Tunnelling

Tunnelling services from highly skilled engineers

At Burch Services, our fully qualified drainage engineers provide cost effective tunnelling services.

Timber framed tunnels (also known as headings), are used to pass under buildings or roads where traffic management or open cut excavations would not be feasible. They are potentially extremely hazardous environments, requiring highly trained operatives.

How do our tunnelling services work?

First, a shaft is created from where the tunnell will be excavated.
A timber frame is then installed, with side and headboards on the outside of it.
Hand excavated material is next removed from the tunnel by means of a small skip.
This is lifted by machine from the shaft, then replaced so the process can repeat until the required distance is achieved.
Further treated timber frames, side and roofboards are then inserted, as the process repeats until the desired distance is reached.
The new pipe is then installed one length at a time on lean mix concrete; the heading is filled with the same mix, leaving the treated timber in place.
This process is repeated until the pipe enters the shaft where it can the be connected, with the shaft backfilled as required to suit the installation.

All of our operatives are fully trained, working to health and safety standards set by the HSE and CHAS etc codes of practice.