 6 foot trench where the waterline goes into the house. They then used a big hammer drill with an attachment that screwed onto 1” gas pipe. A bit was attached to the other end and they bored 5 foot at a time with man power attaching 5 foot pipe sections at a time. It was actually pretty easy and I helped quite a bit and was surprised at how quickly it went. They bored about 80 foot to our house this way and were only off maybe a half foot. They then used the pipe to pull the water line back through. It was pretty slick and a lot cheaper than a boring machine.

I don't have any experience with something like this but 80' is a long way to drill blindly and only be off half a foot. Would think if you start at a small fraction of an angle off and you would be off by a lot at the other end. Also things like running into a rock would change the direction of the bit a little. Obviously they do this for a living and are good at it. I'm sure if I tried that I'd be digging up the hole foundation to the right of the hole looking for my pipe at the other end, and then to the left of the hole because I didn't find it on the right.

Make sure the cable company will use the conduit if you put it in.

I put conduit under my driveway and under a planting bed so the cable or telephone company wouldn’t disturb my planting bed if they needed to get cable through. I even put in a conduit for each company.

When the cable company needed to run new coax, they refused to use the conduit I had provided.

Did they say why? My experience with most installers are they aren't very skilled and want to do things the easiest way for them. My guess would be he had never pulled wire under a driveway in conduit so just said no. One restaurant I was remodeling the company came in to set up all the wifi and satellite TVs. They just hack everything and run the wire through the ceiling tile and down to the tv exposed. I hate seeing wires like that. I had to go back and cut in a low voltage box and smurf tubing to run the wire down in the wall. The next restaurant I did I made sure to have that all ready for them and even ran a pull string in the tubing for them.

 

[Kempler]

Yes, you can DIY a conduit under the trail using water-jetting, but keeping PVC perfectly straight is highly difficult, and a former railroad bed presents severe structural underground obstacles.

Feasibility & Obstacles

Straightness: Keeping a PVC pipe perfectly straight over the length of a driveway or trail width using water jetting is difficult but possible for short distances (under 20–30 feet).

The "Railroad" Risk: Because this trail was a former railroad, the ground base is highly likely to contain heavy structural ballast (crushed granite, large rocks, slag, and ties). Standard water jetting will fail if it hits these rocks.

If the soil is relatively free of large rocks, the most common DIY method is hydro-boring. I am happy to work and assist you with a step by step DIY solution. Let me know