Trenching *****...

[cw_racefan]

Ok, so I finally got started trenching the 60 feet to my garage for electric. What a PITA. About 2/3 of the way there I rean into this massive set of tree roots. Every direction I tried to shift things I ran into more. I can't get below 10" or so without cutting up a root that's around 10" diameter. Can I transition to heavy wall steel conduit at that point since it only requires 6" of cover (currently running sched 40 pvc at 18")? At this point I think that's my only option without killing a 60' oak tree.

Did I say trenching *****?

 

[The Money Pit]

Call your power company. They might have a suggestion. I've got to trench for my water and sewer hook-ups. About 50' of hand digging for me. I can't afford a machine. Good luck!

 

[REFLEXX]

really? I had a great time trenching. 99% was boring decomposed granite, took about 2 hours to do 80 feet.

Then I hit the peak of an underground mountain. SOLID ROCK. That 1% of my trench took 4+ hours with a jackhammer!!! There was no going around for me and I HAD to be 18+ inches deep in the PRC (Peoples Republic of California).

 

[jimvannoy]

When I trenched to my pastures to run water I rented a trenching machine and did several hundred feet of trenches in less than 2 hours. Hit some roots but it went right through them with no problems. When I ran water/power to my new shop I used a single point plow blade pulled behind my garden tractor. Had to chop a couple roots with an ax but it went pretty quick. I have a bunch of 150 plus year old trees so believe me there were some roots.

 

[cw_racefan]

I started with a trencher and broke it. Burned up the clutch with it getting hung on tree roots. Didn't want to spend the $$$$ for a bigger one ($3-400). Doing it by hand now. I could probably get a bigger trencher, but don't want to kill the trees. I think I need a friend with a directional drilling rig to just shoot under everything!

 

[Dodgepu360]

I think I need a friend with a directional drilling rig to just shoot under everything!

that what I was gonna say
a little JT520 would do quite nicely