Frequently Asked questions

Simply put it comes down to three things: disruption, time, and budget.  

Disruption - directional boring is much less disruptive to the area than open cut is.  Open cut will disrupt landscaping, roads, sidewalks, driveways, etc.  When choosing to horizonal directional bore the only ground disturbed is where the crew will set up the machine and where the utilities are being connected.  This means less disruption on busy roadways and to the surrounding environment. 

Time - simply put when utilizing directional boring there is less time needed to be spent on restoration due to the low surface disruption and soil movement.  This helps keep projects moving forward in a positive manner for both time and cost. 

Budget - Lower surface disruption means less restoration cost.  (You won't need to repave roads, repair large areas of landscaping - or worse wires or pipes that were damaged from open cutting.) Directional boring also requires a smaller crew for this kind of work compared to the open cut method - less workforce means lower cost.  

Some additional benefits are greater precision capabilities and deeper installation. 

Directional boring, also referred to as horizontal directional drilling (HDD), is a minimal impact trenchless method of installing underground utilities such as pipe, conduit, or cables in a relatively shallow arc or radius along a prescribed underground path using a surface-launched drilling rig. Directional boring offers significant environmental advantages over traditional cut and cover pipeline/utility installations. The technique is routinely used when conventional trenching or excavating is not practical or when minimal surface disturbance is required.  The process is suitable for a variety of soil conditions including clay, silt, sand, and rock.

 Wikipedia contributors. (2022, December 12). Directional boring. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_boring 

Our equipment allows up to bore up to a diameter of 12 inches. 

Depending on the ground conditions, our crew has bored up to 800 feet in one bore. 

Horizontal directional boring is much less disruptive than traditional trenching, and has very minimal impact on the environment due to much less surface disruption and soil movement.