https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/c...-explosion-caught-on-cam-in-ofallon-missouri/
I believe this was a trenchless install being done.
I believe this was a trenchless install being done.
Call Before You Dig
- Thread starter Twowaxhack
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wpns
Well-Known Member
/*
Officials said this is the second time Gateway Fiber has hit a gas line in the past two weeks.
*/
Yikes!
Officials said this is the second time Gateway Fiber has hit a gas line in the past two weeks.
*/
Yikes!
Was Gateway anywhere in the Baltic Sea near Nord Stream?
cliffyk
Well-Known Member
I had a schoolmate years ago whose family owned a gas service (LP & natural) company. During the various manufactured "energy crises" of the 70s, when they were urging people to switch to gas with catchy "Go Gas" jingles, his father (a 2nd generation "gas guy") always told us "Yeah, go gas, go boom!"
Over the years here in Northern Virginia we've lost electricity quite a few time but never have lost natural gas. We had to resort to cranking up the gas fireplaces to keep warm and we could still cook as in "cookin' with gas". As always, your mileage may vary.
cliffyk
Well-Known Member
Pick anything, stir in a few idiots, and you have a problem. Sure as crap someone on that digging crew knew they tore up a gas line--and it's far from the first time gas from a ruptured line "passed gas" back into a basement...
Yep, I remember working on a now-defunct US Air Force base in Upstate NY back in the day and a cable installer was digging a trench for a power line and cut through an 800-pair communications cable that took the entire AFB off line for several days. Yes, the contractor knew where not to dig but still went ahead with his work and the Air Force learned a tough lesson in why not to route all communications through a single point of failure ever again.
Yes, it was directional boring…….
It was directional boring. They had no idea……
Second one in two weeks.
Yes, idiots are everywhere.
Mitchell-DIY-Guy
Well-Known Member
Don’t blame the method.
“Merrill also confirmed that the gas line was marked prior to the incident.
“The leading cause of damage to natural gas lines is digging by excavators,” he said in a statement to Spectrum News.”
Merrill is the communications director for Spire, the gas company in the area.
“Digging by excavators” is not directional boring. The problem is always incompetence.
“Merrill also confirmed that the gas line was marked prior to the incident.
“The leading cause of damage to natural gas lines is digging by excavators,” he said in a statement to Spectrum News.”
Merrill is the communications director for Spire, the gas company in the area.
“Digging by excavators” is not directional boring. The problem is always incompetence.
The DIY-Guy is right. It's the human element that's always the biggest of hazards.
When you’re boring holes underground In places you can’t see……accidents will happen regardless if man or machine does the boring.
No he’s not……
C'mon man! You need to study human factors in accidents of all sorts. Enjoy your day!
The leading cause of line damage is digging because that’s what MOST contractors do. We dig, we don’t bore holes.
The difference with digging is when you hit and rupture the line it’s immediately known.
When you’re boring holes ITS NOT ALWAYS KNOWN. Then things go BOOM.
So yes, people make mistakes. Doesn’t take a genius to realize that.
Of course there’s a human factor. There’s a human factor in most everything
The question is when you hit a line, do you know it with a boring machine. The answer is NO.
When you hit a line digging…..you damn well do know it.
Gas fills voids. What do those houses have below them ? Basements……big holes in the ground.
Read this news article and get back with me…….
https://www.mprnews.org/amp/story/2010/02/24/explosion-folo
So No…..I don’t care if some Karen or some Beta male gets upset that I want to dig a trench through their yard and ruin the grass.
They can call someone else. Let idiots deal with idiots is my motto.
That’s my 35 yr plus Professional Plumbing experience that’s licensed, bonded and insured.
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https://www.mprnews.org/amp/story/2010/02/24/explosion-folo
So No…..I don’t care if some Karen or some Beta male gets upset that I want to dig a trench through their yard and ruin the grass.
They can call someone else. Let idiots deal with idiots is my motto.
That’s my 35 yr plus Professional Plumbing experience that’s licensed, bonded and insured.
Keywords: All of them.
Username : Not Required
Password : Not Required
Last edited:
Mitchell-DIY-Guy
Well-Known Member
There will always be a need for both trenching and trenchless methods of installing and maintaining utilities. We cannot dig trenches for everything that needs to be buried; it's too costly and invasive and in many cases, impossible. We also cannot bury everything and some things need to go overhead as well. We don't string natural gas lines from poles, and we don't bury high tension lines either. No getting around that. Since we will always have a need for trenchless installation, there will always be a need for directional boring. Recognize that there are pains and pitfalls to every method of utility line/pipe installation.
If one doesn't embrace things not immediately understood, you'll forever be stuck in the past. You'd be heading to the supply shop to get oakum and billet lead, perhaps a propane furnace/burner to melt the lead. You'd be stocking your truck with galvanized, not copper or PEX...and you'd have several helpers to assist moving those large lengths of cast iron waste pipe with hubs. You'd dismiss that "new fangled copper" stuff and use good old proven galvanized. You'd ensure you have cutting fluid and the threading machine ready to go. But times have changed now, haven't they? If your grandfather or great-grandfather was a plumber he wouldn't recognize many of your tools, parts and supplies in your truck.
If you want to talk trenching, it was already noted that excavators are the largest source of gas line breaks. More disturbing, with trenching, OSHA has noted that there are 22 deaths this year alone, so far, from trench collapses. So trenching isn't without its issues. 22 trench deaths in first half of 2022 leads to OSHA crackdown
I recall a number of trench collapses in Michigan. Even if people don't get hurt it sure puts a crimp in the cost and timing of a project which are two things on everyone's mind at all times. Cost and timing are two huge factors in determining the best way to install anything. If there is a death or even an injury in a trench, that work can grind to a halt for many months until the investigations are complete.
As far as boring goes, there are several kinds out there; read up on them if you want to learn. Because the equipment is costly, those who do it ONLY do this kind of work; it's a specialty. But, on a residential scale, it is generally mere pipe pulling using a Dingo with attachment, or a purpose designed walk behind. They will pull pipe for things like irrigation or small conduit (say for an outbuilding). My own revelation is that nobody around here in NC likes to use this for even the simple act of installing an irrigation system, but for some reason they love to destroy landscaping and lawns by hand digging everything. I found a contractor who was originally from Ohio, was mystified at the same thing, and his crew uses pipe pullers without digging. Now, part of the irrigation here is required to be 24" below grade (from the meter at the street to the back flow at the home), and that is dug by smart contractors with a small trenching machine. Again, very minimal disruption to the landscaping; a mere 4" trench, 24" down; almost no hand digging. Sod carefully removed in the path, When complete, there's no real evidence that they did anything other than it's done. My neighbors, on the other hand, used contractors with that local mindset of "let's dig everything by hand" and their expensive landscaping and lawn was destroyed in the process. One of my neighbors had their irrigation contractors hand dig everything and they still cut into a gas line...by hand...merely by carelessness. That cost the contractor big time. To each their own. My job cost no more than anyone else, and it shouldn't have. It took less time, too. It was simply done the best way, even if the locals here don't get it.
On a more commercial scale, there are other kinds of boring including controlled boring, where the head is precisely controlled. But if the operators don't now what they are drilling into or around, they'll learn a hard lesson sooner or later.
As for basements, there isn't a single one of you pros out there that wouldn't prefer working in a clean, dry, brightly lit and temperate basement with your pipes readily accessible versus a dark, dank crawl space full of vermin, snakes, bugs, rodents and more. Or, a slab where you may require utter destruction of the homeowner's property with jackhammers INSIDE to get to or fix something. Except for the few crawlspaces where the smart homeowner had them encapsulated, they are all damp if not outright wet, most with a muddy dirt floor. These are awful places to work in, and since no homeowner goes into them, problems can exist for years before anyone discovers them. Contractors save their sloppiest work for that in a crawl space since nobody will ever know (except a home inspector of course.)
Not every site supports a basement. High water table? Bedrock? Unmitigated expansive soils? Probably not a good idea. But if the site will support a basement, I'd always choose it. Do it correctly (plenty of information on how to do it). Put the home's systems (furnaces, a/c units, water heaters, water treatment, electrical service panels, etc.) down there. If the builder has a clue, they'll also install an outside entrance; those in New England know what I'm talking about. Will basements get wet and full of water? Only if built incorrectly or on an inappropriate site. (Note: mine in Michigan never had water issues in 27 years) But guess what? So will crawl spaces. Houses on slabs can slide off; just ask those in Florida! Will gas lines be hit by directional boring? Of course they will, just like they do with trenching.
OK, back to installing safety bars and inspecting homes.
If one doesn't embrace things not immediately understood, you'll forever be stuck in the past. You'd be heading to the supply shop to get oakum and billet lead, perhaps a propane furnace/burner to melt the lead. You'd be stocking your truck with galvanized, not copper or PEX...and you'd have several helpers to assist moving those large lengths of cast iron waste pipe with hubs. You'd dismiss that "new fangled copper" stuff and use good old proven galvanized. You'd ensure you have cutting fluid and the threading machine ready to go. But times have changed now, haven't they? If your grandfather or great-grandfather was a plumber he wouldn't recognize many of your tools, parts and supplies in your truck.
If you want to talk trenching, it was already noted that excavators are the largest source of gas line breaks. More disturbing, with trenching, OSHA has noted that there are 22 deaths this year alone, so far, from trench collapses. So trenching isn't without its issues. 22 trench deaths in first half of 2022 leads to OSHA crackdown
I recall a number of trench collapses in Michigan. Even if people don't get hurt it sure puts a crimp in the cost and timing of a project which are two things on everyone's mind at all times. Cost and timing are two huge factors in determining the best way to install anything. If there is a death or even an injury in a trench, that work can grind to a halt for many months until the investigations are complete.
As far as boring goes, there are several kinds out there; read up on them if you want to learn. Because the equipment is costly, those who do it ONLY do this kind of work; it's a specialty. But, on a residential scale, it is generally mere pipe pulling using a Dingo with attachment, or a purpose designed walk behind. They will pull pipe for things like irrigation or small conduit (say for an outbuilding). My own revelation is that nobody around here in NC likes to use this for even the simple act of installing an irrigation system, but for some reason they love to destroy landscaping and lawns by hand digging everything. I found a contractor who was originally from Ohio, was mystified at the same thing, and his crew uses pipe pullers without digging. Now, part of the irrigation here is required to be 24" below grade (from the meter at the street to the back flow at the home), and that is dug by smart contractors with a small trenching machine. Again, very minimal disruption to the landscaping; a mere 4" trench, 24" down; almost no hand digging. Sod carefully removed in the path, When complete, there's no real evidence that they did anything other than it's done. My neighbors, on the other hand, used contractors with that local mindset of "let's dig everything by hand" and their expensive landscaping and lawn was destroyed in the process. One of my neighbors had their irrigation contractors hand dig everything and they still cut into a gas line...by hand...merely by carelessness. That cost the contractor big time. To each their own. My job cost no more than anyone else, and it shouldn't have. It took less time, too. It was simply done the best way, even if the locals here don't get it.
On a more commercial scale, there are other kinds of boring including controlled boring, where the head is precisely controlled. But if the operators don't now what they are drilling into or around, they'll learn a hard lesson sooner or later.
As for basements, there isn't a single one of you pros out there that wouldn't prefer working in a clean, dry, brightly lit and temperate basement with your pipes readily accessible versus a dark, dank crawl space full of vermin, snakes, bugs, rodents and more. Or, a slab where you may require utter destruction of the homeowner's property with jackhammers INSIDE to get to or fix something. Except for the few crawlspaces where the smart homeowner had them encapsulated, they are all damp if not outright wet, most with a muddy dirt floor. These are awful places to work in, and since no homeowner goes into them, problems can exist for years before anyone discovers them. Contractors save their sloppiest work for that in a crawl space since nobody will ever know (except a home inspector of course.)
Not every site supports a basement. High water table? Bedrock? Unmitigated expansive soils? Probably not a good idea. But if the site will support a basement, I'd always choose it. Do it correctly (plenty of information on how to do it). Put the home's systems (furnaces, a/c units, water heaters, water treatment, electrical service panels, etc.) down there. If the builder has a clue, they'll also install an outside entrance; those in New England know what I'm talking about. Will basements get wet and full of water? Only if built incorrectly or on an inappropriate site. (Note: mine in Michigan never had water issues in 27 years) But guess what? So will crawl spaces. Houses on slabs can slide off; just ask those in Florida! Will gas lines be hit by directional boring? Of course they will, just like they do with trenching.
OK, back to installing safety bars and inspecting homes.
