All you need to know about Trenchless Construction and Trenchless technology methods such as Direct Pipe, Horizontal Drilling, Microtunneling, Augering, and Boring.
What is Trenchless Construction?
Trenchless construction is a form of underground construction that plays an important role in our everyday lives. From electricity and internet services to heat and plumbing, trenchless construction plays a vital role in the development and delivery of all of these services.
Trenchless Construction In Our Everyday Lives
All of our vital utilities are benefited by trenchless construction. Through this method, underground pipelines and conduits are installed to provide all of the services we use throughout our daily lives. Learn how trenchless construction plays a role in various services below.
Cable, Phone, & Internet Services
Directional drilling methods are largely responsible for the installation of fibre optic cables that provide access to services such as Wi-Fi telephones, and cable. The installation of the fibre optic cables create a large fibre optic network to provide these services.
Electricity Services
Electricity is essential to almost every facet of our daily lives. Trenchless technology allows for the necessary cables to be installed affordably, efficiently, and with minimal disruption to the surrounding environment.
Heating Services
You can thank trenchless technology methods for being able to heat your home or business. Pipes are laid using trenchless construction methods that allow for the safe transport of natural gas that is used for heating.
Sewage Services
Trenchless construction methods allow for the creation of functioning plumbing and sewer systems that keep our daily lives running. Once again, lines can be installed with minimum disruption to above ground services.
Storm Sewers
Trenchless construction methods like boring allow for storm sewers to be installed, repaired, and cleaned conveniently and affordably. These networks of sewers are essential for collecting excess rainwater during spring and summer months and draining melting snow during the winter and spring.
Water Services
Direct Pipe, Horizontal Drilling, Microtunneling, Augering, and Boring methods are used to install water lines and water mains. These lines are responsible for supplying clean water to homes and businesses and also connect to primary water sources.
Why is Trenchless Construction so Important?
When tackling a construction project that involves underground pipe to be laid,there are many factors to be taken into consideration. First of all, the existing property and roadways need to be considered if the project is happening in an urban area like a city. Secondly, environmental factors such as river crossings need to be factored in.
Trenchless technology methods allow for construction projects to proceed, regardless of the surrounding conditions. These construction methods allow for the safe and affordable installation of pipe that provides all of the services that we use day-to-day. Without trenchless construction, it may not be possible to provide heating, electricity, and other services to areas and communities.
Kramer Direct are your Experts in Direct Pipe, Microtunneling, and Auger Boring
Kramer Direct provides professional and exceptional trenchless construction services including direct pipe, microtunneling, and auger boring. Their construction crews allow for the safe and efficient installation of utility lines while ensuring minimal disruption to the environment and to the public.
The benefits of working with trenchless construction experts:
- Reduced Installation Costs
- Safe Installation
- Accuracy of Installation
- Reduced Above Ground Disturbance
View our services and get in touch with us today to learn more about how Kramer Direct can help deliver on your trenchless construction needs.
All Your Trenchless Construction Questions Answered
Trenchless Construction FAQ's
Trenchless construction is a form of underground construction work that requires few trenches or no continuous trenches. Trenchless construction focuses on methods that cause little to no disturbance to the area above ground. It is a rapidly growing sector of the construction and civil engineering industry and is valued for its convenience, safe installation methods, and cost savings.
Trenchless technology is a form of underground construction that doesn’t require trenches at street level. If trenches are needed, they are much smaller than in traditional construction methods. Trenchless technology uses unique equipment and methods to install or replace underground infrastructure without causing disturbance to the ground above.
The most popular methods of trenchless construction are:
- Direct Pipe
- Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
- Microtunneling
- Augering
- Boring
Other methods include:
- Pipe Ramming
- Pipe Bursting
Compared to traditional construction methods, Trenchless Construction offers these benefits:
- Little above-ground disturbance (example: does not affect traffic)
- Less environmental impact and lower carbon emissions
- Faster and more accurate
- Can be used when traditional construction methods cannot (ex. Crossing rivers)
- More cost-effective
Several factors will determine the most appropriate solution to your trenchless needs. Some of the relevant factors are:
- Installation length
- Diameter
- Ground Conditions/Formation
- Precision of Alignment and Grade
- Product Materials
On average, we can install anywhere between 12 to 18 m per day (39’ to 59’). However, multiple factors (such as ground conditions, casing size, crossing length, weather, working conditions, etc) will affect the actual rate of production.
Most trenchless installations require a minimum jacking pit of 11 m x 3 m (36’ to 10’), plus room for excavators and equipment lay down.
Typically, a trenchless method is not the most economical solution. However, the true benefit and value of choosing a trenchless method of construction is in its ability to reduce the impact of construction on the environment and to the public. Additionally, due to the ability of trenchless methods to work around various barriers of construction, a trenchless solution is often the only solution.
Direct Pipe FAQ's
Direct pipe is a one-pass installation method that allows a pre-made pipe to be installed through an excavated borehole. This method uses microtunneling and a thrusting unit to complete the installation simultaneously. This allows for speedy and highly economic installation of pipelines.
Direct Pipe methods are ideal for environmentally sensitive locations
This method of trenchless construction offers the ability to operate through difficult ground conditions as well as offers the ability to complete installation in a single pass
Herrenknecht are the developers of the direct pipe technology that combines the advantage of mictrotunnelling and horizontal directional drilling into one step.
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) FAQ's
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is a method of installing underground pipelines, cables and service conduit through trenchless methods, using a surface-based drilling rig.
Using a drill pipe and a bottom hole assembly (BHA), material is removed from the hole both hydraulically and mechanically . A pilot hole is drilled along a pre-set path using either a walk over steering system or a surface coil. A reamer is then used to increase the diameter of the hole to accommodate the produce line, if needed.
Fibre optic cable, water and sewage mains, and electrical lines are the most common installations for HDD. It is also used to install all types of oil and gas pipelines.
HDD is a great option for safely installing pipe or utility lines with the least possible disturbance. Some of the most common use cases of HDD are:
- Under environmentally sensitive areas (such as rivers, lakes, bays, wildlife corridors)
- Beneath busy roads, freeways, intersections, parks and golf courses
- Across existing utility or pipeline corridors; into plants and processing facilities
- Into residential communities
At Kramer Direct we do not provide HDD services. View our services page for all of the information on our scope of services
Microtunneling FAQ's
Microtunneling is a specific method of trenchless construction commonly used for sewer construction. It is best used in cases where soil is wet or unstable.
HDD is a form of trenchless construction where surface launched installation techniques are used to install pipelines where conventional tunneling can prove to be prohibitive whereas microtunneling is a pit launched trenchless construction method that uses laser-guided steerable remote control to install the pipe.
The benefits of the microtunneling method are:
- Reduces surface disruption.
- Offers flexibility in excavation methods and in handling unexpected ground conditions
- Eliminates need for two-step liner
- Typically reduces the seepage into the completed section of the tunnel.
Microtunneling is a great option for installing pipelines that require precise grades such as gravity sewers. It is also used for installing other pipelines such as gas, water, and cable lines. Compared to HDD, microtunneling can be a bit more expensive; however, the accuracy, reliability, and lower maintenance cost of pipelines post-installation with microtunneling, makes it a better choice in most cases.
With microtunneling, casing/pipe from 48” to 144” can be installed.
Slurry microtunneling is a method of trenchless construction that uses the pipe jacking method to provide continuous face support and the transportation of materials via a closed-loop slurry circuit. Like traditional microtunneling, this method is also remotely controlled from the surface.
Auguring & Boring FAQ's
Horizontal auger boring (HAB) is a method of trenchless construction that excavates boreholes under the earth’s surface. Using rotating helical shafts within a casing, soil is extracted while advancing. As the operation progresses, the spiral edges of the auger remove the excavated soil.
Compared to other trenchless methods, Auger Boring is:
- Less expensive than microtunneling and directional drilling
- Less potential impact on surrounding soil due to no drilling fluids
- Less opportunity for soil collapse or damage to roads
- Operation is relatively simple
Some of the disadvantages of horizontal auger boring are:
- Limited ability to steer the HAB machine
- Not suitable for wet running ground or ground where there are a large number of boulders
Horizontal auger boring is one of the oldest forms of trenchless technology and is suitable for pipelines that begin and end on grade or have a gravity run off design and HAB is also well suited for softer ground conditions.
Depending on ground conditions, we can accomplish grade crossings up to about 130 m.
We use a variety of different techniques and equipment to “bore” through almost anything. We can work through everything from sand and clay to cobbles and solid rock.
