Well do it yourself: how to build correctly, device diagrams, construction technology

If the suburban area’s water supply system cannot be connected to the public network, a need arises for an individual source device. To ensure the beloved manor drinking or technical water often dig a well.

This is the most affordable development that does not require the use of an excavator or a drilling rig for development.

Understanding the technology of construction, it is realistic to build a well with your own hands and provide the house with drinking water. Agree, before starting work, it is necessary to study the theoretical aspect of the issue.

We will help you determine the optimal place for digging a well, we will tell in detail about the geological surveys that can be carried out independently. In addition, we will offer several options for arranging water intake points and describe step-by-step technologies for their implementation.

Briefly about the groundwater

The purpose of building a well at a country site is to open an aquifer capable of covering the family’s needs for drinking or process water. The first is used according to the name, the second for watering the site, cleaning and similar needs.

It is necessary to decide on the drinking and technical category at the planning stage of future development, because its depth and design depend on it. Categories vary according to the degree of contamination.

The chemical composition of technical water contains more mineral impurities, the presence of odor and slight turbidity is allowed. Drinking water should be crystal clear, completely devoid of smell and taste.

The aquifers are called strata of equivalent composition and structure of the rock, containing groundwater. In geological section, they look like bands of arbitrary width, lying sloping or relatively horizontal.

The upper boundary of the reservoir is called the roof, the lower one is called the sole. Depending on the thickness of the aquifer and on the required amount of water, a well can only open the roof, cross 70% of the reservoir, or be installed bottom-down on the bottom.

The roof of the aquifer, in turn, serves as the sole of the overlying layer, and the bottom of the underlying roof.

The appearance of water in rock strata has two natural ways, it is:

• Penetration of precipitation into soils or waters of nearby reservoirs. Water freely passes through permeable sediments, which include sands, pebbles, gravel and gravel. The process of seepage or penetration is called infiltration, and the water that passes through it is called permeable.
• Moisture condensation in the seamssandwiched between two waterproof or otherwise waterproof layers. Do not let water clay, loam, semi-rock and rock, which do not have cracks. The water lying between them can be pressurized: when opened, the level rises, sometimes it gushes.

Fractured rock and semi-rock varieties can hold water, but it does not have pressure or it is weak. The chemical composition of fissure waters will necessarily be influenced by host rocks. Limestones and marls will enrich it with lime, dolomites with magnesium, and steamed gypsum with rock salt will be saturated with chloride and sulphate salts.

For those who want to know how to build a full-fledged well with their own hands, you should consider the following:

1. The presence of impermeable rock above the aquifer eliminates the infiltration of dirty sewage into the reservoir. The water extracted from the layer blocked with a water layer can be assigned to the category of drinking water.
2. No water seal on top of the aquifer signals the prohibition of the use of water for drinking purposes. It is called supercharging and is used exclusively for household needs.

If the owner of the site is interested in the technical category, it is enough to open or dive into the layer with the upper layer. The wellbore in such cases is significantly shorter than the barrel for drinking water.

However, it is difficult to call the mirror of a water pipe stable. In dry summer and winter, the level in such workings is lower than in rainy autumn and spring periods. Water reserves will fluctuate accordingly.

To obtain a stable amount of water in the well, the overhead must be passed and dive into the underlying aquifer. Usually there are several permeable and waterproof layers between it and the upper layer. So, there is a chance to reach drinking water.

However, the barrel of such a well is much longer: the material, time and labor efforts will take more to build it.

Drinking water must be tested by the local health authority. By results of analyzes draw conclusions about its suitability. If necessary, recommend measures for cleaning.

Typical scheme of a well of mine type

The shaft well is a common type of individual water supply. In the lumen it has the largest size, which allows an independent owner to form the production of a simple shovel directly in the mine. Production can be round, square, less rectangular.

The diameter or length of the wall of a square barrel usually varies from 0.8 to 1.2 / 1.5 m. Note that too much clearance does not guarantee an increase in flow rate. There is little more water in a wide well than in a narrow counterpart. After all, the flow rate is determined by the capabilities of the water carrier, and not by the size of the mine. But the difference in the cost of construction is difficult not to notice.

The main structural components

Dig wells up to 30 m deep. Deeper development is easier and smarter to go through the rig. They act in a similar way when setting up a well in rocky and semi-rocky rocks: it’s impossible or too difficult to drill a mine in them with your own hands.

It makes sense to dig soils that can be developed with a shovel: sand, sandy loam, clay, loam.

Structural components of the mine well:

• Receiving part - the lower segment of the walls of the well, designed to receive groundwater. If the reserve of a water carrier is sufficient for family consumption, water flows exclusively through the bottom. If the formation flow rate is too small, holes are made in the well walls buried in it for lateral flow of water.
• Trunk - part of the well from the surface of the earth to the static level of well water. It can be wooden, monolithic concrete, assembled from reinforced concrete rings, stone, brick. The barrel should provide tightness, which excludes seepage of sewage, atmospheric water, penetration of chemicals and organic residues.
• Cap - Above-ground plot, which creates conditions for the safe use of a water source, which prevents water pollution. To rise above the surface, it should be at least 60 cm. A comfortable height is 80 - 90 cm. The cap must have a cover to protect the water from contamination and a device for lifting it with a bucket.

A clay castle, playing the role of a barrier to soil water, atmospheric and domestic runoff from the earth's surface, is arranged around the place where the tip meets the top of the trunk. This is a kind of rounded trench deep below the level of seasonal soil freezing, about 50 cm wide. The trench is filled with crumpled clay.

The filling with diligence is rammed so that cracks do not appear in the drying clay. A pavement of reinforced concrete, rubble stone, brick, 1.0 / 1.5 m wide with a slope from the walls of the tip of 0.01 is built on top of the castle.

Classification of the intake part

The degree of immersion in the aquiferous part of the aquifer is a criterion for dividing wells into the following types:

• Imperfect. The intake segment of the imperfect type is partially buried in the aquifer. Water flow occurs through the bottom, if necessary through the side holes.
• Perfect. The water intake part of the perfect type completely crosses the aquifer and is installed by the bottom on the roof of the underlying water seal. The influx of water occurs through the side holes in the walls.
• Perfect with a sump. By structure, it is similar to the previous type. The difference lies in the fact that the water intake area is buried in the water stop in order to create a reservoir for the water supply.

For the construction of the tank there is another way: the water intake part is arranged in the form of a truncated cone, resembling a tent. The cone-shaped submerged part is arranged if the power of the water carrier is more than 3 m, if it is less rational to make a sump.

Optimal for private owners scheme

The choice of design of the underwater part of the shaft well should be focused on the real need for water supply. If you do not scoop up the excess, they will stagnate, which will lead to loss of drinking qualities and decay. Therefore, for the water supply of private households, imperfect wells without spare tanks are recommended.

Folk long-term practice suggests: the water intake of an imperfect well should not be brought into the aquifer more than 0.7 of the seam thickness. If the recommended schedule is exceeded, the amount of incoming water decreases, which leads to the need to form side holes in the walls of the well.

The bottom of a standard imperfect source is equipped with a three-layer bottom filter. First, 10 cm of sand are filled up, then 15 cm of gravel or crushed stone with sandy aggregate, after 15 cm of small pebbles, gravel or crushed stone larger in size than the previous backfill.

If the water intake part of the well is sunk into the liquefied rock - quicksand, the bottom of the mine is equipped with a boardwalk with holes and gaps drilled for water entry.

Independent hydrogeological surveys

The approximate depth of the mine can be found out in advance. To do this, you need to bypass the neighboring areas and find out at what level water is located in nearby wells. It should be asked whether a well was dug for technical or drinking purposes, whether the groundwater mirror is stable in it.

At the same time, it is worth asking if it was difficult to develop a mine, if large boulders did not meet during the digging.

The survey method is acceptable if the estate is located on a flat terrain with little hillyness. There, the layers of rocks are deposited almost horizontally, approximately repeating the shape of the natural relief.

The groundwater mirror is located approximately at the same level, since in permeable rocks, the principle of communicating vessels. The difference in the length of the mine can only give differences in elevations of the mouth of wells.

The depth of the underground water in the mine, planned for construction in a flat area, can also be predetermined using the neighbor’s well as a guideline. This will require aneroid barometer.

The scale of the specified device marked graduation in 0.1 mm. The distance between the divisions corresponds to 1 meter of the difference in elevations.

For example, measurements near the existing well showed a mark of 634.7, and at the place of future production the barometer needle stopped at 633.8. This means that groundwater will appear at a depth of 9 m.

The survey method does not work in regions with a high occurrence of rock and semi-rock. Especially if you have to extract fissure water, which spreads sporadically, sometimes flows into adjacent layers.

Surveys in areas with a pronounced hilly, where it is impossible to accurately represent the geological section without research, will not help too much. It is desirable for landlords in such areas to contact a local water supply network design center or a hydrogeological organization.

Further information on aquifer exploration is presented in this article.

Where to arrange the object of water supply

It’s not too easy to choose a place for an individual source of water supply, especially if a small area is already occupied by an impressive residential and commercial building.

With all the desire to save meters, when planning a place under construction of a personal well It is recommended to follow the following rules with your own hands:

1. A drinking well should not be located near manure heaps, latrines, bathhouses, cesspools, barnyards and similar objects. Between the well and the source of likely contamination should be at least 20-25 m.
2. No need to arrange a well on the slopes of river banks or ravines. Due to the decrease in the flow of groundwater, the flow rate will be significantly reduced.
3. The minimum distance between the well and the foundation of the house or hozblok should be at least 5 m. In the well as in the reservoir formed in the ground, the currents of water will be directed, washing the soil through the particles foundations. Located next to the corner of the building certainly proyadet.

Stagnant water bodies are considered undesirable neighborhoods. Through permeable rocks, water from them will certainly infiltrate, which is extremely dangerous for the drinking category.

It is forbidden to locate a well near sources of biological and chemical pollution, as well as on slopes, near ravines and on the banks of rivers.

Mine Well Construction Technologies

The essence of the construction of the well is the formation of walls that strengthen the mine.

Depending on the material chosen for the well crepe device, the work is carried out according to one of the three proven schemes:

• Construction of walls from the bottom of a previously dug mine. The technology is used most often in the construction of brick and stone wells with a foundation resting on a water-proof. Because of the danger of collapses, the walls of the mine are equipped with temporary fasteners.
• Building walls on top of a trunk under construction with simultaneous lowering. The most common and safe method, involving the parallel execution of construction and penetration. Used in the construction of wells with walls of concrete rings and well log cabins.
• Building walls at the bottom with simultaneous penetration. The method is used in the device of wooden fasteners in cases where the box is wedged. Then the size of the lumen is reduced and the elements are attached to the conditional bottom of the trunk.

An alternative to the lower extension can serve well drilling in the barrel of the well. Calling for help drillers also stands, if during digging they have rested against a large boulder, which is difficult to break with a hand chisel.

Three or more people must be involved in the construction of a manhole. One works on the "bottom", two insure on the ground.

Option # 1 - construction of a well with a foundation

Construction begins with the construction of a concrete base. To do this, pre-divert water from the work site. Soil rammed and leveled, on top arrange gritty pillow.

The formwork for the well foundation is collected on the surface, then rammed and installed on the prepared bottom. Inside the formwork it is recommended to lay polyethylene, which will perform the function of waterproofing the base.

For pouring, it is allowed to use cement mortar with crushed stone without sand aggregate. Concreting is carried out at one time without interruption.

After the concrete is set, the markings are performed:

• Round Well mark up by drawing the inner circle and centering.
• Rectangular well drawn by marking the inner and outer edges of the walls. The longitudinal and perpendicular axes are marked.

Armature is applied horizontal and vertical. Horizontal clamps are placed in similar joints of masonry outside the trunk. Vertical bars are installed through an eightfold wall thickness. This should be the distance between all reinforcement elements.

The thickness of the masonry mortar for fixing the reinforcement should take into account the full coverage of vertical rods with a margin of 2 cm. The stock in horizontal seams is 0.4 cm.

Laying the walls of the well with rounded outlines perform tychkovymi rows. Depending on the depth of production they put in two, one and a half or in one brick. They are built in tiers of about 1.2 m. The dressing is carried out by displacing the new row in relation to the laid row by a quarter of a brick.

Construction from the bottom is performed by two people. The master lays the bricks, the apprentice prepares and supplies the materials. Vertical and horizontal rows are regularly monitored by level and plumb line. Work with suspended scaffolding. If the well is built in three bricks, it is allowed to carry out laying from the walls.

Option # 2 - how to make a well of concrete rings

The most profitable, quick and easy to use version - application concrete rings factory-made, equipped with a stepped or beveled fold on the end joints.

but make concrete rings you can personally. For this you need to build a formwork - two removable or collapsible rings. They are made of sheet metal or planks connected by a metal strip. Sometimes the formwork is given a slightly conical shape so that it is more convenient to build homemade rings from top to bottom.

Consistent production of rings by this method is carried out directly at the facility. Armature is placed along the perimeter of the formwork: at least 5 vertical bars. The distance between them is 25 cm. The horizontal reinforcement is placed after 20 cm; it is attached to the vertical parts with a knitting wire.

For mixing mortar, cement with a grade not lower than M400, washed sand, crushed stone or gravel is used. The solution is allowed to solidify for 2-3 days, after which the ring is immersed in the soil using the method of digging under the lower edge. Then make the next item and set to the previous one.

The result is a barrel with peculiar steps that allow the master to move up / down inside the well under construction.

The device of the barrel of the factory reinforced concrete rings in stages:

• Perform a marking of the trunk, according to which the soil is selected to the height of the ring.
• In the mine set the first w / b ring with a cutting bottom edge.
• On the upper joint along the seam stack impregnated with bitumen or tar resin Ø1 cm.
• A second one is placed on top of the first ring, the junction of elements is processed with a concrete solution.
• Under the lower ring from two opposite sides, the ground is broken in with a sapper shovel or an ordinary soviet sister with a shortened cutting. But first, choose and serve up the ground from the middle of development.
• In the grooves establish chocks or similar devices of equal height.
• Undermined by a ring on the sides perpendicular to the previous one. Putting chocks into the recess.
• By analogy, dig under the remaining part of the ring and select the soil inside the mine.
• From under the completely undermined ring knock out the chocks. Under its own weight, the ring settles.

According to the described scheme, they act until the second ring is completely submerged, on top of which the third is hoisted. The above algorithm is followed until underground water appears, and penetration does not penetrate the aquifer to a sufficient depth.

Dirty water is pumped out of the mine, using pumping unit. After that, the bottom is constructed and the head is constructed with a clay castle, a blind area. Before the lock device, the upper rings are wrapped in polyethylene so that seasonal movements of the freezing rocks do not damage the wellbore.

Concrete rings are fixed between each other with strips of strip metal. Pads are installed at each joint at 3 or 4 points around the circumference. To fix the plates in the walls of the rings must be drilled holes. Self-made rings are better to fasten steel rods with monoliths into the walls with loops on the edge.

To protect the well from seepage of groundwater and clogging, inward install plastic insert.

Option # 3 - a wooden well log house

The optimum material for the construction of the log house is an oak, the underwater part of which will last about a century, and the surface part will last at least 25 years. Elm, larch, and alder wood are suitable; pine is quite suitable for the construction of the topside.

They are built mainly by the submersible method, deepening as the log builds up from the top. A common technology is exactly the same as the method of arranging a well of concrete rings. Building up the bottom and building from the bottom is more difficult and more dangerous, so they are used less frequently.

The construction of a wooden well resembles the construction of a hut in miniature. Those who want to know how to make a wooden well for a wooden well, should get acquainted with the classical methods of forming cuts.

Connect the plates or logs in the corners with cut into the paw with the root spike. Crowns pierce dowels. To preserve the shape of the frame during the period of immersion, it is temporarily upholstered with boards on the inside.

A wooden well is being built from the bottom of the mine if the depth of production is not planned to be more than 6 m and the walls of the dug mine do not threaten with landslides. If it is necessary to exclude the entry of a wooden roof, a wooden well outside is upholstered with a tongue-and-groove board at the level of its appearance and establishment.

If there are no building skills, then it is better to entrust the work to professionals. It is necessary in advance to discuss with the executive team the possible options for sample preparation and digging rates.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Video # 1: Rules for setting up a well from factory concrete rings

Video # 2: Practical tips for digging the well

Video # 3: The process of manufacturing a concrete ring in folding formwork

We gave only the basic methods of building a well. In fact, more construction options, the schemes described can be combined. However, the information provided is sufficient for the successful installation of an individual water supply source.

If you have experience building a well, please share information with our readers. Leave comments and add photos of self-made wells in the form below.