Potholing/Daylighting with Hydro Excavation
Potholing or daylighting is the process of digging a test hole to expose underground facilities. This is to check those facilities for cracks, leaks or any kind of damage. Industrial, commercial and residential communities all need to “daylight” their facilities from time to time. This is important in the maintenance of underground pipes, sewers, etc. Hydro excavation can save you labor, time and money with these types of jobs.
Traditionally, potholing or daylighting is done using a backhoe or by hand or shovel digging. A backhoe is a heavy piece of equipment that has a digging bucket mounted on a tractor. Since the digging bucket is large, it poses a risk of damaging the underground utilities and moves far more dirt than is necessary.
Heavy machinery also brings safety risks to nearby citizens and to the laborers. A malfunction in the equipment can cause tragic accidents that can be avoided using the hydro excavation methods instead.
Hand digging is a very intensive job and it takes too much time to get done. Also, it is not accurate enough to move only the necessary amount of soil. This means that backfilling would be needed after the excavation. More time and money will need to be spent because of this.
With the development of hydro excavation, however, you can eliminate nearly all of the downsides of traditional potholing and daylighting excavation methods. It provides a safe and non-mechanical process that will keep everyone involved secure. It also does a more accurate job to make sure that there will be no additional expenses.
If you need potholing or dayligthing services, search your postal code in our search box to the left for nearby companies
How Hydro Excavation Works
Hydro excavation is a process that uses precise, high pressure water and an air vacuum. The water digs through the soil to break it apart. The air vacuum is then used to haul and transfer the soil to a debris tank. The debris tank is mounted on a truck that could be located near or far from the excavation site.
For potholing and daylighting projects this technology cuts the work load down a lot. Because this type of project traditionally uses a lot of labor hours and expensive heavy equipment, like backhoes, that can potentially damage the pipes or utilities that you are exposing – hydro excavating is a perfect fit for the more precise hydro excavation techniques.
When you use hydro excavation to dig a hole for daylighting you eliminate the risks associated with traditional digging methods. Instead the water cuts through the soil precisely. Damages to the surrounding soil as well as the underground facilities are avoided. The time and money allotted for restoration and repairs are eliminated. This provides for a more cost efficient and less time-consuming service.
Hydro excavation is an excellent time saving, cost saving and environmentally friendly technique for potholing and daylighting. To find a company in your area that specializes in hydro excavation put your postal code in the search box to the left.
