Lucas_Dad

I need to dig narrow trenches to lay polypipe and sprinklers for my front & back lawns. About 150m of trenching needed, I reckon. Only needs to be about 25mm wide.

I only have a spade. It'll do the trick, but I'm not sure my back will thank me for it.

I know there are trenching machines I could hire, but as my lawn is already established I don't want to wreck it that much.

Just wondering if anyone else has any hints/tips/ideas that might give me my trenching for as little damage as possible. I don't mind the graft of digging by hand if there is a tool better than a spade to do the job. I've seen trenching shovels at Bunnings but they're much too wide for my needs.

Cheers

Pulaski

For 150m a trenching machine is the only way to do it. .... Your back will thank you for the decision, and your lawn will be entirely recovered within a few months, and in any case anything you do with a spade will be much messier than using a trenching machine.

Lucas_Dad

Just watched a youtube video of someone using a chainsaw! Looks like a chainsaw, anyway. Mini handheld trencher?

Pulaski

That one looks like recipe for back ache too - I am used to see ones around the size of a medium-sized lawnmower (y9u don't need to bend over, and then larger from there on up, to tractor size and bigger. And yes, they're like a chain saw, though slower and not as fearsomely sharp.