Trenchless Technology

Trenchless technology, also called no-dig, is a way of installing or replacing underground pipes and cables without digging a trench along the route. The tool travels between two small pits, one to launch it and one to receive it, and the surface in between is left alone. The main methods we supply are impact moling for new installations and pipe bursting for replacing pipes already in the ground.

Cost is usually the biggest one. Much of the expense of an open trench is not the pipework but everything around it: breaking out and reinstating the road, closing it while you do, and putting the landscape back afterwards. A trenchless method skips nearly all of that, so pipeline and cable work comes in cheaper as well as faster. It is also safer, since there is no open excavation to support and guard, and kinder to the surroundings, which is why it is often chosen for work near trees, other buried services and heritage sites.

In displaceable soils such as sand, loam and gravel, moling is usually the simplest answer. Driven by compressed air, an impact mole hammers forward from a small launch pit and pushes the soil aside to form a bore, and the new pipe or duct follows it through. Our moles run from 45mm to 180mm diameter over lengths of up to 20m, which covers most road, driveway and rail crossings.

Pipe bursting replaces a failing pipe along its existing line. A bladed head splits the old pipe, an expander presses the fragments into the surrounding ground, and the new pipe is pulled in behind it in the same pass. Our Grundoburst rigs burst pipes from 50mm up to 400mm in cast iron, steel, uPVC, PE, AC, stoneware and GFRP. It is an effective and economical form of pipe rehabilitation, and a common way to renew old sewers and water mains without excavating them.

Yes. An impact mole is often used to pull in power, phone and fibre optic cables or the ducting for them; used this way it is sometimes called a cable mole. A Grundowinch pulls cable through existing ducts, and because you control the line speed and tonnage, the cable is not stretched on the way in.

Sliplining renews an old pipeline by pulling a new, smaller pipe through it, usually with a constant-tension winch such as the Grundowinch. The trade-off is a smaller bore than the original. If you need to keep or increase the carrying capacity, pipe bursting is usually the better route, since the new pipe can match or exceed the old diameter.

An impact mole can be used with minimal training. Pipe bursting needs a level of training before use, which we can provide, and every rig comes with safe use instructions. We make sure your team is confident with the equipment before work starts.

Hire is charged per week, and the price depends on the kit your job needs and how long it stays on site. Grundoburst rigs are delivered by trailer and supplied with 100m of rods, with extra rods available on request. Ask us for a quote and we'll price it up for you, often within 24 hours.