5 Tips to Make Construction Drilling Even Easier
According to the Construction Association, there are over 733,000 different construction companies.
If you want to make sure that your construction drilling company stands out, you should learn some good drilling techniques to make every project go smoothly.
Thankfully, we’re here to fill you in on the best horizontal directional drilling tips, so make sure you keep reading.
-
Gather Your Equipment and Materials
Before you start, you’ll have to have the right materials and equipment in order to succeed.
Some of the popular equipment include drill bits, a rotary steerable system, a bottom hole assembly, cameras, wire pipes, and networks.
Drillbits
Drillbits can really make a difference in the quality of your driller. If you have the wrong set on your drill, you may even damage your equipment.
You should find some that are designed to push and some that have a rotary steerable system.
Rotary Steerable System
If you’re going to be drilling horizontally, you’ll need to find a drill pipe that can go forward even if the drill isn’t moving.
Thankfully, this system will make sure that you can drill and steer all at once without having to take a pause.
This ability will let you access places that can be hard to reach or drill around.
Bottom Hole Assembly
Bottom holes assembly is a configuration that will bend in shape. This lets you use any kind of manipulation for your drilling.
Cameras
To help you navigate while drilling, have multi-shot cameras inside the drill string.
These cameras are set up to take pictures in a time-lapse so you can always have constant updates on what your drill is doing and where it’s going.
Once these images are taken, they get sent back up to the surface.
Wire Pipes
Wire pipes contain receivers that will collect data and then send it back up to the surface so you can know where you’re drilling.
This is a very special type of drilling equipment, and this may be expensive but it’s worth it.
-
Drill Core Drills
While using this DX transmitter can help you figure out where you’re drilling, you should also be drilling core drills.
To start, drill multiple holes on each side of the feature. You should get two holes close to the feature that you’re trying to cross, and then another one twenty feet to the right or the left of the bore path.
If you plan ahead and be smart about where you drill your holes, you’ll have an easier time boring through. You should also drill deeper than where you think your path will be.
This is a great strategy for a long drill that’s going to be near the surface. If you’re in an area where the geology changes a lot, you should drill more sets to help stabilize it.
-
Come Up With a Good Plan
If you have the right equipment, then you need to come up with a drill plan. When you’re drilling, you can do a lot of tight maneuvers around an obstacle, so you have to make sure that you know exactly where you’re going to drill.
You’ll need to plan how far back you set the rig and when you should start steering to avoid hitting anything underground.
If you don’t plan properly, you’ll waste a lot of time and money, and you may even have to start over.
Drilling in dirt gives you a lot more leeway than drilling in rock, so you should also have different plans for different kinds of environments.
You should use a terrain mapper, which can help you figure out the rise and fall of the land. You can also get a bore planner, which will let you plot out the bore in relation to the different terrain and other things underground.
-
Use a Bigger Radius
Most drillers know that you should use a 100-foot radius per inch of the pipe’s diameter. But recently, many people have found that this doesn’t actually give you a nice smooth drill.
Instead, you’ll get a bunch of small, short drills that have different radiuses, and you’ll find yourself having to make a lot of corrections.
Instead, you should try using a 120-foot radius per inch of the pipe’s diameter. You shouldn’t do anything less than that.
This will leave you with a smooth hole, but you’ll still have enough force that lets you pull the pipe into the hole.
If you use a larger radius and have some patience while drilling, you’ll find that the job will be a lot easier.
-
Use High-Quality Water
You’ll also have to use drilling fluid to complete any job. However, make sure that you choose the right source of water, otherwise, it could damage your equipment and ruin your job.
Normally, businesses would just pull out water from a creek or a fire hydrant. However, these aren’t very good water sources because there could be debris or particles in them, like sand or small pebbles.
When sand gets in your mixing tank, it will run through the mud pump and ruin the equipment.
Instead, make sure that you sift the water before using it.
Discover More Tips to Help Construction Drilling
These are only a few tips to help construction drilling go smoother, but there are many more factors to consider.
We know that running a company can be overwhelming at times, but we’re here to help you out.
If you enjoyed this article, make sure that you explore our website to find more articles just like this one!
