Thanks to all that have replied. Having a house with an unobstructable
view comes with certain challenges.
I'd love to have something like the Ditch Witch come in, but it would
either have to climb a significant slope or be carried down 32 inch wide
stairs. This same slope eliminates a powered trencher as the lower
portion is too steep to walk.
The current drainage for the property puts the flow of water at about
the same place I want to run the drain line. This is a corner of the
house that has a settling problem, so I'm after a permanent solution to
help move the water out of the area.
This area is the only safe access from the front of the house to the
back, so it has to be underground so it is kid safe. It is also only 6
feet between the house and top of the hill section, so there isn't
significant distance to redirect the water to another area.
I was thinking that if I could 'hole saw' through the dry dirt with a
cutter slightly bigger than the pipe, friction might be manageable.
I've used water as a drill in the past, so if dry doesn't work, I'll put
a power nozzle on the end of 3/4 inch pvc and run that down the center
of the 4 inch drain pipe and see if I get further.
My goal will to get as far a possible by drilling so I minimize
disturbing the top of the hill. 10 feet means I don't mess with the
top lip of the hill or ground cover, so I have minimal erosion problems
with the Los Angeles rainy season. If I can make it 20 feet, even better.
For anyone doing this type of work by hand, a trenching shovel is a
great investment. It is about half the with of a standard shovel, so
you only move half the dirt. It is also longer, so you can go deeper
while keeping the trench narrow.
Brian in Los Angeles
On 9/2/2011 9:34 PM, Elton E. (Tony) Clark wrote:
> *
>
> Hmmm! Interesting!
>
> Using 4" plastic pipe for "drill-stem" with manual "wrenching" wouldn't be
> able to
> overcome the friction: each 10' section would have 120 square feet of
> surface area rotating in a dirt bore: that would take serious torque; more
> than the plastic could stand.
>
> I'm thinking "hydraulic mining" a 4" hole
> would take a 4" hose or pipe and firetruck pumping power and a "million"
> gallons of water to do anything effective.
>
> A 2-man gasoline powered posthole digger
> with a 4" auger and a lot of 3 foot extensions
> would be almost workable but a rock or root
> would jam it or a joint would fail at some depth and you'd end up just
> giving the whole string a decent burial!
>
> I bleeeeeeve I'd gutter or channel the flow to one side or the other of the
> yard where the the disturbance wouldn't be so unsightly and I'd use a
> trencher to bury the plastic.
>
> Things get very simple when one doesn't know ALL the facts! (forgive my
> musings)
> Tony in Texas
> *
> _______________________________________________
>
> Shop-talk at autox.team.net
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation $12.96
> Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
> Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/bk13 at
> earthlink.net
|