Straight Answers About Burying a Line
Cost, depth, MISS DIG, driveways, scheduling. If your question isn't here, call (231) 264-0757 and ask a person.
How much does it cost to bury a water or power line?
A typical 100-foot bore runs $3,000, done in a day or less. That one number covers the whole job: drilling the path, pulling your pipe or conduit through, and cleanup. There's no restoration bill afterward because nothing gets torn up.
Compare that to an open trench. The machine work might quote cheap, but once you add obstacle detours, driveway cuts, sprinkler repairs, backfill, topsoil, and seed, a 100-foot trench realistically lands between $2,300 and $6,000. Then you water dirt all summer.
Every property is different, which is why the estimate is free.
How deep are lines buried in Michigan?
It depends on what's in the pipe. Water lines have to sit below the frost line, and up here that's serious: figure around 42 inches minimum in Northern Michigan, with many local codes calling for 48 inches or more. Your local building department has the final word. Electrical is usually shallower, commonly 18 to 24 inches depending on whether it's in conduit, per code and your inspector.
Here's the part that matters for your wallet: a deeper trench means a wider cut, more spoil, and more money. A deeper bore costs about the same as a shallow one. Frost depth doesn't scare us.
Does boring damage the yard?
No. The only digging is two small pits, one where the drill enters and one where it exits. Everything in between stays exactly as it is: lawn, trees, flower beds, irrigation. We fill the pits before we leave.
Our standard is simple. Your yard looks like we were never there.
Do I need to call MISS DIG?
Yes, and it's not optional — Michigan law requires existing utilities to be marked before any digging or boring. The good news: MISS DIG is free, and we handle the coordination as part of the job. You call us, the locate request goes in, and marking usually takes about 3 business days. We schedule your bore right behind it.
If we need to expose an existing utility to bore past it safely, our hydrovac truck does that without a shovel touching your lawn.
How long does the work take?
Most residential jobs are done in one day or less. We show up in the morning, dig the two pits, bore the path, pull your line through, clean up, and go home. Mow that evening if you feel like it.
Scheduling is quick too. We're usually on site within 3 days of your call, once MISS DIG marking is complete.
Can you go under a driveway, septic field, or trees?
Yes. That's the whole reason directional boring exists. The drill head travels underneath driveways, sidewalks, mature tree roots, septic tanks and drain fields, decks, and landscaping in a straight line from pit to pit.
A trench has to go around those things, or through them. Every detour adds footage and cost, and going through means saw-cut concrete or a dead tree. We just go under.
What size pipe can you install?
We pull product up to 10 inches in diameter. That covers everything from a half-inch water service or electrical conduit up to irrigation mains and large casings. We run five directional drills, so we've got the right size machine for a backyard water line or a long commercial run.
Not sure what size you need? Describe the job and we'll tell you.
What area do you serve?
We work within about 80 miles of Williamsburg, MI. That covers Traverse City, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Gaylord, Grayling, Cadillac, Kalkaska, and the Leelanau Peninsula, plus everywhere in between.
On the edge of that circle? Call anyway. Worst case, we point you in the right direction.
Ready for a Real Number?
Free estimate, no pressure. We'll look at your run and tell you exactly what it takes.
Want the full cost breakdown first? See trenching vs. boring, side by side.