Huffman – Harris County – Greater Houston Metropolitan Area

Before we do any drilling in this residential area of Huffman we need to call 811. This is the national call-before-you-dig phone number.
This is to request that the approximate location of buried utilities be marked with paint or flags so that we don’t unintentionally dig into an underground utility line.  That might be electricity cables, water lines, cable TV lines, older internet lines, or gas pipes.

Setting Up:

For this job we were tasked with installing conduit for Fiber Optic Internet Cables. Now we have existing utilities marked we need to get our equipment in place so we can start to drill. We need this conduit to be installed underground so that the fiber optic cables can be inserted inside this protective outer layer. With this job we have also been required to install Brooks Boxes or Flowerpots which are effectively junction boxes so that cables can be run to individual properties in this community when they contract for high speed internet connection. This means that in addition to drilling a single line we must dig holes at various locations to install the boxes.

Because we will be installing a small conduit we can use our Ditch Witch 2020 machine that is ideally suited to working in confined spaces and built up areas. We transport this machine on a trailer so that we can quickly move from one job location to another. We also make use of other vehicles to provide the tooling and supplies needed for each job we undertake.

Once we begin drilling the operator with the Subsite Locator (seen here in Lime Green) is able to follow exactly where the drill head is situated and can instruct the operator working the drill to adjust the angle of the drill head to avoid any obstacles.  He will guide the drill to the end point, where the conduit will be accessed from the surface.

Once the drill has worked its way from the entry point to the exit the conduit is then attached to the drill head and withdrawn through the drilled hole. That completes the installation of the conduit ready for the fiber optic cables to be installed inside the protective outer cover.