Our external water pipe running from the meter (by the sidewalk) to our house burst, and one of the plumbers we talked to said they'd use a mole instead of a backhoe to replace our pipe. We would love to avoid having our yard dug up with a backhoe, but don't know what the mole is, or if it's a reliable option. The plumber also said he would run the new piping through the existing pipe (ie breaking the existing pipes along the way). THANKS!

A mole just digs from the side and is used all the time. Do you ever see a road crew laying line along the street? They use a backhoe but then like at an intersection when they are running lines across a paved street they don't want to dig up the asphalt so they use a mole. It's totally reliable. There is probably a cost difference but if you don't want your yard dug up then it's probably worth it.