Burying 8 inch Pipe With a Cat 215

I am trying to come up with a rough estimate on a per mile basis. The job would entail digging down 4 feet and burying 8 inch water pipe and covering it. The dirt is very sandy, loose material. Easy digging, but sand falling in would be an issue. We have an EX400 on location, but it's too big and we would have to buy a smaller machine. A Cat 215 is what we had in mind. I'm not familiar with trencher machine capabilities, but that could be an option as well. I know that these estimations are extremely difficult, but what I am mainly asking for advice on is:

~Running Costs on 215 Sized Excavator
~The running time it takes to dig in 4 feet and cover over in loose sand (not including pipelaying time)

Other useful info would be:

~Cost of 8 inch plastic potable water pipe
~Trenching machine or other excavator options

Thanks!

You may have to backfill it twice if you have to lay warning tape over it.Ron G

WOW....it's pretty difficult to answer this type of question. One thing I would recommend is a V shaped trenching bucket to minimize the loose sandy material from filling in the ditch as you dig along. As far as costing the job there are many variables. Consider a trenching type machine or service. There are faster ways to bury pipe in sandy soil besides digging with a excavator. Drain tile contractor comes to mind. Sorry I can't help with cost estimates...

With some luck, CM with chime in with an expert opinion on how to go about costing this job..He has a very good working knowledge on this type of job and can lead you in the right direction...

Well first what type of job is this? Is it a replacement or all new install. Will you be trenching around a lot of utilities or is this going across a field. Is it a rate job or private. What type of pipe c-900, ductile, fusion, or something else. How much man power do you have available.

All these questions will change the price and what type of equipment you should be looking for.

I'm going to guess they're looking to bury irrigation pipe. I'll throw out a guess based on that. The pipe could be SDR-21 or SDR-26. It's been a while since I knew exactly how much per foot, but I wouldn't think $5/ft would be out of line. Bought a piece of 12" SDR-35 this summer and that was $10/ft.

215 excavator. Would think that it would use 5-7 gallons per hour. At 4', should be able to dig at least 300' per hour, unless the pipe has to be on grade. Then, I would figure 150, maybe 200. With a couple of trench guys to lay pipe, and a tracked skidder (with operator) for backfill, you're probably looking at a four man crew to get it laid and covered as fast as you can dig it.