Offering a wide range of services that includes everything from excavation and directional boring to drain cleaning and waterjetting, Lovett Services knows that educating its customers is just as important as providing top-notch service. And as one of the few pipe bursting specialists in the Portland, Ore., area, the company can let its work speak for itself. 

“Pipe bursting is a specialty trade, and not all contractors do it,” says Waylon Knight, excavation operations manager. “We are one of the local companies that specialize in small-, medium-, and large-size pipe bursting.” 

The company regularly posts photos and videos of jobs on its website to help customers understand the different types of services offered. The most recent project profiled on the site is a pipe bursting job at a performing arts school:  

 

The school in Lake Oswego, Ore., needed a new section of pipe installed due to a special request by a homeowner. The pipe needed to be replaced because it had failed several times and backed up into the school. “Pipe bursting was necessary because there was an easement through some private property and the property owner didn’t want any excavation done,” Knight says. “We put the pipe in without having to set foot on that easement.” 

Pipe bursting was chosen over directional boring because the process allowed crews to work in the tight spaces surrounding the school. Using the Grundoburst pipe bursting system from TT Technologies, three crew members put an 8-inch SDR17 HPDE pipe inside an existing 6-inch concrete and cast iron pipe. They set up, burst and completed their portion of the job in less than two days. Another excavation contractor opened up the entrance and exit pits to expose the pipe. 

Once the Lovett crew turned on the burster after connecting it to the winch, it took 22 minutes with an average burst speed of 5.5 feet per minute to burst a 120-foot section. “Once the pipe was in place, the excavation company completed the tie-ins,” Knight says. 

Project highlights

This project is highlighted on the company’s website to give customers a look into available trenchless technologies. “We try to offer a feature project once a month,” Knight says. “We’ll do a project profile and then post it on the website. It helps with marketing purposes because a lot of people hear the term ‘pipe bursting’ and don’t really know what it means. So when they see that we offer that service it’s nice to have a video like this up there so they can watch how it works.”

Educating homeowners means the Lovett team can focus on quality service. “It’s nice to have a video on our website to show homeowners how we’re going to do a pipe bursting job,” Knight says. “It shows them that when we do it this way it means we don’t have to trench all the way across their yards so their landscaping and driveway can stay.”

Check out a full profile on Lovett Services at www.cleaner.com/editorial/2011/08/happy_employees_big_dividends.