Getting a New Well Drilled - Advice?


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Old 04-20-09, 03:54 PM
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Getting a New Well Drilled - Advice?

I'm currently building a new house in a fairly rural area, at least rural enough that the water will be supplied by a well. I grew up with a well, but haven't used one in the last 15 years.

I'm meeting with a driller in a few days, and I'll probably line up a few different ones to compare bids. However, given that I'm an extreme newbie in this area, I was curious if there's any general advice that might be beneficial to me prior to meeting with the drillers?

Some basic info:
- 2 story house - 3 baths (will eventually have 4).
- Pressure and flow are important to me. My master bath will have a shower with several showerheads and body sprays. I think the manufacturer recommends at least 60PSI in the system.
- Probably goes without saying, but taste and color are important to me. I will be testing the water independantly after they drill, and I'm sure I'll have filter/treatment questions after that.
- I do not *plan* on having an irrigation system, but I also can't rule out that I might not want to put in one in the future.

Anyway - anything I should know up front? Any types of systems/designs/solutions I should push for and/or avoid?

I'm expecting this well to approach 200' based on conversations with the two closest neighbors. I live in the southeast, so lots of clay content in the soil.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 04-20-09, 05:07 PM
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1. TALK TO THE NEIGHBORS and the people in town. Ask who their well man is and why. Ask what kind of water they have and how deep their well is. Ask to use the bathroom and note how badly the bowl and sink is stained and what color(s). Blue and red are the usual suspects. In the country, everyone has some staining, you are looking for how bad it is. Ask if they use a water softener.

2. That 60PSI system would be a reach even for many city water systems. Best leave it alone. For a very long time, baths were the norm in the country because water pressure and volume were and often still is iffy.

3. Don't be afraid of "raw" water. Water softening systems are expensive and usually aren't needed. The water will have more minerals in it than you are used to, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Same goes for filters.

4. Irrigation system should be on a different well. Maybe a shallow (less than 25 or so feet deep). Using a drinking water well for watering the lawn is usually a bad idea. Different kinds up wells and pumps are needed and used.

5. New wells usually have a lot of sand in them for "a while." Don't be distressed by that. I would give it a few weeks before I began to worry and even then, it may take even a couple of months before the water fully clears. So don't be in a big hurry for a filter. Not much to do about it, but to keep using the water until it clears.

There is an excellent trade association site that will help you with most of your questions.

WELLOWNER.ORG
 
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Old 04-21-09, 07:31 AM
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Vey makes good points and that website he led you to has great info.
The one thought I had goes back to that multiple head shower you wanted in the master bath. Make sure you have a well, (and Vey touched on this), that can support this type of shower. Not only are you worried about pressure in this type of system, but also volume. These things use alot of water, and I've seen people remodel bathrooms and install these showers without thought as to whether their system can supply it. If you're considering an instant hot water heater, be advised that these require fairly constant pressure to work properly.
You never know how a well is going to perform until after it's drilled. I would want to know it's performance before I spent alot of money on something I can't use.
Ron
 
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Old 04-21-09, 12:11 PM
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Thanks guys - good advice in general. I will tell my plumber to hold off on roughing in the extra shower jets/etc until the well is drilled to see how we'll be impacted.

I did speak to one of my neighbors yesterday. He's about 200 yards north of me, and his well is probably about 225 yards away from my property. This guy is a character, but he was telling me that when they dug his well, that all of a sudden the driller told everyone to run away. Apparently, they hit a huge underground river or something because water started shooting out of the pipe. He said the driller called it a "million dollar well", because it could could supply a small subdivision if it had to. I don't know how much of that is exagerated or not - but either way sounds promising. I think he told me once it was about 150-180ft deep.

He and another neighbor have both told me that there seems to be a lot of iron in the water, and the taste is not the greatest. I didn't think to ask to have them pour me a glass of water. One of them mentioned that it will leave a redish stain.


I'm going to meet with one driller soon. I had him email me a copy of his contract over, and was curious if you have any thoughts to see if anything stood out?

WELL CONTRACT:
6" WELL UP TO 150 FT OF DRILLING WITH 80 FT PVC CASING, GROUT FOR CASING, 1/2 HP 220 VOLT MYERS PUMP, 200 FT OF ROLL PIPE, 200 FT OF 12.2 WIRE FOR THE PUMP, PC-66 (20 GALLON) TANK, CONTROLS FOR THE TANK, LABOR TO SET THE PUMP DOWN 200FT, CHLORINATE THE WELL AND SMALL ROCK WELL COVER IS $4500.00.


EXTRAS:
ANY DRILLING OVER 200 FT IS $11.00 FT
ANY PVC CASING OVER 80 FT CONTRACT IS $7.00 FT
GALVANIZED STEEL CASING IS $23.50 FT(DUE TO BAD ROCK FORMATIONS)
4" SCREEN $4.00 FT & PACKER $200.00(DUE TO UNSUITABLE ROCK FORMATIONS IN CASING WALL)
SILT FENCE $2.75 PER FT .



UPGRADES:
ANY 1" ROLL PIPE & 12.2 WIRE OVER 200 FT IS $2.00 FT
LARGER PUMPS, TANKS, PIPE, WIRE, & LABOR ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
WATERLINE FROM WELL TO TANK UNDER HOUSE, TO INCLUDE 1" PVC PIPE, 12.2 UF WIRE & DITCH IS $6.00 FT. THE SITE MUST BE STUBBED OUT FOR THE WATERLINE OR A CHARGE BY THE HR WILL BE CHARGED.







LOST OR DRY HOLE:
IF A WELL PRODUCES NO YIELD OF WATER AND WE HAVE TO DRILL IN ANOTHER LOCATION, WE REQUIRE FIRST WELL MUST BE PAID PRIOR TO STARTING ANOTHER WELL. THE FIRST WELL PRICE IS $11.00 PER FT FOR DRILLING, $7.00 PER FT FOR PVC CASING AND $400.00 FOR GROUT. THE CONTRACT PRICES THEN MOVES TO THE SECOND WELL.


WARRANTY INFORMATION:
THE PUMP COMES WITH A ONE YEAR WARRANTY, THE TANK COMES WITH A FIVE YEAR WARRANTY FOR THE DATE INSTALLED. LABOR IS NOT INCLUDED. YOU MAY PURCHASE AN ADDITIONAL 4 YEAR WARRANTY ON THE PUMP FOR $90.00. PLEASE LET US KNOW PRIOR TO THE PUMP INSTALLATION SO WE MAY OBTAIN THE SERIAL NUMBERS.

TERMS:
A DEPOSIT OF $2000.00 IS REQUIRED PRIOR TO STARTING THE WELL. PAYMENT IS DUE UPON COMPLETION OF THE WELL. IF BALANCE IS NOT PAID IN FULL WITHIN 30 DAYS THE CUSTOMERS WILL BE TURNED OVER TO COLLECTIONS. WE ACCEPT CASH, CHECK AND ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS.
 
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Old 04-21-09, 05:11 PM
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I zero in on the price, but prices are very much a local/regional thing. Some places charge $5 a foot and others $50.

A six inch well is a bit larger than "normal" in that most are four inches and most drillers charge a little extra for 6". You might want to ask why he wants to go that big. Is it because he has had a bit of bad luck around there? I'm not saying it is wrong to go with 6 inches, but maybe he will go down on the price a little if you ask about 4 inches?

On the other hand, you seem to want a lot more volume than a normal four inch well could deliver, so maybe that is why he "super sized" the well.

And is that a six inch pump set in a six inch well? Or a 4 inch (less than half the price) pump set in a six inch well? It doesn't say.

A 1/2HP pump isn't much for the volume/pressure you say you want either. I'm thinking at least 3/4HP myself provided the well can put that much out -- and that's a mystery until the drilling is done.

You talked to one neighbor, but you have two or three more to go. Do they have 6" wells? Why or why not?

I will bow to pumpman. He knows plenty more than I do about what sized pumps can do what, but he may think there is something a bit off here.
 

Last edited by Vey; 04-21-09 at 05:42 PM.
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Old 04-22-09, 07:16 AM
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That 1/2 hp pump is probably about right for a well that deep for "normal" use. That is, the pump would probably bring in about 10 gpm at that depth. However, you probably will want more than that with the multiple head shower, etc. He also said he would use 12/2 wire, which means that he intends to install a 2 wire pump. That means no control box. Some people like the 2 wire pump motor, while others prefer the 3 wire.
That contract is probably pretty standard for the area. There's plenty of adders built in should drilling deeper or casing differently be required. I'd almost bet that the well will cost more than the quoted price, said and done. But again, you never know what you'll find once you get down there.
You may want a bigger tank also, depending on which pump is installed, or, possibly looking at a constant pressure design, such as a cycle stop valve.
Ron
 
 

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