Serving Columbia and all of South Carolina
Directional drilling contractors in Columbia, SC
Horizontal directional drilling, auger boring and pipe boring in Columbia: conduit, fiber, water, sewer and gas lines put under roads, driveways and landscaping without an open trench.
When a line has to cross a street, a parking lot or a stand of mature trees in Columbia, the cheapest-looking option is rarely to dig. Horizontal directional drilling puts the pipe in from two small pits, steering a pilot bore along a planned path and then pulling the product line back through it. Restoration is a couple of patches instead of a scar across the property.
In South Carolina the listed contractor is Davis Underground Solutions, Inc., based in Powder Springs, Georgia, which drills across the Southeast and quotes any mobilization up front. See Davis Underground Solutions's South Carolina drilling page for the crew, the equipment and recent projects, or call (855) 520-2670; estimates are free.
Serving Columbia and all of South Carolina
Davis Underground Solutions, Inc.
Directional drilling, auger boring and utility installation; locates, bore plan and permits handled. It's boring. But we dig it.
What is in the ground in Columbia
Columbia sits on the Fall Line, so the ground changes from Piedmont clay and granite north of downtown to loose sandhills sand south and east toward Fort Jackson. The Congaree, Saluda and Broad rivers and the interstate ring need SCDOT and sometimes Corps review for crossings, and fiber, water and sewer work for the Northeast and Lexington growth corridors keeps crews busy.
Growth along I-85 and I-77, Charleston-area utilities and drainage, fiber to the home and water and sewer extensions for new neighborhoods. Locate requests in South Carolina go through SC811; crossings of state routes are permitted by SCDOT.
How a bore in Columbia is done
The work in Columbia starts before the rig arrives. The contractor files a locate request with SC811, walks the alignment, and plans the bore depth and curve around the marked utilities and anything the locate cannot see, such as private lines, septic systems and old abandoned pipe. The pilot bore is tracked from the surface every rod, so the crew knows exactly where the head is in relation to what it must miss.
Hiring a drilling contractor in Columbia
Price per foot is the least useful number on a Columbia drilling quote. The things that change the cost are the ground, the diameter, the depth the permit forces, the length of the run and how much of the site has to stay open to traffic. Get the quote broken out that way, confirm who pulls permits and calls in locates, and compare contractors on the finished crossing rather than the footage rate.
For the full picture, see drilling and boring services in South Carolina at Davis Underground Solutions.
Estimates are free. Call now: (855) 520-2670.
Drilling and boring services in Columbia
Each page explains one method or utility type: what gets installed, how deep, what the permit requires and what moves the price.
Directional Drilling
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) for new underground utilities: steered bores under roads, driveways, parking lots, creeks and landscaping with no open trench.
Directional Drilling explained →
Horizontal Boring
Horizontal boring for conduit, casing and carrier pipe where digging across a surface is not an option.
Horizontal Boring explained →
Auger Boring
Steel-cased auger bores for road, rail and railroad crossings that need a straight, on-grade casing.
Auger Boring explained →
Pipe Boring
Boring and pulling in HDPE or steel product pipe from a few inches up to large-diameter casings.
Pipe Boring explained →
Fiber Optic Drilling
Directional drilling for fiber and communications duct: long bores, multiple ducts in one pull, tight easements.
Fiber Optic Drilling explained →
Electrical Conduit Drilling
Bores for primary and secondary power conduit, lighting circuits and site electrical feeds.
Electrical Conduit Drilling explained →
Utility Drilling
Multi-utility installs for developers and utilities: power, gas, water, sewer and telecom on one site plan.
Utility Drilling explained →
Sewer Line Drilling
Directional drilling and boring for new gravity-adjusted force mains, laterals and sewer crossings.
Sewer Line Drilling explained →
Water Main Drilling
HDD installation of new water mains and service lines, including creek and road crossings.
Water Main Drilling explained →
Gas Line Drilling
Bores for new natural gas mains and services, coordinated with the utility and its operator-qualification rules.
Gas Line Drilling explained →
Questions we hear in Columbia
Does the drilling fluid harm my yard or the creek in Columbia?+
Standard drilling fluid is bentonite clay and water, the same material used in pond liners. It is contained in the pits and hauled away or recycled. Crews watch for inadvertent returns, where fluid finds a path to the surface, and stop and contain them; near waterways in South Carolina that is a permit condition.
Who calls 811 before a bore in Columbia?+
The contractor files the locate request with SC811 a few business days before drilling, and the public utilities mark their lines on the ground. Private lines on your property, such as irrigation, septic, propane or lighting, are not marked by 811 and need a private locator or your own knowledge of the site.
What happens if the drill hits rock in Columbia?+
An experienced crew plans for the ground they expect from local experience and any borings or utility records, and brings rock tooling if the area is known for it. If rock shows up unexpectedly, the bore may be slowed, redesigned deeper or shallower, or switched to a rock-capable head. Ask how rock is handled in the quote before work starts.
How do I get a directional drilling estimate in Columbia?+
Call Davis Underground Solutions, Inc. at (855) 520-2670; estimates are free, and the crew that answers is the one that does the work. Have the length of the run, what is going in the ground and what it crosses ready, and a site walk will usually confirm the price.
More South Carolina cities
Every listed city in South Carolina has its own page; the South Carolina page covers the state's ground, permits and contractor.