What's new
What's new

OT, Well house design ideas.

CougarMountain

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Location
Oregon
I'm planning on replacing my well pump house this summer, and am looking for ideas to make it friendly to any service needs down the road, such as having to pull the pump, or (hope this never happens) the well driller. I figure on pouring a concrete slab, and want to support the pressure tank, iron filter canister, and any other plumbing independent of the building, such as using steel posts and uni-strut anchored to the floor. A couple of options are removable insulated wall panels, or maybe even lifting the whole building off the slab (I have a backhoe for the heavy lifting) I'm thinking 6' to 8' square, as I want room to move about, plus a little extra room to store hoses and such during the winter. Any ideas?
 
The New Well House

Unless you plan on a huge tank, 6 feet by 6 feet is more than enough. Make the door large enough to replace the tank. Build it so that you can tip it over on it's side without disconnecting anything. One or two thermostatic crawlspace vents will prevent condensation inside. Avoid the temptation to place all the wiring and pipes at floor level, It is much easier to change a valve or pressure switch at waist height. mount the pressure switch on top of a brass or stainless pipe nipple to avoid corrosion-cutoff. Provide power for good lighting and winter-time heating. Make yourself a roller atachment for the well casing, then you can pull the pump with the lawnmower or tractor. It's no fun doing it hand-over-hand at night in the rain. If you want to be really ready, make storage space to keep a spare pump, switch, and heater. Regards, Clark
 
You can put a length of stove pipe through the ceiling right above the well to allow pulling the pump through the roof. Put a rain cap on the stove pipe, and then stuff it with fiberglass insulation.

I wouldn't put a concrete floor in the shed, just use rock. Make a concrete foundation, but make sure the foundation is lower than the top of the well casing in the event of a leak. Depending on your environment, use either 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 insulated walls, ceiling, and door to minimize heating.

You may need to put in a small electric heater to keep it from freezing. The 1/4 pipe nipple that connects the pressure switch to the main line will freeze first. IME this will result in a water outage, but it could result in overpressuring.

If you do pour a concrete floor, make sure you have a place for the water from a leak will get out.
 
I built mine underground. I am an underground contractor and my cost on a well pit was 900$ for a 5' dia. culvert with a lid. I said no way and found a good heavy 8' dia steel tank, "cost me a case of beer" built a 3' square port hole in the top. Cut the tank 6.5' tall and buried it a foot below the ground. I have 2 pressure tanks in it and all the controls, painted the inside silver and wired in a light. Set the tank in cement blocks and bags of Quick crete, and a gravel floor. I have 4 valves so I can shut off differernt parts of my place. Never freezes and very nice to work in it and it doubles as a tornado shelter!!!
 
Well house.

Ditto on True Tempers set up. Mine is 6x8 feet by 6 feet deep with a rock floor and poured concrete walls. The top is arched for rain run off and is heavy wood construction coated with fiberglass cloth and resin. The hinged lid is easy to open. The pit makes it easier to pull the pump and it makes a great tornado shelter! And you don't have to worry about freezing.
Charles
 
To follow on from true temper and fixitup's concepts of freeze protection, mine is built into slightly sloping ground. It has a slab with drain buried downhill a way into a french drain. Two foot concrete walls bring it just above grade except for the downhill side which has a door at ground level. I made it with only about 6 feet of headroom and insulated the top framing thoroughly. No problems of freezing although our climate is fairly mild. I just could not bear the thought of heating a pump house as is so common in our area so this design just uses the thermal stability of the earth to do the heating.

As for future maintenance, I installed an 18" square of aluminum sheet in place of shingles to cover the hole in the roof sheathing just above the well casing.

Jim
 
A lot of great ideas. Thanks! As far as heat, usually just leaving a 60w light on during the winter is enough, though during the single digit days, I check it frequently to make sure the bulb hasn't burnt out.

Have any of you ever had to have the well driller back in? what kind of space do they need. I did lay down geotext fabric under the gravel drive to the pump house, so I have access year around. The clay soil here is bottomless during the wet season making vehicle access impossible off the gravel.
 








 
Back
Top