Today, the underground utility industry has fully embraced directional drilling as the preferred method for installing various underground utilities such as gas and water lines, fiber optic cables, sewer lines, and various conduit lines. The shift to trenchless drilling has been for good reasons because underground drilling offers many advantages such as time-saving and easy underground conduit installations. However, you need to select the best directional boring contractors to get excellent underground drilling services. Here’s how to pick a good directional boring contractor.
1. Consider the Years of Experience
Considering that underground drilling services don’t come cheap, you would want to verify the authenticity of an underground drilling contractor before engaging their services. The experienced directional boring contractors will have enough capacity to execute your installation project regardless of the scope and size of your project. You may need a short water line connected to your house or tens of communication lines connected to your company, and a Texas directional drilling contractor will fit the bill. Before commencing on underground pipe and conduit installation works, underground boring contractors will first survey the installation site. This will help them determine the boring path from the source to the endpoint. In turn, they will establish what boring techniques to use, and the most suitable directional boring machine for your job. The installation will be fast and smooth. An experienced contractor is less likely to hit operational hitches during installation.
2. Confirm Licensing of a Boring Contractor
A Texas directional boring contractor must be fully authorized to operate in Texas. You want to select the contractor that is licensed in your state of residence for a couple of reasons. First, the local directional drilling contractor has more experience working in your state. Such contractors know the type of soil to expect, the weather, and existing infrastructure — all these factors help a contractor pick the best day and time to conduct the installation works. Secondly, the licensed directional boring contractors will be aware of all the necessary permits and licenses required before starting the conduit installations. Lastly, you will not be personally liable for any damages that may occur during the installation process. Therefore, you should confirm if a directional boring contractor is licensed to operate in your state of residence before engaging their underground drilling services.
3. The Reputation of the Boring Contractor
Because of the technicality of directional drilling, a shoddy contractor may find many ways of cutting corners without you noticing. For instance, a poor directional boring contractor may use a lower quality of polyethylene pipe instead of the high-density polyethylene pipe (HDPE) that is commonly utilized in the directional drilling market. According to the 2017 Horizontal Directional Drilling Survey, HDPE is used in about 49.7% of projects. The good thing is that the signs of a poorly done installation may manifest shortly afterward, and you can put the contractor to the task. If a contractor’s underground drilling services are substandard, you will find many complaints and negative reviews online.
4. Review Previous Projects
The top directional boring contractors in Texas should have no issue having you review similar projects they have previously executed. Especially if your project is a large commercial undertaking with high stakes, you want to leave nothing to chance. You will be more confident choosing the boring contractor who has prior experience executing a similar installation project. For instance, if you are looking to install fiber optic cables for your company, a contractor who has previously handled a large scale fiber optics underground installation project will be a good fit. You want to avoid or eliminate any chances of incurring losses because your directional boring contractor is new to your industry’s scope of work.
You will need underground drilling services when installing underground utilities, either for commercial or domestic use. Either way, trenchless drilling will be a more suitable method for pipe and conduit installations, especially in an urban setting. Underground directional drilling is less-disruptive, produces less noise, and facilitates quick underground installation of conduits and pipes.
