We were called out by one of our repeat customers, Jake (a plumber), to dig a narrow trench along the path of a new service line he was installing.

With hydro excavation, we can dig safely around known and unknown underground services like NBN, gas, water, and power mains—without causing damage. We often uncover hidden services in our trenches, saving contractors like Jake significant time and money by preventing costly mistakes and delays.

We’re often called in to expose buried underground assets so that maintenance or repair work can be carried out.

Unlike traditional digging methods that remove tonnes of unnecessary soil, we use hydro excavation to go straight to the target. There’s no need to “dig around” the asset—we expose only the exact area required, saving time, effort, and disposal costs. This makes the process faster, cleaner, and far more efficient.

This job started with the plumber marking out the pipe’s location before excavation—but once we started, we discovered it was actually 1.5 metres off, sitting right under the edge of the driveway.

We always ask clients to spray their preferred dig zone (or we’ll mark it up for them), but as shown here, even locator machines can be off. After chatting with the client, we came up with a smarter plan: dig a clean vertical column from a soft soil section beside the driveway and work sideways toward the pipe. In this shot, I’m standing waist-deep in the original trench, cutting in laterally with precision—no broken concrete, no unnecessary mess.

We were called out to find the source of an underground leak after cattle kept getting stuck in the mud near this trough, making the issue worse and harder to fix by the day.

First, we used the vac to suck up the standing water, then carefully exposed the area around the inlet valve. From there, we continued following the buried poly pipe—exposing it bit by bit as we went, without a single mark or damage to the line.

No other machine could’ve done this job with that level of precision and care. Hydro excavation was the only way to get it done cleanly and safely.

This job involved clearing out 212 pier holes—on the morning of the concrete pour.

We were called in at the last minute to help the customer clean out their footings in time for engineering sign-off and the scheduled pour. We managed to pull out around 5–6 cubic metres of heavy clay and tip it straight from our spoil tank, getting the site ready just in time.

No delays. No dramas. Just fast, clean results when it mattered most.

This dig involved removing soil from alongside a brick wall to allow for the installation of termite matting.

The trench was roughly 10 metres long and 700mm deep—and we completed it without causing any damage to the blackjack waterproofing paint on the brickwork. Hydro excavation gave us the control and precision needed to dig tight to the wall without risk.

​This rural job involved clearing out a cattle grid that had built up with years of compacted soil and debris.

Using hydro excavation, we were able to clean it out thoroughly without damaging the grid or surrounding structure. It’s a perfect example of how non-destructive digging can restore functionality quickly and safely—even in remote or delicate environments.

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On this job, the brief was simple: locate the buried service and expose just enough for the plumber to get in, do the fix, and get out—no more, no less.

The dig reached 1.7 metres deep, with tight access and tree roots around the area. We used hydro excavation to surgically remove only what was needed, protecting surrounding infrastructure and avoiding unnecessary cleanup.

This kind of precision digging is exactly where hydro vac shines—clean, controlled, and job-ready