Vacuum excavation used in pipe replacement
The Galvac team have been busy in Manchester city centre recently, using one of our Dino 3 units to assist with pipe replacement works on behalf of a main contractor.
The construction of high rise blocks occasionally causes problems with existing utilities as these can easily be disturbed or damaged during the process of piling – the creation of deep concrete piles within the ground which are needed to support tall structures.
Existing sewers or drains which are damaged as the contractor digs during the boring process then become filled with concrete which in turn can cause a back up of sewage / surface water which may go undetected for a period of time.
The Galvac team were employed to use vacuum excavation in order to remove ground around existing services to a depth of around 5 metres so that a pipe which had become blocked in this way could be exposed and safely replaced without further damage to pipework.
With an excavation area of approximately 5 metres long by 1 metre wide, the use of a vacuum excavator allowed the excavation zone to be kept to a minimum and meant that the contractor could literally just replace the section of blocked pipe with limited disruption to the area.
Within 2 shifts we had vacuum excavated through a series of services, cleared around the blocked pipe and the contractor had replaced the earth and reinstated the pipe.