Pulling wiring under driveways

[Trovmar]

Hi guys i was wondering if anyone can help me with this one. I am putiing 4 20 amp dedicated recepticals in front of the customers house. The only way to get the wires back to the house is under a fourteen foot asphalt driveway. I don"t want to cut the driveway, and i dont think i can bang a pipe through. Has anyone experienced this before, and if so can you please help me.

 

[walkerj]

Two words: Directional Boring

 

[wbalsam1]

Hi guys i was wondering if anyone can help me with this one. I am putiing 4 20 amp dedicated recepticals in front of the customers house. The only way to get the wires back to the house is under a fourteen foot asphalt driveway. I don"t want to cut the driveway, and i dont think i can bang a pipe through. Has anyone experienced this before, and if so can you please help me.

Seems to me like you're going to have to do one or the other. :-?:smile:

 

[infinity]

If the soil conditions are right you could actually bang a pipe through.

 

[alfiesauce]

Gas companys have a pneumatic tool that looks like a topedo that hammers itself through the earth. They work well for going under roads with wire.

 

[cadpoint]

Marc, showed a water driven bore tool for that application.

 

[ceb58]

And if the soil conditions are right you may wash a pipe under the drive

 

[alfiesauce]

Marc, showed a water driven bore tool for that application.

This?
http://www.borit.com/index.cfm

 

[kjless]

i came into the same problem and what i did was i shoveled about a foot or so under the driveway then i used a one inch piece of conduit and stuck a pressure washer in it and kept moving it back and forth and it worked out pretty good. good luck

 

[cadpoint]

This?

Yes I beleive so, pricie, thats why its not in the arsonal :roll:

Glad I didn't say a price earlier ...

 

[bjp_ne_elec]

This?
http://www.borit.com/index.cfm

That thing is slick!

 

[alfiesauce]

That thing is slick!

Especially after the WD40 your supposed to put on it.

Looks like a pretty simple concept. Back in the day the local fire department I volunteerd for had a water drill that used an 1 1/4" hose for both the flushing as well as the power for the drill. It was pretty slick too.

 

[Fulthrotl]

This?
http://www.borit.com/index.cfm

hm. bookmarked for future use.....

compared to saw cutting the driveway, after it's
had a stamped concrete topcoating......?

couple hundred bucks? sign me up... it's going on
someone's bill anyway.... supposedly it's good for
60 feet, if you get it started level, that is...

hopefully a customer needs it before i do... i've
got a 12" concrete slab 20' wide that i've gotta get
four 3/4's, a 1", and a 2" under....

not to mention a 3/4" for power to the lighting for
the jumbrella..... 15', into the center of the slab
and hit a posthole...

 

[dbuckley]

Yellow pages.

There are specialists in this type of thing. They come along, work magic, give you a bill, you mark it up and hand it to your customer. And they have insurance!

The best known local company to me are listed under:
* Directional Drilling
* Pipe Jacking
* Trenching
* Underground Thrusting

 

[220/221]

I KNOW this one!!!


I learned this installing lawn sprinklers back in the 70's before I turned to the electrical trade.

If soil conditions are terribly rocky, you can water bore with simple tools.

You need a brass spray nozzle and a hose adapter on opposite ends of a PVC pipe.. I would get a 20' section of PVC so you don't have a coupling in the middle. Check a irrigation supply company. Ask for a shooter nozzle.

Dig your trench at a downward angle away from the drive so the water flows out of the hole and away. Dig a nice deep part at the end for the water to accumulate.


Lay your PVC LEVEL and you will be thru in no time. Don't go too shallow and you will avoid the ABC. Don't go at a downward angle or you will end up 4' deep on the other end.

I have bored driveways with up to 2" pipe with this method.

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

No matter what tool you use, getting 18 inches deep under the driveway across 14 feet is not easy.

The best advice is to hire a pro and let them deal with whatever issues may arise. rocks, roots, buried debris, etc...

 

[Security101]

I've used the water wash method before with success on 3/4"-11/4"...

That being said I'm always concerned about washing out too much and losing the support for the drive and it cracking or collapsing - that would be a bad day:wink:

Jim

 

[chris kennedy]

getting 18 inches deep under the driveway across 14 feet is not easy.

24" sounds good to me. Did OP mention GFCI protection? Then it could be 12".

 

[MRI]

Has anyone used this Borit tool? I can see this as an assett if it works as adverttised. There are a lot of new housing developments in my area, new homeowners are a big target for me.

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

24" sounds good to me. Did OP mention GFCI protection? Then it could be 12".

It is not code for 24", but may be an easier install, as the lawn area will require 24" depth. Depending on the situation, the transition from 24" to 18" may not be easy to do.


If I was the EC, I would think about GFCI protection of the circuit. 12" depth of trench is substantially easier than 24". The most important factor would be the length of the branch circuit being protected by the GFCI.