Apex crew working in the excavated basement under a house raised on cribbing

Drilling out of a basement, under the house

We set a directional drill inside the basement of a lifted hillside home in Los Gatos and bored two drain lines under the house and downhill to daylight. No trench through the house, the yard or the hillside.

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Location: Los Gatos, CA
Completed: April 2026
Bores: Two 12″ bores, 4″ conduit
Methods: HDD · Hydrovac · Bore pits

Residential boring

Basement drainage without trenching

The site

A large hillside home in Los Gatos was up on cribbing while the new basement was dug out underneath. The basement needed drainage lines out to the hillside, and the only way out was under the house and down a landscaped slope.

Our approach

We brought the drill rig down into the basement and dug two entry pits in the corner. From there we drilled two shots on about a 4% downhill grade, out to two exit pits on the hillside. Each bore was pre-reamed and then reamed to 12 inches. The hydrovac pulled drill mud from the pits the whole time, so the basement stayed workable.

The result

Two bore runs, each with two 4-inch conduits, now carry the basement drainage out to daylight. Nothing was trenched through the foundation area or the hillside landscaping, and the general contractor kept working on the basement around us.

On site

Job photos

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Getting into the basement

The house was raised on cribbing. We dug the drill entry pits in the basement corner and set up a safe work area for the rig and the hydrovac hoses.

Apex hydrovac truck parked on the drive of a Los Gatos hillside estate — Arriving at the Los Gatos site

House raised on cribbing with the basement excavated below — House lifted for the basement dig-out

Drill entry pit dug in the basement corner with the rig behind — Entry pit in the basement corner

Wide view of the basement excavation with crew and mud hose — Work area under the house

Interior bore pit inside the basement — Interior bore pit

Drilling under the house

Two shots drilled from inside the basement on about a 4% downhill grade, then pre-reamed and reamed to 12 inches while the hydrovac kept the pits clear of mud.