Brian,
How about hiring a couple of day laborers to dig? When I put an
addition on our house, the guy with the excavator didn't show
up. Mason showed up with a bunch of guys with shovels. They did the
whole thing by hand and probably cost less than the guy with the
machine. I know that doesn't answer your concerns about disturbing
the ground cover, but you can always plant more. I'm all for clever
solutions, but don't underestimate a couple of strong guys with shovels.
-Steve Trovato
strovato at optonline.net
At 12:29 PM 9/3/2011, Brian Kemp wrote:
>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
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