Did you ever think you'd like to drill your own water well? Jerry Bonner of Bonner Custom Homes did. He put a plan into action at his new English cottage-style home at The Retreat. It never occurred to me that he would have a water well drilled on the property because he is within Marietta city limits.
Fact:
Did you know that there are over 15 million homes in the U.S. with water wells and over 6,000 are drilled per week.
When I was driving by his neighborhood on the way home from work the other day and saw a drill rig mast piercing upward through the trees, I had to stop in and see what was up. Jerry happened to be at the job site when I drove up so I took the opportunity to ask him about the water well. Here's what he had to say when I asked him about the water well...
Why would you drill a water well on a property where water is provided by the city?
The quick and easy answer is to save money in the long run. He owns a home a couple of miles from where the English cottage is being built that is fully landscaped. When he received a one-month bill last summer for over $600, he knew that the next home he built for himself (and wife) would have a water well on-site. Jerry tells me that the price of drilling the new water well will pay for itself within a summer, or two. That is a very wise choice considering that he just spent tens of thousands of dollars (my estimate) to have the new landscaping installed at the English cottage. The well water will mainly be utilized for irrigation purposes with city water supplying water for the home.
This English-style cottage has a beautifully landscaped yard...but that will be for a different post.
He used a water well drilling service, Askew Well Drilling, 
that he has had experience with before and these boys know what they're doing. You can see from the photos that there are 2 water well drilling trucks, one truck has the rotary drilling rig and the other truck has the water well casings that keep the well from collapsing and to keep the sand, rock and grit out.
How deep do you have to drill to hit water?
Have you ever heard the saying, "How much does a 2 bedroom house cost?" The same goes for drilling for water. The men drilling the well had to drill down almost 580 feet through solid granite for this particular well. They hit some water at around 250 feet but the water pressure wasn't sufficient so they kept drilling. They wound up drilling to 500 ft. to get 20 gpm. They said that they've drilled down as much as a couple thousand feet to get a good well and as little as 100 feet, or so. And the depth needed to drill could vary 50 feet over from where this well is drilled.
Drill your own water well
Lifewater Canada
Lifewater Canada is a registered, non-profit humanitarian organization.
How water wells are drilled
American Ground Water Trust provides a wealth of information regarding drilling SAFE water well.
How much did it cost to drill this water well?
You might want to consider a mock rock to conceal your water well pump.
If you find this article interesting, you may want to check out the whole series of posts on this English-cottage style home and all of the beautiful craftsmanship and materials that go into constructing it.
CLICK HERE
7 Comments
Leave a comment
- RV Christmas Decorating Tips
- Building Or Remodeling A Kitchen: What Does It Cost?
- Going Off-Road? Be Prepared, Use These Offroad Checklists
- 9 Easy Tips For Planning A Dog Birthday Party
- 5 Ways To Make Money Scrapbooking Or Stamping
- How To Remain A Triathlete Over The Long Haul
- Lightning Strikes: How To Stay Safe During An Electrical Storm
- Lincoln Memorial Pennies Valued From 1 Cent To $50,000 And Up
- Pregnancy Food Cravings And What They Mean
- Tips For Choosing A Destination For Your Next Fly Fishing Trip
I live in michigan and I would like to drill free flowing well to deliver water to my pond.There has been free flowing wells in the area previously.
Could you explaine how to do this please. Thank you.
Amanda...
If you reside in Michigan, and I think you do based upon your email address, please refer to my response to Bob (also in MI) from January 4, 2007. Try a couple of those official links that will probably lead you to your answer. If you reside elsewhere, then you need to go to your state or county government website for help with your dilemma.
We recently had a free flowing well drilled. The water just isn't clear it comes through with sand. WE CAN"T SEEM TO GET IT TO COME CLEAR WHO WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE IF THEY HAD TO DRILL IN ANOTHER SPOT? Would we have to pay twice for the well?
Bob,
Try these sources and see if they can give you professional advice for your area. Copy and paste the links into your browser.
http://www.michigangroundwater.com/
Go to the box on the left and click on "Contractors" and then click on your county on the map to locate all of the well drilling contractors in your area that are members of the Michigan Ground Water Association. There is also some additional info on their main page.
The link in the article to the American Ground Water Trust that I posted above is also very helpful.
This link will provide WELL CONSTRUCTION CODE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES that you must follow in the state of Michigan.: http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3675_3694-9194--,00.html
Go to Google and paste this into the search box:
*How to drill a well yourself in sand* or a close derivative of that statement. That should point you to some valuable information.
Here's what you must do to plug your soon-to-be-abandoned well per Michigan State University Extension at this link: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modwq/wq409301.html
I live in Michigan about 1/4 mile from Lake Michgan. I have a 30 year old well that's failing. Wells here are shallow - 35 Ft or so - and most of the ground is sand. Can you point me to some well construction techniques for drilling in sand??
Dennis..I'm not in the well drilling biz so I am unable to help you out with the part you need. As a suggestion, try contacting your local chamber of commerce. Put them to work finding a business that sells what you need. They have tons of business connections throughout your part of the country. You might also try clicking on some of the ads located on the same page as my post on water well drilling. Take advantage of the fact that the ads tend to be topic specific.
we need a rotary water well drilling rig bar were in central oregon, what do you have or where can i buy one? denny 541-416-9725