Underground Utility Installation for Land Development and New Construction

Wet utility connections

New sewer and water service connections

Every new building needs a sewer lateral out to the main and a water service from the main to the meter. We excavate, lay, connect and test both, to the approved plans and the standard of the agency that will own them.

• On the sewer side: new laterals, cleanouts and the connection to the existing system, plus sewer mains where the plans call for them.
• On the water side: the service line, the meter and the connection at the street, plus water mains if the plans show them.
• Then the pressure and line tests, and whatever inspections each agency wants before it accepts the line.

Who signs off depends on where the site is. In the East Bay it usually breaks down like this:

Some water agencies tap the main and set the meter with their own crews. Others let a licensed contractor build it to their standard. Name the agency on your bid request and we'll price the part that falls to the contractor.

Replacing the sewer line on an existing house? That's a different job. See our sewer line repair page.

Before the dig

Potholing and vacuum excavation before you dig

Potholing means digging a small test hole over an existing utility, usually by vacuum excavation, to see exactly how deep it is and where it runs before the trench or bore reaches it. The 811 paint shows roughly where a line is. It doesn't show how deep it sits.

We pothole crossings and tie-in points before we cut. On a bore, every crossing near an existing utility gets potholed before the drill head goes near it. California law also requires an 811 ticket with USA North at least two working days before any excavation, so that wait goes into the schedule from day one.

A conflict found in a pothole goes to your engineer before the crew mobilizes. The same conflict found by the excavator bucket is a damaged line, a stopped job and a call to the utility owner.

• If your plans cross existing mains, or tie into services whose depths came off old record drawings, get those spots potholed early, before pipe is ordered.
• If the site is raw land with nothing in the ground yet, potholing is usually limited to the tie-ins at the street.

If part of your site is bored instead of trenched, our directional boring cost guide shows where potholing fits into a bore.

Getting a bid

What we need to price your site

To price your site utilities we need the plans, the utility scope you want priced, your construction schedule and the bid date. Send what you have through the bid form and we'll reply within 24 hours with any questions.

1. The civil and utility plans, plus the joint trench design if gas, electric or communications are in scope. A Dropbox, Google Drive, Box or plan room link works.
2. Which utilities you want priced: sewer, domestic water, fire, storm, and gas, electric and communications, or excavation and restoration only.
3. When you expect to start and how the work is phased. A subdivision built in three phases prices differently from one mobilization.
4. The bid date, so we can tell you right away if the timing works.

Items we list as open until we hear from you

Some costs can sit with us or with you, and specs don't always say which. We list these on the bid as open items, so the numbers you compare cover the same work:

• Import sand and backfill material
• Hauling off spoils
• Compaction testing

If your specs or your GC's scope sheet already settle them, say so on the bid request.

Still at the budget stage, without plans? Our underground utility installation cost guide has per-foot ranges and a worked example for a small multifamily lot.

Request a bid on your plans