Service / Utility Trenching
Utility Trenching in Chelan, WA
Underground lines fail when they’re laid in the wrong material or at the wrong depth. Trenching done right means locates called first, the trench cut to the required depth, the line bedded in clean material, and the backfill compacted so the ground doesn’t settle over it a year later.
Utility TrenchingWhat the work involves
What we do on a utility trenching job
- Water service trenching
- Electrical and conduit trenching
- Trench bedding and backfill
- Compaction over completed lines
- Utility locates arranged before the ground is opened
- Restoration and grade over the finished run
Who this is for
Who calls us for it
- New construction that needs services run to the building
- Owners extending power or water to a shop or outbuilding
- Replacing a line that has already failed once
Before you hire anyone
What people worry about
The questions that come up on almost every utility trenching call.
Hitting a line
811 locates get called before we open the ground. Private lines aren’t marked by 811, so anything you know about irrigation, septic or buried power to a shop matters.
A sunken strip across the yard next spring
Backfill goes back in lifts and gets compacted. A trench that just gets pushed back in will settle.
Trench walls that won’t stand
Sandy ground in parts of our area won’t hold a vertical wall. We plan the trench for the ground, and anyone going in it is protected.
The machine
Sized for residential access
This work is done with our Kubota U55-5 compact excavator: 6 ft 5 in wide on rubber tracks, 11 ft 11 in dig depth and 19 ft 7 in of reach. It fits most driveways and side yards a bigger machine can’t, and it’s easier on the ground getting there.
How the price works is on how an estimate works. Who calls 811 and who issues permits is on permits and locates.
Where we do it
Utility Trenching across North Central Washington
Based in Chelan and working Chelan, Manson, Entiat, Wenatchee and further out. Each town page covers the ground and access there.
Questions
Utility Trenching questions
Who calls for utility locates?
Washington law requires locates before excavation, and they get called before we open ground. It’s free, and it’s required. Hitting a buried line is expensive and dangerous for everyone standing near it.
Do you connect the line as well as dig for it?
The trenching, bedding and backfill are ours. Making the connection is usually the licensed electrician or plumber’s part. We’ll coordinate with whoever you have so nobody is standing around waiting on the other.
How deep does a water line need to be?
Deep enough to stay below frost and meet whatever your purveyor or inspector requires. Frost depth is 24 inches in Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties and 18 inches in Grant County, and the requirement for your line is what sets the trench.
Related
Work that usually goes with it
Excavation and Earthwork
Digging, moving and placing dirt. Foundation holes, bulk earthwork, backfill and haul off.
See the detailSite Preparation
Raw ground turned into a pad you can build on: cleared, stripped, cut to grade and compacted.
See the detailStorm Drainage Systems
Catch basins, storm pipe, culverts and drywells that carry storm water off the property.
See the detailCall or text the owners
Get a written estimate
Tell us what you’re building and where. A photo of the way in helps more than anything else.
(509) 421-1539