What Is Vacuum Excavation?Vacuum excavation is a relatively new alternative to traditional excavation using digging tools like a shovel or hydraulic bucket excavator. Instead, a blower is used to create suction that pulls material through a hose. Vacuum excavation techniques were first developed in the 1980's using modified sewer trucks, and by the mid 1990's, companies were starting to use purpose-built trucks and trailers on jobsites for a variety of applications. Vacuum excavation is a "soft dig" process, which means we can safely excavate near buried utilities such as gas lines without risking damage to them as a traditional excavator would. Vacuum excavation hoses can also be used in confined spaces where the only other alternative would be using a hand shovel and bucket. It's much safer than a bucket excavator, and much faster than a hand shovel.
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What Our Process Looks LikeFor a typical job, ABC Soils will send one of our most powerful vacuum excavation trucks alongside a support vehicle and a tow-behind air compressor. Some jobs, such as ones working on a street or sidewalk, do not require any length of additional hose to be brought and we will simply use the truck boom. For less accessible areas, we will bring a length of heavy duty 6 inch vacuum hose based on how close we can get, usually between 25 and 100 feet. For extreme situations, we are capable of running a hose up to 1,000 feet away. If there is concrete or asphalt present, we will start with a jackhammer and/or concrete saw. Once the dirt is exposed, we will use an "air spade" to safely loosen the dirt and suck it into the hose. In confined spaces, such as a crawlspace, we may use hand tools to loosen the dirt instead of an air spade. Once the job is done, there are multiple options for the material. If we are uncovering something for inspection, we can dump the same dirt right back in the hole and compact it. If there's something being put in the hole, such as a foundation, we can take the material somewhere else and dump it, either on your site or at an appropriate off-site facility.
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