By Joe Haynes, President, Little Beaver Inc.
An earth drill is already a familiar tool on many jobsites, but with the right accessories, it can help contractors break into new applications. From horizontal boring to foundation repair and anchoring, a simple kit or attachment can expand into entirely new services. Consider these four earth drill accessories to increase profits and make crews more versatile and productive in the field.
Bore horizontally, profit vertically
Horizontal boring turns the traditional saying “drill down” sideways. These attachments allow contractors to complete a variety of jobs, including conduit, pipe, cable and irrigation instalments, without disturbing sidewalks, driveways or other above-ground installations.
Typically, manufacturers offer two types of horizontal boring kits: one for dry drilling and one for wet drilling. Dry auger kits are designed for shorter underground boring, around 1.5 metres, and are best suited for projects like boring under sidewalks. Larger projects, like boring under streets or driveways, require a different solution: wet drilling kits. These kits involve connecting a water hose and water swivel to the drill to flush out the borehole and can bore as far as 15 metres.
Compared to manual methods, a horizontal boring attachment drastically reduces both effort and project timelines. For example, a wet drilling kit takes less than 30 minutes to drill under a 30-foot driveway compared to manually using a sledgehammer to force the pipe through the ground, which can take hours.
Bells And buckets
Contractors looking to enter or expand into foundation repair will find that a bucket auger or bell tool opens the door to these types of applications. These tools perform home and light commercial building projects, such as drilling holes for concrete piers.
Bucket augers work well in soft soils and reduce side friction to allow for drilling deeper holes. Bell tools are used after the hole is drilled to ream out the bottom into a bell shape.
The bell shape reduces frost heaving and offers additional support when anchoring the pier as opposed to push piers, which are straight columns. Bell tools are a relatively inexpensive investment considering they prevent a foundation from sinking.
Do more than drill holes
Earth drills aren’t just limited to drilling holes, though. They can also be powerful tools for anchoring. Some manufacturers offer a variety of attachments for mobile home, utility or even tent anchoring.
Mobile home anchors make securing mobile homes fast and easy. While traditional methods involve using an expensive and slow pipe thread machine, an earth drill with an anchoring attachment reduces project times by several hours. Some manufacturers’ earth drills install each anchor in less than a couple of minutes and can complete an entire home in as little as 90 minutes.
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Similarly, installing utility anchors is also faster with an earth drill. For example, an earth drill installs each anchor in a power utility tower anchoring system in about a minute. Only one person is required for the job, which cuts labour costs.
Often, outdoor celebrations involve renting large tents to shelter guests in case of unfavourable weather conditions. Setting up these tents has the potential to become a lucrative business opportunity for contractors. For these projects, consider purchasing an attachment to anchor the tents. These types of attachments pair with hydraulic earth drills and drive tent anchors in and out of the ground within seconds as opposed to manually hammering in tent stakes.
Auger adapters
Ideally, a contractor purchases an earth drill from a manufacturer that offers a wide range of augers and accessories.
However, for those that already made a sizable investment in a brand without these benefits, consider purchasing an auger adapter. Some manufacturers design adapters that make other brands’ earth drills compatible with their accessories. This way the contractor gets the perks of the accessories without having to immediately invest in an entirely new drill.
Expanding into new services can be nerve-wracking, but it doesn’t need to mean buying brand new equipment.
Earth drills are versatile machines that allow operators to extend the reach of their operations with a variety of attachments. By thoughtfully selecting accessories, contractors can transform a familiar piece of equipment into a versatile solution for a broader range of projects.
