Trench Digging

Dig a Trench by Hand: Why and how you should do it.

Author: Greg Baka

When you need to bury some utility lines or put in a drainage system, understanding the process of hand trench digging can save you time and effort. This article explains why to trench manually, how to dig a trench by hand, and the best trenching tools for every situation.

Keep reading, or jump directly to these sections:

• Why to Trench by Hand Instead of Using Machinery
• How to Dig a Trench by Hand
• The Best Tools for Trench Digging
• Hand Digging (a general guide)

Manual trenching involves the use of human muscle to break up or loosen soil, then lift or drag it up out of the trench. It is done using a small assortment of specialized hand tools designed for different conditions.

Both narrow and wide trenches can be dug by hand. Narrow trenches are for utilities like water or electrical lines. Wider trenches are for construction or drainage (see our Drainage Guide).

Why to Trench by Hand Instead of Using Machinery

Manual trenching is still essential for the following three reasons:

1. The geometry of the trench (Length, Width, and Depth)
2. Access to the area
3. Beginning and end of trenches

Geometry of the Trench

The length of a trench is one deciding factor between digging a trench by hand and using a powered trencher or excavator. For long trenches, it usually pays to use powered machinery. But for short trenches, manual digging is often more efficient and cost effective.

The width and depth of a trench combine to become another deciding factor between trenching manually or with power equipment. When the width is small and the depth is large, it is wise to use a trencher because it is very difficult to dig with a narrow shovel in deep trench. When the width is large and the depth is deep, it is also wise to use a powered excavator – primarily because of the large amount of soil that must be moved up and away from the trench. Digging a trench by hand is more effective in cases when both the width and depth are small or medium, and for wide trenches of small or medium depth.

Access to the Area

Access to the area is sometimes a factor in the choice between trenching by hand and using powered equipment. Many yards are not accessible to large trenching equipment, without removing fences and damaging landscaping. Though there are small walk-behind trenchers that will fit through most gates. While digging a trench by hand is possible in the tightest of areas as well as in wide open spaces.

Beginning and End of every trench

There are limitations to how close powered trenching equipment can get to structures that result in some manual trench digging being required even on jobs done with powered equipment. Also see our Trenching and Powered Trenchers Guide

The beginning and end of a trench made with powered equipment usually require digging by hand to complete them. This is because trenches often stretch from one structure to another, and a chain type trencher has some limitation on how close to a structure it can start, and a much larger limitation on how close the chassis of the trencher can back up to the target structure. So after the middle length of a trench is cut with a conventional powered trencher, manual trench digging is needed to extend it to the desired origin and then to the final target.

How to Dig a Trench by Hand

Manual trench digging is much like the general hand digging process. It requires two steps:
Step 1: The first step is to break up or loosen the soil.
Step 2: The second step is to move the soil, either by scooping up the loose soil and lifting it vertically out of the trench, or by dragging the loose soil up a ramp in the trench to the surface.

These two steps or actions are different enough that they are usually done with separate tools. But the “drag the soil up a ramp” method can all be done with a trenching hoe or grub hoe.

Step 1: Breaking up or loosening the soil in the trench

Breaking up and loosening soil in a trench is done either by slicing, impacting, or prying.

• Slicing is normally done with a trench digging shovel, either by pushing it in with your foot or arms. In a narrow 4 inch trench, it becomes difficult to press with your foot once the trench gets much deeper than 18 inches.
• Slicing with a mattock or grub hoe is done by chopping into soil at the bottom of the trench.
• Impacting is done with a tool like a pick, mattock, or digging bar. It is done for hard compacted soil or soil mixed with a lot of gravel.
• Prying loosens the soil by stabbing a pick or digging bar deeply into the soil and then prying with the tool to raise and fracture the soil upwards. Using a long digging bar makes digging deep trenches much easier.

If you run into obstacles like roots or rocks, see our Roots and Rocks article to learn how to deal with them.

Step 2: Moving the soil out of the trench

Moving the soil up and out of the trench is done in a variety of ways.

• Lifting the loose soil up and out is done with a trench clean-out shovel or with a special scoop like our Bottom Digger. A trench clean-out shovel has a very large angle between the handle and shovel blade (meaning the scoop shovel has a very high lift) so the user doesn't have to bend over as far to reach the bottom of the trench.
• Dragging the loose soil up a ramp with a trenching hoe or grub hoe involves digging the trench so that there is always a ramped area leading to the surface. The hoe is used to loosen the top layer of the ramp, and then that loose soil is dragged up and out. So the ramp slowly moves down the length of the trench. See the diagram below.

 

The Best Tools for Trench Digging

As mentioned earlier, the basic process of digging a trench by hand is to loosen or break up the soil, then scoop it up or drag it up and out of the trench. If you are digging a wide shallow trench (like a ditch), then the tools shown in our Hand Digging article will work well. But if you want to make a trench that is narrow or deep, check out the options below.

Manual tools for breaking up the soil

Trench Digging Shovel

This tool is designed to slice down into the soil near the bottom of a trench. They come in a variety of widths, but 4 inches is the most common. It has a medium lift to allow it to also be used for lifting soil up out of the trench. See the Trench Digging Shovel we offer.

Grub Hoe or Digging Hoe

This heavy-duty hoe is designed to efficiently chop into soil or sod and pull it back towards you. They are usually 4 to 7 inches wide, with 6 inches being the most common width. They should have handles about five feet long to reach the bottom of the trench without excessive bending. See the Grub Hoes we offer.

Pick and Mattock

These tools are used to break up hard soil and deal with rocks or roots, depending on the version. The term “pick” means it includes a long pointed end (a pick point) that can bust rocks, while the term “mattock” means it includes a short light horizontal blade measuring 1.5 to 3.0 inches wide that can chop into and pull forward a wedge of soil. Here are the more common versions: See the Pick and Mattock we offer.

• Pick Mattock – one end has a long point for piercing hard soil and busting rock, while the opposite end has a short digging blade for chopping up soil.
• Cutter Mattock - one end has an axe blade for chopping through roots, while the opposite end has a short digging blade for chopping up soil.
• Pickaxe – this tool is usually heavier than a mattock and either has pick points on both ends or a pick point on one end and a horizontal chisel blade about one inch wide on the opposite end. It is used for busting up rocks, stone, and really hard soil. It can also be used for prying out rocks.

Digging Bars

There are two styles of digging bars, and a separate model just for prying. All are sturdy steel bars 4 to 6 feet long, but the tips vary depending on the use. To use them, digging bars are lifted up then slammed straight down into soil, rocks, or roots then wiggled around a bit to loosen the soil. But they are not built for prying. There is a special thick heavy-duty bar build just for prying. Here are the names of these bars:

• San Angelo Bar – this digging bar has a tapered point on one end like a pick point. It has a narrow chisel blade on the opposite. It is used for hard soil that contains rocks and stones.
• Spud Bar – this digging bar has a wide sharp digging blade on one end and a tamping head or disc on the opposite end. It gets used for digging post holes and cutting roots. The tamping end is for compacting soil back in around fence posts.
• Pry Bar or Pinch Bar – this long heavy bar is hard to bend. It is used for prying up rocks or even broken concrete.

Sharpshooter Shovel

This special shovel is often used for digging quick shallow trenches for landscape lighting, irrigation lines, and drainage. See the article on Using a Sharpshooter Shovel

The narrow round tip does penetrate sad and soil fairly easily. It is limited to trenches 6 inches wide and up to 18 inches deep. It is available in long and short handled versions. It's also called a Drainage Spade or a Tile Spade. See the Sharpshooter Shovels we offer.

 

Manual tools for moving soil out of the trench

Moving loose soil out of the trench means either scooping and lifting it out, or dragging it up and out. For narrow or deep trenches, there are only three tools made for this task and they are listed below.

Trench Clean-out Shovel

This is the most common of the three, and the least efficient. These special shovels normally have a high lift to reduce bending over when gathering dirt from the bottom of trench. They sometimes have vertical side pieces on the shovel blade to help soil stay on the shovel while being lifted. See the Trench Cleaning Shovels we offer.

“Bottom Digger” Trench Clean-out Scoop

This tool has been described as 'a little backhoe bucket on a stick'. It is a 4 inch wide scooping bucket on a five fool long handle. It is pulled through the loose soil at the bottom of a trench then raised by lifting the handle straight up with a hand-over-hand action. It reduces bending and back strain. This tool is only for scooping up loose soil, it is not for digging into firm soil. See the Bottom Digger cleanout scoop we offer.

Grub Hoe or Digging Hoe

Besides being used to break up a layer of soil in the trench, it is also used to drag that soil up the ramp that is a crucial part of using this efficient tool for trenching by hand.
See the description and diagram above.
See the Grub Hoes we offer.