Utility trenching
Clean trenches, no second contractor
Utility trenching cuts the trench a buried line needs, at the right depth and grade, with every existing utility located and marked before the digging starts.
For TJM, that most often means water service lines, the buried pipe between the street and your home. We have dug them with our own equipment since 2005, and the same licensed crew places and connects the pipe.
Planning work that needs a trench? Reach our crew any time.
What kinds of lines call for a utility trench?
Water service lines are the most common dig we make. The buried pipe that feeds your home from the street corrodes and fails with age like everything else underground, and replacing it means a trench cut to the right depth from the connection point to the foundation. New service runs, relocated lines, and other buried utilities follow the same playbook: locate, dig, lay, connect, and restore. It is the everyday work of our Elgin excavation crew, and because the digger and the plumber are the same outfit, the trench is always sized for the pipe that is actually going into it.
Should you replace an old water service while the trench is open?
If the line is at the end of its life, yes, because the trench is the expensive part and it is already open. Elgin's older neighborhoods date to the early 1900s, and some homes still draw water through their original service lines, including lead ones. The city runs a Lead Service Line Replacement Program for exactly that reason. When we open a trench and find pipe that has no business staying in service, we show you photos of what came out of the ground and lay out your options, so the hole only has to be dug once.
From the locate to the last shovel of backfill
Utility trenches dug, piped, and restored by one family-owned Elgin crew. Free estimates, and the phone is answered 24 hours a day.
Call (847) 809-9316Is a utility trench different from a sewer dig?
The discipline is the same, but the pipe sets the rules. A sewer line needs a constant downhill grade to the main, so its trench is often deeper and must hold a precise fall from end to end. A water service runs under pressure, so grade matters less but frost depth matters more, since a shallow line freezes. We cut each trench for the pipe going into it, the same way our sewer line trenching work is cut for gravity flow. Same machines, same crew, different math, and both trenches end up backfilled, graded, and settled correctly.
What does the JULIE locate mean for your project?
Before any bucket touches soil, every buried gas, electric, water, and communication line on the property gets located and marked. Illinois law requires it, and it protects your home and everyone in the trench. TJM schedules the JULIE locate as part of every dig, waits for the marks, and plans the trench route around what is down there. You do not have to arrange any of it. It is one more piece of a job that stays with one company from start to finish. Ready to put a shovel in the ground? Call TJM to plan your dig.
Ask a plumber
Straight answers to plumbing questions
How much does utility trenching cost in Elgin?
The length of the run, the depth, and the surfaces above it set the price. We walk the route with you and put a clear number in writing before any digging starts.
Who handles the JULIE locate for the trench?
We do. Illinois law requires buried utilities to be marked before any excavation, so we schedule the locate as part of every job. You do not have to arrange anything yourself.
How deep does a water service line need to be?
Deep enough to sit safely below the frost line, which varies from property to property. We confirm the depth and the route when we scope your job, so the new line never freezes.
Can you trench where concrete or landscaping is in the way?
We plan the route around what sits above the line, explain what has to be opened, and price the dig and the restoration together, so there are no surprises partway through the job.
Do you install the pipe or just dig the trench?
Both. TJM is a licensed plumbing company that does its own excavation, so the same crew digs the trench, places and connects the line, and closes everything back up when it passes.
Do you trench outside of Elgin?
Yes. We dig across Elgin and the nearby towns, including Bartlett, South Elgin, Streamwood, Hoffman Estates, and Carpentersville, and we cover Kane, Cook, and DuPage counties. Call us about your project.