Trenching vs boring for driveway crossings which one is actually faster?

I just wrapped a job in Austin where we had to run 400 feet of conduit under a long concrete driveway. The crew foreman swore by trenching because it's what he knows, but I pushed for directional boring since it would avoid tearing up all that brand new pavement. The trenching took about 8 hours with backfill and patch, while the bore took maybe 3 hours total. But the bore rig rental was $600 more for the day. Has anyone else run into this debate on residential jobs and found a clear winner for their typical scenario?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_king224d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy runs a crew over in San Antonio and he had a similar fight with a homeowner about boring vs trenching. He ended up trenching a 60 foot run under a new driveway and it took his guys almost 6 hours because of a buried sprinkler line they nicked. Said the patch job looked like crap and the client was pissed for weeks. Now he only bores under concrete even if it costs more.

shah.olivia4d ago

Looked like crap and the client was pissed for weeks"? Over a driveway patch? @abby_king22, your buddy's client sounds like a real piece of work who'd find something to complain about no matter what.