http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x1859Oh my.
You know, I've gotten a lot of education about drilling the past three weeks.....but unfortunately it wasn't for water.
mexicoxpat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:47 PM
Original message
I have a question for those of you with wells.
There is an old, but existing well on the property that i bought this spring. I presently...from long distance...have contracted with a well company to go out to the property and check on the well to see if it is functional, how deep, etc...and to have a sample of the water sent in for testing. If all goes well, I will have a pump put on the well..which, as I understand it includes a cement base around the pump.
They did suggest that I would need to have a cover or pump house to protect the well and the electrical pump...with a cost of $300 to $500 for such an item, which seems terribly high to me. So, my question is for those of you that do have wells is...do you have a well cover or pump house for your wells? And, any ideas other than what I think is a fiberglass cover that the well company has to offer? Thanks for any information or ideas anyone might have.
carp (47 posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:49 PM
Response to Original message
1. Depends on the whether; if it will freeze get a COVER!
yellowdogintexas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:50 PM
Response to Original message
2. when I was a kid, we had a little wellhouse built of Breeko blocks, with a slightly slanted roof that lifted up so you could get in for maintanence. My dad built it after the pad was poured when the well was finished drilling.
Okay. Question. What are "Breeko blocks"?
sweets Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:52 PM
Response to Original message
3. we had to drill for a well.
yes. it does have a cement cover. i don't know how much it should cost. drilling for the well and everything we needed was over $10,000. we recently had a holding tank installed for $5,000. this way if the pump goes bad the holding tank has 2500 gallons of water.
DJ13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:55 PM
Response to Original message
4. It should be covered so its not in direct sunlight
Otherwise you would have to run out the tank everytime you needed cold water.
Also, from past experience, if you should need a new well (they usually wont drill existing wells deeper if its too shallow) expect anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000 for a new one to be drilled.
lumberjack_jeff Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:56 PM
Response to Original message
5. Yes, I have a well.
It is 200' deep with an 8" steel casing. The pump is a 3/4 hp submersible.
I have an 8x8 pumphouse over the wellhead which contains the pressure tank, the pressure switch and the pump controls. Aside from drilling the actual well, I did everything myself and I have significantly more than $1000 (probably closer to $2000) invested.
In retrospect, I should not have built the pumphouse over the wellhead because it makes pump removal unnecessarily difficult.
Your description seems somewhat vague, so I'm going to make a couple of assumptions
a) the well is hand-dug
b) the pump you plan to install will be a self priming (above ground) device
Assuming those are correct: yes, you definitely need a lid, and yes, you need a pumphouse for the pump. In my area, a fiberglass lid 24" dia and a piece of 24" culvert to which it is screwed costs $150. At a minimum you don't want animals drowning in your well, and especially not the two legged kind.
blue sky at night Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:57 PM
Response to Original message
6. If the pump is a submersible model.....
all the guts are down at the base of the well, no real need for a well house. On the other hand, if you use a jet-pump (for a shallow well) you would need a house to protect it from the weather. Also, it is a necessary to have an expansion tank to maintain the pressure, it could also go in the well house. Some of these decisions will hinge on how far the well is from the house, etc. A submersible is a great way to go...wondering if this well has a STEEL Casing?
bluesmail Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 09:59 PM
Response to Original message
8. I've almost always have had a well. I do have a small pump house. It rarely freezes here. I've replaced the submersible jacuzzi pump once in the last 14 years.
hedgehog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 10:01 PM
Response to Original message
9. This thread has answered a question that's been bothering me for YEARS!
A lot of the older rural homes around here have a little structure that looks like a house about 3' by 3' with a roof 1' off the ground. Too short to be milk houses, but what in the world could they be? Now I know; well houses!
Yeah, that's what they are. The one here's where there used to be one of those classic Nebraska windmills.
elfin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 10:10 PM
Response to Original message
10. Do it AFTER getting another opinion
Not something to mess around with especially if there are freezing issues.
3-500 bucks is CHEAP to alleviate future disasters. Especially in rural areas where trades people usually know what they are talking about. But always best to get another opinion - ask around to neighbors for recommends.
I have a below ground cement tank with a pump in it connected with electrical wire to the house. No problems so far after 40 years as long as I recharge the tank each year( process involving emptying and using air pressure and turning on the pump inside to run a cycle) to keep the pressure optimized so that the pump does not run with every flush.
Mine is seasonal and it is shut down each fall, but can work all year round if needed as long as it is recharged periodically.
Good luck and build a base of trusty locals to handle this and other needs.
HereSince1628 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 10:14 PM
Response to Original message
11. Be sure the test includes potential evidence of contamination by chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, you might want to be particularly careful about the list of things tested for if the groundwater is shallow and if the well is near an old barn site or an old orchard.
My pump, which is by Jacuzzi was about $300 back in 1998 so the price quoted to you sounds reasonable to me...probably something like the cost of a pump at Sears I'm guessing.
elfin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 10:32 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Also, while they are down there - have them check for earwigs which seek moisture and deposit bacteria which can leave you with unpleasant side effects - a bit of clorox solves this.
All is solvable - as long as you have a good person getting you situated.
Okay. Question. What are "earwigs"?
mexicoxpat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 10:42 PM
Response to Reply #11
13. Thanks for all the great replies.
The price of 3 to 5 hundred was for the pump cover only. The well that is there has not been used for many years, but it still does have an old (non functionalbe) electric pump still attached and a little above the ground. So, it was a well that did function with an electric pump at one time. The cost for a new pump, cement, wiring, etc. is about $2000 and I think that would be the minimum. The cost of the well cover or pump house is in addition to that price.
I was sort of thinking that I might just hire a local builder or handy man to build a sort of well house shed..small, but to serve the purpose...and that it might even look better than a fiberglass cover. The property is in SW Arkansas. I don't think that hard freeze would be something of great concern, but I know it does get down to freezing and they do get snow now and again in Jan or Feb.
TexasProgresive Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-05-08 10:56 PM
Response to Reply #13
14. What ever you use to cover the well head and pump make sure that is is removable. If the pipe has to be pulled from the well the service people will have to have free space directly above the well head. For this reason most well houses are 3 or 4 foot square and can be unanchored and laid over on the ground. Good luck that you have good and plenty water.
