We build a house for a well with our own hands - step-by-step instructions. How to make a well at your dacha with your own hands: from finding a source of water to creating a well from rings on a wooden one
The need for specialists in digging water sources is constantly growing. However, you can do this work yourself. This article will reveal the main secrets of how to dig a well at home.
According to the Law of the Russian Federation dated February 21, 1992 N 2395-01 “On Subsoil”, Article 19 allows for drilling wells for one’s own purposes without any permits, provided that no more than 100 cubic meters of liquid from the aquifer rise to the surface per day, and that the source is not centralized.
That is, if you want to obtain water from a source solely for watering your garden, agricultural or household needs, drinking, etc., you do not need to obtain any permits for either a summer house or a private home.
How to find a place?
First you should search for water. The easiest way is to ask your neighbors. If they don't have a source, have they looked for it? If neighbors' attempts are unsuccessful, it will be impossible to find the liquid. You can determine the place where to dig yourself. If there is a source, then before looking for water on your personal plot, you should start from the following factors:
- Terrain.
- Soil type.
- Climatic conditions.
- Nature and plants.
How to determine where is the best place to dig?
The best way to find liquid at a site is through geological exploration. Having discovered a source or supposed place with water, you should not rush to dig, it is better to check its quality.
Does it have any aftertaste, is it cloudy or dirty, etc.
Advice: If you are digging a source for drinking water, it is recommended that you first send it to a laboratory for analysis. The test will be for: microbiology, inorganics, organics, herbicides, radionuclides and pesticides. You can check for fertilizers and petroleum products, iron and manganese.
- landfills;
- car washes;
- swamps;
- farms and pigsties;
- tanks with sewage and the like.
If the soil in your area is rocky and there are large blocks, then setting up a mine will cause serious difficulties. For this purpose, geological exploration is carried out. This includes:
- studying the nature of the soil and the characteristics of the local rock;
- determining the depth of the source.
Finding water on your own property can make it easier to study the flora. For example, sedge, sedge, and coltsfoot grow mainly in damp areas. If the groundwater is high, then you will see the following trees: spruce, birch, alder. This may be the optimal location.
Important: The search should not be carried out in ravines, river banks, or gutters. In such places, fluid drainage is carried out artificially.
There is another popular way to search for water on your own site. For this, a slingshot made of willow branches is used. It is held in a vertical position, where the aquifer is close, and the tension of the slingshot barrel is felt in your hands. Instead of willow twigs, metal wire is also used, from which 2 equal L-shaped frames are made. If you hold them in a horizontal position with your elbow bent, the frames begin to move and cross where there is liquid.
Shaft depth
Conventionally, aquifers can be divided into several horizons. For a full-fledged well, it is enough to dig into the first one. Typically the depth ranges from 5 to 30 meters. Depending on how wells enter the aquifer, dacha wells are divided into 3 types (diagram below):
- Perfect with sump (B).
- Perfect (B).
- Imperfect (A).
In the third case, water inflow is possible through the bottom and side walls. In the second case, exclusively through the walls, and as for the sump, the shaft will be located in the rock. Due to this, the fluid supply increases significantly.
Based on the characteristics of the soil in your area, you need to choose the most affordable technology method.
What time of year should you dig?
Is there a difference when it's better to dig? Yes. The ideal time of year is late summer and January. To cut a spring in winter, there must be frost for at least three weeks.
Digging during this period has its advantages:
- The groundwater level is very low.
- There is practically no perched water.
- It is easy to calculate the debit, since at this time of year it is minimal.
If you plan to dig yourself, with your own hands, then you need to start in early August in order to be in time before the rainy season.
Important: the chosen time of year should be as dry and dry as possible.
Digging technique
Drilling is performed using several technologies:
- open;
- closed;
- mine;
- tubular.
Let's take a closer look at these types of wells.
Open
You can dig a mine in an open way. To do this, dig a hole of the required depth. The diameter of the shaft should be 20 cm larger than the diameter of the reinforced concrete ring. After lowering the concrete products, they must be connected to each other. The joints are also sealed. The resulting space between the walls of the shaft and the ground is filled with earth.
Closed
A summer source can be made in a closed way. Before digging a well, it is necessary to prepare a hole in the ground up to 2 m deep. A reinforced concrete ring is carefully inserted into it.
As it deepens, the installed co-construction will gradually sink down. The second, third rings and so on are carefully mounted on top. The latter should rise above the soil level.
Important! As new rings are installed, all joints must be sealed.
Construction using this method requires certain skills.
Shakhtny
A shaft that should be strengthened to prevent soil from collapsing. Previously this was done using logs. Currently, the shaft or shaft is reinforced with concrete round rings. As a result, the source is protected from wastewater and pollution.
Tubular
Digging a well yourself using tubular technology is difficult. This method is suitable when the aquifer is located fairly close. Moreover, special equipment is used for digging, which costs a lot of money.
Features of digging technologies
Each of these digging techniques has its pros and cons. Various financial investments are also required. When digging openly, special equipment is required, which already increases the price of the entire project. In the case of closed technology, the cost of work will be cheap, since only the costs are required for the delivery of reinforced concrete rings. You can install them yourself as you go deeper.
As for the tubular method, it is the most expensive and technologically advanced. Well, the mining method is labor-intensive and requires special skills. Therefore, you may have to hire a specialist.
pros
Tools
The set of tools and materials may differ depending on what types of wells will be built.
Tools:
- cable;
- homemade winch;
- buckets;
- shovels with short handles;
- ropes;
- wheelbarrow;
- hammer/drill;
- carpentry tools (when working with wood);
- jackhammer;
- flashlight;
- pump;
- insurance;
- level;
- helmet.
Materials:
- reinforced concrete rings;
- cement;
- sand.
Safety precautions
To build a well with your own hands, it is extremely important to follow certain precautions:
- When digging, the head is protected by a helmet.
- Bucket handles must be strong and reliable.
- The rope for lifting the bucket must be strong.
- The carabiner must be reliable.
- From time to time you should check the carabiner, rope and handle on the bucket.
- Digging is done one by one.
- It is necessary to make sure that the ladder is reliable and durable.
- Work should be carried out in strong, high and leak-proof shoes and overalls.
- Reinforced concrete products must be installed very carefully.
- The harness with the stone should be lifted slowly and carefully.
- Insurance required.
- If there is a gas leak, go upstairs immediately.
- Keep children away from the work area.
- Do not dump the raised soil closer than 3 meters from the pit.
- Warn the digger about lifting and lowering objects.
- Get multiple confirmations of water availability.
- Pre-study the geology of the area.
- It is best to start digging in winter after frost for about three weeks, or even more.
- Take a deep dive into the aquifer.
- Make a hole one ring deeper than the neighbors.
- It is best to connect the rings with staples.
- At the bottom, install an aspen shield made of stones, sand.
Common Mistakes
- A small number of rings.
- If it is necessary to deepen the mine, then you should not dig in one ring from the outside, but rather clean the source.
- If it is necessary to deepen, then the shaft is completely dug.
- Avoid superficial restoration of joints. The seams should be completely cleaned of mortar.
- If the old source is running, it is better to spend money on digging a new one.
- Do not leave seams through which water can leak.
- Do not abandon a dug mine without cover.
How to make a mine from concrete rings?
The process of making and installing rings with your own hands is a labor-intensive stage of work. Reinforced concrete wells are manufactured in the following sequence:
- Marking is being carried out on the site.
- The bottom is leveling out. A diameter of up to 1.5 m is enough.
- The concrete well is immersed after excavation to the height of the ring using a tripod or winch.
- The first ring is mounted, measurements are taken all the time.
- As you go deeper, a second one is installed, and so on. Using a crowbar we level it.
- The well can be sealed from the inside using a rubber band, which is placed in the gap between the rings. If there are loops, they bend inward.
- A filter is installed at the bottom of the source.
- Groundwater protection is carried out. Waterproofing is done using special mastics.
- Before caulking the seams between the rings, you need to connect them with anchors.
Before you dig a well by hand, you need to have an accurate diameter. The pit for reinforced concrete wells should be 200 mm wider in width. While digging a hole, be sure to check the level; the shaft must be vertically level. As the hole is dug independently for the reinforced concrete rings, the soil gradually rises upward. Everything happens in stages, the bucket goes down and goes up the winch.
Advice: knowing how to dig a mine in a country house, you can handle all the work yourself. It is mandatory to protect the source from the penetration of groundwater.
If a boulder is encountered, it is removed if possible. Although in some cases the mine is filled up and arranged in another place.
How to seal seams: mine waterproofing
When the well is completely drilled and the rings are all in place, they need to be waterproofed from the inside. If it will be carried out in wet soils, then coating compounds are recommended.
For example, you can use bitumen mastic. She must treat the outside of the rings. This will significantly extend their service life. The joints are additionally coated from the inside.
Concrete shafts are often wrapped with roll insulation, such as dense polyethylene, as waterproofing. Film is much cheaper. However, it is used exclusively from the outside. You need to quickly dig around the rings in a circle and wrap them with film.
Important! The film will last for several years if you buy a durable one with reinforcement. But it is better to allocate a budget for coating insulation.
Some summer residents resort to additional waterproofing by making. This is especially true if clay rises to the surface when digging. It can be used by filling the well from the outside.
Useful video
Videos from professionals:
Conclusion
We looked at all the features of how to properly make a well. You found out when it is better to dig it with concrete rings. Different digging techniques were considered, you choose the most accessible one for yourself. Now, knowing how to build a well, you can get to work. We hope that this material was useful to you. In addition, we recommend watching a video about how many home craftsmen dig them.
Photo
In a properly equipped wooden well, the natural purification of water makes it of higher quality and palatable than after treatment at a water treatment plant. Such a source is constantly available and can serve as a backup option in case of failures in centralized or autonomous water supply.
Drawing of a wooden well.
Groundwater is divided into 3 main types, ranging in depth from the surface: perched water, groundwater and artesian. Verkhodka lies at a relatively shallow depth, is not sufficiently purified from contaminants and cannot be used as drinking water. Artesian waters are located quite deep; a well drilled to them pours water to the surface by gravity. Groundwater is more suitable for water supply to a suburban area.
Well design for self-construction
The type of well constructed depends on the required daily water consumption. If the consumption is insignificant, the water will begin to stagnate and rot. To dig and equip a well with your own hands for individual needs, it is better to choose a mine type.
For small water intakes, a wooden well of an imperfect type is preferable. In this case, the water flow will be provided through the bottom filter. The mine is deepened to 1/3 of the aquifer; the well’s nutrition will not depend on this size. The installation of filters on the walls of the shaft is complex and will not significantly increase the filling of the well.
Assembly diagram for a typical well house.
When using wood to fasten the walls of a shaft, a frame made of logs or beams is assembled on the surface. The structure is inserted into the shaft and settles down to the aquifer with gradual excavation of the soil. The crowns are built up on top of the frame. With different soil densities and difficulties encountered in deepening wooden fastenings, other methods of installing the structure are used.
The water intake part should be equipped with a bottom filter. If the aquifer is highly liquefied (quicksand), before installing a bottom filter, the bottom is covered with boards, leaving gaps or drilled holes.
A well constructed by yourself should have a depth of no more than 15 m. From a greater depth, raising the soil will become difficult. Surface water may penetrate into a mine with a depth of less than 5 m, polluting the water of the main aquifer.
The transverse dimensions of the shaft are taken solely for reasons of convenience when equipping it and reducing the consumption of materials and labor costs. The area of the well bottom has virtually no effect on the increase in water inflow. The cross-section of the bottom is important only when feeding the well with ascending springs. With better clearing of such a source, the flow rate increases. The optimal side size for a mine is 0.8-1.2 m; such parameters will allow the use of hand-held digging tools and not excavate excess soil.
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Choosing a well location
Scheme for choosing a location for installing a well.
In order not to dig a well, counting on luck, it is better to contact the local hydrogeological service, where you can get information about the types of soil in the area, the depth and composition of groundwater. If there are wells in nearby areas, you can ask your neighbors about their parameters and water quality.
To be completely sure of the efficiency of using the future structure, a test well is being drilled. It is not recommended to build a well if the area is swampy. You can reliably find out about the possibility of using water from existing wells in the area for drinking at the regional sanitary and epidemiological station.
The well must be removed from septic tanks, compost heaps, buildings for keeping livestock and other sources of pollution at a distance of at least 20 m. It should not be installed on the banks of reservoirs and the slopes of ravines to avoid water drainage. The well must be located at least 5 m away from permanent buildings on the site.
It is better to carry out excavation work in summer or autumn. During this period, the groundwater level is at its lowest; frequent pumping while digging a mine will not be required. If it was late spring, you should wait a month after the snow melts until the aquifer is sufficiently depleted.
Well frame assembly technology
Scheme of connecting the corner of a log house into a paw.
To assemble the log house, you should prepare the following tools:
- gas or electric saw, hacksaw;
- axe, chisel, hammer;
- scraper and adze;
- plumb line, tape measure and level.
The log house is built in a square shape, usually 1x1 m. The wood for the log house is selected based on the location of the logs relative to the water. Material located above water is more susceptible to rotting than material buried in it. It is better to combine the use of different wood species. Underwater parts should be made of pine, willow or aspen, hanging over the layer of water - from larch, elm, alder or bog oak. With this combination of material, the well can last more than 20 years.
Oak logs that have undergone the staining process in the underwater part of the well may not be destroyed for more than a century. But without this treatment, the wood will give the water a bitter taste and change color to brown. Other types of wood are less durable and affect water quality.
The timber must be straight and not dead wood. The logs used should not have any areas affected by rot or insects. The bark is peeled off before assembling the frame. It is not recommended to treat the material with antiseptics or other protective compounds.
Gate diagram for a wooden well.
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To construct a well, logs with a diameter of 18-20 cm are used; larger trunks are sawn lengthwise. The saw cut is placed inside the log house. The assembly of the log house is first done on the surface. If installation is planned inside the shaft, the crowns are prepared and marked in advance.
In the corners of the log house, the elements are connected into a paw without leaving a trace. Fastening is done with dowels measuring 10 cm, spaced vertically. For structural strength, adjacent crowns are fastened with staples and tied at the corners with bars. Boards are nailed in the middle of each wall during installation. The logs are adjusted carefully, since caulking the cracks is not allowed; tow will affect the quality of the water.
Securing the shaft with logs
To construct a well shaft you will need:
- crowbars and shovels (regular and shortened);
- sledgehammer, jack, winch;
- tripod, rope and pulley;
- buckets and scoops for excavating soil and silt;
- container under the ground;
- rope or ladder;
- pump for pumping out water;
- pebbles or crushed stone;
- dry clay for a “clay castle”.
Roof drawing for a well.
The mine shaft is secured using various technologies depending on the structure of the soil layers.
Lowering fastening is carried out when the required shaft depth is more than 6 m. The future well shaft is marked on the surface of the selected area. Initially, excavation is carried out to a depth of 1.5-2 m. A part of the log house is made with a number of crowns according to the initial depth. The protrusion above the surface is made in 3-4 crowns. The assembled frame is carefully inserted into the opening of the shaft, preventing the soil from collapsing from the walls.
The bottom is deepened by about 30 cm, under the log house the soil is removed from the middle of the wall, but left in the corners. Supports (wedge pads) are installed in the niche under the lower crown. Then the soil is removed from the corners. The supports are knocked out and the box settles evenly. As the mine deepens, a tripod with a pulley system is installed above it to facilitate lifting the excavated soil. For convenient assembly of the log house, in some cases a frame of logs is erected over the shaft, and the pulley is attached at a height of about 1.5 m above the ground surface.
The timber is settled by striking a sledgehammer through the underlying timber. To make the log frame settle into the shaft easier, a special shoe with a cutting knife is sometimes mounted on its base. Next, the shaft is sequentially deepened and the upper rows of crowns are built up. The inflowing water is scooped out with buckets, and the undermining of the lower crown continues.
Scheme of a mine well.
Once the aquifer is reached, the mine will gradually fill with muddy water. It is pumped out with a pump, and the mule is scooped out with buckets. The log house is lowered until water volumes appear that do not allow further deepening.
After work on securing the shaft and removing accumulated water, a bottom filter is installed. The bottom is leveled and covered with a layer of sand (20-30 cm). The filter is formed from 3 layers of crushed stone or river pebbles. The layers are laid 15-20 cm in length with increasing fraction sizes from bottom to top. The size of the fragments increases approximately 6 times with each layer.