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Trenching Gallery
Real trench and pipe work from across central Illinois.
Drainage tile lines, French drains, culvert lines, septic lines, downspout and outlet runs, and water line trenching. Opened on slope, pipe bedded, backfilled, graded smooth.
📞 Call (217) 809-0779 Free EstimateTrenching in Mattoon, IL and across central Illinois for water lines and drainage — drainage tile lines, French drain trenches, culvert lines, septic and sewer lines, downspout and sump outlet runs, and water service lines. Locates called, trench cut on continuous fall, pipe bedded, backfilled in lifts, surface graded back. Free on-site estimate: (217) 809-0779.
A trench is only as good as its slope. Anybody can open a ditch with a bucket; the job is putting the bottom of that trench on continuous fall from the high end to a real outlet, so water leaves and keeps leaving. That's what we're doing when we trench.
Brohez Trucking LLC handles trenching work across central Illinois — Mattoon, Charleston, Champaign, Decatur, Urbana, and the rural ground in between. Yard drain and downspout runs at the house. French drain trenches around a foundation. Culvert lines under a driveway. Septic tank digs and field lines. Water service and yard hydrant lines below frost. Drainage tile lines out in the field, dug to the outlet elevation the ground actually gives us.
We're an earthwork contractor, and we're straight about the edges of that. This is drainage and water work. We don't chase fiber, telecom, or electrical distribution jobs — that's a different trade with different gear and different rules. What we do is dig, set pipe, backfill, and put the ground back.
The Komatsu PC150LC-6 with trenching buckets handles the long runs and the deep ones — tile mains, culvert lines, septic. The JCB 8040ZTS mini excavator is the one that gets between a house and a fence without wrecking the yard, which is most residential downspout and French drain work. Track loaders move the stone and the backfill; the dump trucks haul the spoils. If the surface needs put back tight afterward, the Cat D6N runs laser grade control. See the full fleet at /equipment/.
Most of our trenching is the dig half of a drainage job — so if you're chasing standing water rather than a specific pipe run, start at drainage and field tile repair and we'll work out what the ground needs. One note on tile: we run targeted lines and repairs only. No tile plow, no full pattern-tile installs. If somebody quoted you a whole-field system, that's not our work and we'll say so.
Not sure how deep it has to go, or where the outlet is? Call. We'll come look and shoot it. The estimate is free.
Drainage-side trenching, from a 20-foot downspout run to a tile line across a field.
Targeted tile lines dug to pull a wet spot dry, and repair digs on broken, crushed, or collapsed runs. We locate the break, open the trench, splice or replace, and tie back to the outlet. Repair and targeted lines only — see field tile repair.
Perforated pipe bedded in clean stone, dug on continuous fall to daylight or a sump. Foundation perimeters, retaining wall backs, and soggy yard runs. More on French drain installation.
Driveway and road culvert lines cut to grade, pipe set on a proper bed, backfilled and compacted so the crossing doesn't sink. See culvert installation & repair.
Septic tank excavation, sewer laterals from the house to the tank or the main, and field line trenching for new systems and replacements. Dug to depth and set on fall.
Solid pipe runs that take roof water and sump discharge away from the foundation and out to daylight — the cheapest fix there is for a wet basement wall, and it goes in while we're already trenching.
Water service runs, yard hydrant lines, and livestock waterer lines trenched below frost depth, bedded, and backfilled clean.
Perimeter drain trenches along the footing while the excavation is still open, tied to a real outlet. Pairs with our foundation excavation work.
Trenching that ties a tile line, basin, or drain into a ditch, creek bank, or grassed waterway outlet — headwall, rodent guard, and bank shaping where it needs it.
Trench backfilled in lifts and compacted, spoils hauled off if there's excess, and the surface bladed smooth and ready to seed. We don't leave you a ridge to mow around.
Same shape every time, scaled to the run.
We come out, walk the run, find where the water has to end up, and write a straight number. Free. No pressure.
JULIE locates called before any digging. We mark the trench line on the ground so you can see exactly where it goes before we start.
We find and confirm the outlet elevation first. The outlet sets the fall, and the fall sets the depth — doing this backwards is how flat spots and reverse grade get built in.
Trench cut to width and depth with the right bucket, held on continuous fall the whole way. Topsoil kept separate from subsoil where the surface has to go back nice.
Pipe laid on a proper bed — clean stone where it calls for it, sock on perforated pipe in silty ground — connections made, and the line checked for fall before anything gets covered.
Backfilled in lifts and compacted, surface restored and bladed smooth. Yards get left ready to seed; field work gets disced back ready for the next pass.
Real trench and pipe work from across central Illinois.
Drainage and water work — drainage tile lines, French drain trenches, culvert lines, septic tank and field lines, sewer laterals, downspout and sump outlet runs, and water service lines. We're an earthwork contractor with an excavator and trenching buckets, not a utility contractor; we don't chase fiber, telecom, or electrical distribution work.
Depends on the length of the run, the depth, the ground you're digging through, machine access, and whether there's pipe and stone to set. A short downspout line and a long tile run to a field outlet are different jobs. Free on-site estimate with a straight number — call (217) 809-0779.
Shallow for yard drain and downspout runs. Below frost for water and septic. Tile and culvert lines go to whatever depth the outlet elevation demands — the slope decides the depth. The Komatsu PC150LC-6 has the reach for the deep runs; the JCB mini gets into tight yards.
Always. JULIE locates get called before any digging, and we mark the trench line so you can see exactly where the work goes before a bucket touches the ground.
The trench line gets disturbed — that's unavoidable. We backfill in lifts, restore the surface, and grade it smooth so grass comes back. Field work gets disced back ready for the next pass.
Yes — targeted tile lines and tile repair. Locate the break, open the trench, splice or replace the run, tie it to a real outlet. We do not install full pattern tile systems — no tile plow, no full-field installs. Targeted lines and repair only.
Yes. Perforated pipe bedded in clean stone, dug on continuous fall to an outlet — foundation perimeters, retaining wall backs, and wet yard runs.
Yes — septic tank digs, sewer laterals, field lines, water service runs, and yard hydrant lines. Dug to depth, bedded, backfilled, and graded back.
Komatsu PC150LC-6 with trenching buckets for the main runs, JCB 8040ZTS mini for tight access, Takeuchi TL150 and Cat 259D3 track loaders for stone and backfill, dump trucks for spoils and rock, and the Cat D6N with laser grade control when the surface needs regraded after.
60-mile radius from Mattoon, IL — Charleston, Effingham, Decatur, Champaign, Urbana, Tuscola, Sullivan, Shelbyville, Pana, Terre Haute, and the rural ground in between.
Yes — full liability and equipment coverage on every job. Certificate of insurance available on request.
Brohez Trucking LLC runs trenching work across a 60-mile radius from Mattoon, IL — Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Shelby, Moultrie, Effingham, Edgar, Clark, Champaign, and Macon counties, plus over the line into Vigo County, Indiana. That covers trenching in Charleston, Effingham, Decatur, Champaign, and Urbana as regular route work. Pick your town below for local details, or call (217) 809-0779 for a free estimate.
Call us and we'll come look. No pressure, no obligation — just a straight number.
(217) 809-0779 📞 Call For Free Estimate Send A MessageHours: Open daily, 7am–7pm · Mattoon, IL · 60-mile service radius