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Big Mike's Excavation & Vac Truck Services Inc.

*CERTIFIED SEWER CONNECTION AND DRAIN LAYERS IN TEWKSBURY, MA AND BILLERICA, MA*

What Is Vacuum Excavation?

Vacuum Excavation is a non-mechanical, non-destructive digging method that is a safe way of exposing buried utilities such as wires, pipes and structures. The proven vacuum excavation process that we utilize involves using high-pressure air to perform the initial breakup of the topsoil. This loosens the soil and allows us to start removing the top layers of the soil with the vacuum as the air pressure continues to loosen the deeper layers of soil. We can then begin to check the status of the hole and begin to identify underlying utilities, pipes, structures, etc. Excavated soil is returned to the excavator storage tanks, so no mess is created and minimal disruption occurs, making it a breeze to fill in the hole once the job is done. Vacuum excavation services are different from other digging processes as it is one of the safest and least invasive methods, which is why the method is sometimes referred to as soft digging services. Vacuum excavation allows us to quickly and efficiently remove large amounts of dirt with minimal risk to buried items.

What Is Hydro Excavation?

Hydro vacuum excavation uses water to loosen up dirt and dig a hole. It is faster than using air because liquid can cut more easily through earth. There is even an option to use heated water to cut through clay or frozen soil. Importantly, the hydro method is just as safe when working around utility lines. There is one potential drawback to using water. Disposing of the wet dirt mixture can be a challenge because it is considered hazardous waste in some places and will need to be off loaded in designated areas.

How does Vacuum Excavation work?

Vacuum excavation involves digging a hole using high-pressure water or air. A high-powered vacuum system then sucks up the spoils into a debrisbody, which acts like a storage tank.
Typically, all equipment for digging, vacuuming and storing the excavated material is mounted on a truck, such as the TRUVAC Paradigm. On TRUVACtrucks, the chassis’ engine powers every function.
While it may take longer, the vacuum excavation process is safer and more precise than using the tough, metal bucket of a backhoe.

Who should use vacuum excavation?

Anyone who needs to dig precise holes can benefit from using vacuum excavation, from utility crews to landscapers to construction companies. Drillers use vacuum excavation trucks in large, open oil fields, and utility companies use them in tight spaces like residential areas.
The precision of this method is especially useful in residential areas. Consider a recent sewer job in a Tewksbury, Massachusetts residential neighborhood. Rather than disturbing landscaping and lawns adjacent to these homes, the crew was able to dig a 1-foot-square hole, 9 feet deep, while using a vacuumexcavation truck.
“It's a very small footprint,” the process. “It’s minimally destructive, and it leaves vegetation intact. After we were done, you’d have noclue that we were there.”

There are some key differences between using air and water in vacuum excavation.

The two systems employ forceful injections of air or water to cut into the earth, and it’s not uncommon for both systems to be mounted on a truck for switching from one to the other during an excavation. An air system is pressurized by a compressor unit that can generate kinetic force through high-pressure hose at a rate of 350 cubic feet per minute at 250 pounds per square inch. Water is injected through other hoses at a rate of 5-15 gpm at 3,000-4,000 psi, though lower pressure is generally used.
Both systems employ vacuum pumps that suck up the dry or wet excavated material at a rate of 1,000 cfm or more. The material is deposited in tanks that can hold the equivalent of 300-1,000 gallons of dirt or slurry. Each tank features a wide-opening end door for dumping the accumulation.
Which system completes an excavation faster and most cost-effectively can depend on how far away a hydrovac truck must travel to dump a full tank, and how much time and expense is involved in trucking in replacement soil.
“The main thing is an air-vac system doesn’t have to get rid of spoil and doesn’t have to import any soil,” says John West, vice president of Ultra Engineering of Winchester, California.
“We can do an entire hole in half an hour from opening to backfill. If you are using water, you won’t get it done that quick. And at the end of the day, we don’t have any spoil to dispose of, which saves time and money.”

What Sets Our Vacuum Excavation Services Apart?

  • Solid/semi-solid/liquid vacuum excavation capabilities
  • Hydraulic-driven booms for efficient and precise soft digging
  • Highly trained vacuum excavation truck operators with remote control capabilities

Benefits of Vacuum Excavation Services

  • Safely uncover buried utilities
  • Easily refill the excavation site
  • Minimal cleanup required
  • Less disruptive and invasive
  • Get more done for less money

Why Vacuum Excavation is the Best Choice for Safe Digging

According to estimates from the Common Ground Alliance, a utility line in the United States is hit every six minutes. Each of these strikes can not only cause a great deal of power and utility disruption, but severe injuries can occur, such as from a natural gas explosion. This is why safe digging is so important to all of us. Safe digging is about taking the proper precautionary steps before you dig, and about using the right equipment while you dig to minimize risk and damage. Digging safe, more than ever, means vacuum excavating. Plunging a shovel in the ground is risky. Backhoes and other large, heavy machinery can easily uproot more than dirt. Vacuum excavating, on the other hand, is a non-destructive means of using compressed air or pressurized water to uncover underground utilities. The loosened soil is then vacuumed out of the way, and into a debris tank. Vacuum excavation is simple, efficient and:
  • No fear of rupturing or breaking a line because no mechanical parts come in contact with the utility being exposed.
  • All you need to do is vacuum a small hole, often 12 inches round or less, causing minimal soil disruption. It’s also easy to patch the hole by returning the dirt when air excavating. This is sometimes referred to as potholing and is used to confirm location, depth, and type of buried lines before beginning construction.
  • State-of-the-art. Vacuum-based excavation is more sophisticated than other forms of excavation—allowing for faster excavating speeds and more precise digging. In fact, vacuum excavation is the only form of excavation that can determine the exact depth of a utility with one hundred percent accuracy.
  • Cost-Effective. Vacuum excavators are faster than other methods of digging. Plus, the extreme precision of vacuum excavation results in substantially less repair work. Add those together and more sites can be visited during every shift. The resulting cost savings in time, labor and materials can be substantial.

Vac Your Unfinished Basement Floor for More Living Space, or just clean it out

Many American homeowners are often looking to create more useable living space in their homes and digging out your existing basement to create additional height is one way to go. Whether you are looking to provide yourself with more storage areas or do a full basement renovation. basement lowering entails digging out the basement floor several feet down. This will add value to your home by ensuring the basement can easily be accessed and used. In addition, underpinning also enhances the integrity of the structure thus uplifting the face of your home.

What We Do

  • Vacuum Excavation Services and Hydro Excavation
  • Local Drain Layers in Tewksbury, Massachusetts and Billerica, Massachusetts
  • Digging for Patio Foundations.

If You Can’t Dig it, Suck It

Why Choose Us

  • Meet or beat pricing guarantee
  • We can handle any size dig
  • No Job is too big
  • No Job is too small
  • We get the job done right
  • We won't just sit there and watch you work
If You Can’t Dig it, Suck It

Contact Us

21 Easement Road Tewksbury, MA 01876

** Our Cancellation Policy **

Big Mike’s Excavation and Vac Truck Services Please be advised that cancellations made up to [48 hours] before a scheduled appointment via [email, text, phone call] will be processed without a penalty. Cancellations made [36 hours] or less before an appointment will be subject to a charge of [$500.00]. This includes appointments where our service provider is unable to access the property, is turned away, or the client is a no-show. If your Company cancels an appointment with [24 hours’ notice] before an appointment, we will be subject to a charge of a full workday. We apologize for the inconvenience, but as you know we are a small company and still need to pay our employees.
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21 Easement Road Tewksbury, MA 01876
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