AlanB's Well house remodel

AlanB · Jun 16, 2008

Well, well well,,,,, OK, humor is kinda my weak suite,

Anyway, if you go way back here....

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/95654-al-bs-house-rework-3.html?highlight=house+rework

Scroll down a couple posts, and you see where I was pondering what to do with my well house.

Finally gotten around to where it is on the do it list now.

Hanni came up with what I feel is the best idea, and that is that we will make it look like a wishing well, but first, as with so many other things around my house, I have to make it work first. And as with so many other things around my house as well, it is not how it appears when I first look at it.

I did not get the "before" shots I should have, but I thought my pump was sitting on a mud floor and that the well head pipe was cut off lower then the mud of the well house floor. The top seal was crooked and did not fit in place and the well casing was cut on about a 20 degree angle.

Initial plan was to remove pump, pull up lines, remove well pipes, dig out bottom to below well casing, cut casing square, fill bottom with rock, reset pump on clean gravel / rock, fill in cinder blocks with concrete etc.

So, real world is cut out pump and remove and go to start digging out bottom only to realize that bottom of hole is concrete.

Then realize that bottom of lowest part of angled well casing is below concrete surface

Measure pipe, yep, 6" no problem. Get a 12" peice of 6" pipe and add too it..... Well get a peice of 6" pipe and realize that it is bigger then what is in the ground (slightly) then wonder which is correct for the well cap seal. Fortunately, what I have is correct and fortunately I have a welder

So, chip out concrete around pipe enough to lay in hole and weld, then weld new pipe in reaching down through pipe to weld and laying upside down in hole to weld the base................... No pics, not a happy guy.

Then put in some tapcons around base, and form a little raised area to keep groundwater away from well head.

Then form up a little pour and pour and then fill up cinder block walls so snakes are not quite so welcome.

Use the extra mortar mix laying around the house from when SWMBO does landscaping jobs, just add gravel as filler.

Tractor was used to haul the concrete back and forth from the mixer location to the well house.

Oh, and also in my "house that China Built" theme of things, man, this concrete vibrator is just hard to beat when it comes to doing work like this.

AlanB · Jun 16, 2008

So, part of this project is towards the driveway, SWMBO wants to see an old pump, and a concrete watering trough like they have in Germany.

So, for the pump I am thinking of this

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Then taking the top off of a standard frostproof something like this

Campbell Manuacturing Catalog Page J1 Frostproof Yard Hydrants

And adapting it to the hand pump so that we can have flowing water, without having to actually hand pump it.

Then I have to figure out how to make the trough.

Thinking of casting one out of concrete, but think someone is already doing it, I just need to find it and buy it

In the center of many German towns you would have the pump head pouring water into the stone trough, and we are going to bring a little of that to the house.

I am open to any suggestions, cheap or cost free one's will be considered much more then expensive ones

ultrarunner · Jun 16, 2008

I'd like one too... they have them in Austria where I was living and that's all anyone uses to water their gardens...

Lots of the ones are hollowed out logs...

AlanB · Jun 17, 2008

Anyone experienced in Decorative concrete casting? I found one for $220 in Oklahoma, I bet shipping is expensvie though.

Would seem easy enough to cast, I wonder what the proper "mix" for that would be?

EddieWalker · Jun 17, 2008

Alan,

Looks like another fun project!!!!

For the trough, have you considered cement planters? Some are in the right shape and size, but you'd have to look around to find one that you like. If they have a hole or several in the bottom, you could just silicone it.

Eddie

AlanB · Jun 18, 2008

That was my thought Eddie, but SWMBO told me that I have the concept wrong, it will just not have the right "feel" unless I do it at least twice, and spend three times the money on it

Seriously though, she said last night she wanted to cast it herself after I think I found the planters I thought would work. (of course casting it herself translates in my world to, I make forms, I shovel concrete,,,,,,,)

I think mine will have the holes in the bottom as well, I am thinking of putting in a drain down there of some form as well, but I am thinking that I will need some kind of stand for the inner form to sit on, which will probably end up translating into holes.

Found some really neat web stuff about casting concrete though, and a guy that used truck inner tubes as forms. Made for some wild looking yard stuff.

AlanB · Jun 24, 2008

Well, going along in the standard vein of Alan Works on his house, everything must be done at lease twice.

Lets see,

Nice picture of the cleaned up hole, and the extended well casing pipe and concrete reinforcement so the top of my well is not under muck.........

A nice picture of my drop pipe, laid out. Went ahead and put a new foot on it while I was there.

Nice picture of little man Dean helping Dad out using Lil.

The pump in, everything hooked, little chunk of wood to mount the plumbing strap too to hold everything up etc.

So you get it all hooked up, only to find that the 1 1/4 line that someone had sawcut before me, that I thought I could get away with re-using because it was not leaking, when you cleaned everything up, and pulled the mung off from it, now leaks

Oh, and now when everything is pretty dry in the hole, and you can look a little closer, you find that the back of the tank is wet

and look, there is a little spot of rust there where it looks wet,,,,,,, Then you scratch it with your fingernail and the water starts shooting out the little pinhole rust spot leak.

You conjur on it for a minute then remember that when I moved the carport, I had to buy some little self tappers with neoprene washers, so install a washered tapper in the hole, Little silver head near the end bell of the tank.

Certainly not a permanent repair, but for now, on this one, it will just have to do.

I am finding LOTS of little leaks throughout the pump system, and as this is supposed to be for irrigation only, I will probably just replace the entire unit with an irrigation style pump, but for now, that will wait.

Then Picture 20 is a happy boy, driving the golf cart his grandad gave him, that has the batteries that he paid for himself earning money mowing yards, and getting too pull the trailer his grandad gave him after we got it fixed up a bit and operating.

Makes for one heck of a step and fetch operation.

The well is in that little concrete thing you see behind his trailer, and it sure is helpful to have him topside running back and forth grabbing all the tools I forget.