Drilling a well can seem intimidating, but if you are a dedicated DIY’er, you can do it yourself. However, most people opt to call in a professional. Whichever way you go, professional or DIY, you need to understand the process so your project runs smoothly.
Materials Needed to Dig a Well
While professional well-drillers may use heavier and more powerful equipment to do their work quickly, efficiently, and on a larger scale, you don’t have to have that equipment. In fact, to drill a small well, you can probably get everything you need from the local hardware store.
- 1.25” PVC Pipe
- 2” PVC Pipe
- Metal Pipe (fashioned into a drill)
- Metal Cutter (for shaping the metal pipe)
- Wooden Board (or extra PVC pipe)
- Sturdy Screws
- Water Hoses
- Concrete Mix
Basic Steps for Drilling a Well
Obviously, DIY well-drilling needs a little more explanation than just “dig a hole in the ground until you reach the water.” There are many online resources that give you detailed, step-by-step instructions for every point of the well-drilling project. That said, it is always helpful to get down to the basics. Pretty much anyway can drill their own well by following these basic steps.
1. Locate a water source.
The depth of a water table depends on several factors, such as rainfall, climate, and proximity to a major water source. You should be able to locate a water source under your property with little true using the help of a dowsing rod.
2. Build your drill pipes.
You will need as much PVC pipe as you intend to lower into the ground. If your water table is 20 feet into the ground, you will need over 20 feet of both sizes of PVC pipe. Your metal pipe screws onto the end of the PVC pipe that you lower into the ground. Cut the end of the metal part into teeth as a way to drill through the ground. Screw it in tightly so that it does not fall off 20 feet into a hole.
3. Drill the bore hole.
You will insert two pipes into the ground. The first is the drill pipe. The drill pipe is the wider one and acts as a casing. Run your two hoses through the pipe so that it makes it easy for your drill pipe to get through the soil. The water will also force out sediment, clay, wood, sand, and other debris. An easy way to drill your pipe through the ground is to attach your wooden board (or extra pipe) near the top of the drill pipe horizontally. Use that as a handle to for rotating the casing as you lower it.
4. Insert well screen.
Continue to run the hose water through your casing as you prep the well screen. A well screen’s job is to filter the well water. It features small cracks that allow water in but keep sand and sediment out. To fashion a well screen, simply attach your slitted piece of pipe to the regular piece of 1.25” pipe and funnel it down inside the casing.
5. Flush the well.
Initially, the water that comes through your pipe after everything is in place will not be clear. Give it as much time as it needs to come out clean and clear, then enjoy your first sip of well water.
6. Seal the well.
To seal the well, pour concrete around the outside of the casing pipe. This prevents it from shifting, wiggling, or bursting and filling with dirt or sand. This formulates the basic structure of your DIY well, but most people don’t like the raw PVC sitting out in plain view. Once your basic well has been built, you can build around the exterior pipe.
Is That It?
Remember, this is a very basic well structure, built primarily for watering lawns and plants without tapping into the local water source. You can do much more intricate things with your well, but it is important to understand the basics first.
If you’d like to know more about how you can save money on homebuilding, do not hesitate to call us today. At Next Modular, we know that building a new home is likely one of the most important financial decisions you will make. As an experienced modular home builder, we are committed to being your guiding light through this process.
