A mole can only be fired in a straight line so a job might require more than 1 pair of launch and reception pits. Moling is a good way of quickly replacing large amounts of pipework. With a limited amount of excavations, and therefore reinstatements, moling will cause far less surface disruption than other water main replacement methods such as trenching. Moling can be used to cover large areas for replacing pipework or for smaller distances such as water main repairs.

What is moling? 

Moling is the process of firing pipework from the launch pit to the reception pit. A mole can only be fired in a straight line so you might need more than one launch and reception pits. By using a mole to shoot the new pipework under the ground the amount of surface disruption is minimised.  

What are the benefits of moling?

Replacing a water main through moling, as opposed to trenching, offers several major benefits. Moling will cause less disruption as you only need to make two excavations (a launch and a reception pit) instead of carrying out expensive untidy trenching, which may be several metres long. Moling will mean fewer excavations that will need reinstating, meaning the work can be carried out more competitively.

How much does moling cost?

When it comes to pricing up a mole there are several contributing factors that will make up the final cost of moling. Moling itself is priced per metre so any costing would be based on the length of the pipework. A mole can only be fired in a straight line so in order to go around a property/corner, additional pits (on top of the launch and reception pits) may be required.