Well- Drill ahead of building

[jml755]

We're bought some property several years ago and plan on building home, barn, riding arena and retiring there. House/barn probably won't go up for a few years but we're doing a few things each year to spread out the cash-outlay (driveway and site cleanup/prep have been major efforts to date). I'm considering drilling a well ahead of time as this is a sizable expense. Question: Is this a good idea? There is no electricity yet on the site. If I had the well drilled, I could use my generator to periodically (weekends) run the pump. I wouldn't have a complete system (pressure tank, etc). I'm thinking about the variable speed pumps. I've going to contact a local well-driller, but figure his answer will probably be "do it now" as business has to be very slow with the housing slump. I'm clearing the area for the septic field and would consider installing that ahead of time as well. I can't think of any drawbacks, but that's what forums are for, to get other opinions. Thoughts/comments?

[Bird]

Have you ever noticed how many things there are that deteriorate rapidly when abandoned or not used for a period of time. Now I'm certainly no expert, but if if were me, there's just no way I'd get the well drilled and a septic system in more than 2 or 3 months before starting to build the house.

[speedbump]

I would have it drilled. It would be good to know you can get decent water and enough of it, before building a home then finding out you are in an area where wells are hard to come by.

Running a pump with a generator is OK if you don't run the pump deadhead, water must be flowing to keep the pump cool.

Stay away from the Vari speed pumps.

bob...

[egon]

Think I'd wait just a touch and monitor the costs to try and determine a trend.

The systems could be installed before hand as long as the well gets pumped on a regular basis. The septic system could receive the well water to keep it sorta active without the bacterial activity. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[jimbrown]

I would drill it now> You will have all kinds of needs for water as you build things. I drilled mine at least two years before building. You will for sure need it to pour concrete ect. I had a well house with a shower head on it. It sure was nice to shower off after doing dirty work.

[jml755]

guys,
thanks for the replies. Lots of food for thought.
jimbrown, good points about using water when working on the property. I transplanted some trees this summer and was hauling water from the pond. Would have been nice to just run a hose.
speedbump,
any specific reason why you recommend against the vari-speed? I haven't read anything negative about them online and other than maybe cost and more complex electronics, the benefits seem logical. Or is that all marketing and sales hype with no "real" advantages? (BTW, nice website. I'm going to have to peruse it in more detail when I get the chance.) Like they say, the day you stop learning is the day you die.

[speedbump]

I prefer the Cycle Stop Valve for several reasons. It is much less expensive. It is Mechanical, not Electronic and will outlast a Varispeed. Variable speed pumps typically use a higher horsepower motor than a standard submersible pump to accomplish the same goal, so more electricity is used.

bob...

[Pat]

Just wanted to stand up and cheer for the idea of drilling the well far enough in advance to ensure you don't get way down the road with your plans and find out that a satisfactory well is hard or impossible to get in at your site.

I don't have a lot of well experience but our well went unused for several years and when we had the water tested it was good. We have used it off and on for 7 years now (we also have rural water district water meter) and except for replacing a 240 volt pump that some yahoo hooked up to 120 we have had no problems.

About a quarter mile from this well a previous owner tried 5 times in different locations to get a usable well and only got brackish water. He had to lay a quarter mile of pipe to get water to his house from this well.

Having a proven well ahead of firming up plans and committing time, effort, and $ to a particular building site is a good cautious move. Of course if there are wells all around you in all directions that are good you might choose to take the gamble that you will do OK too when the time comes. Would you jump out of an airplane if someone said they would toss you a package that looked a lot like a parachute, even if it turned out to be a parachute a few times before?

Pat

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] I'm with the folks who advocate drilling early. There are a lot of good reasons to do that, and few bad ones. ONE BAD ONE is the tendency for inexperienced people to build around and even over the well site when the well is drilled early. I cannot count the number of times I have sent a rig to pull a domestic water system pump and then have the crew get me on the radio a short time later and tell me that the well head is under the south bench in the potting shed. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] FIGURE OUT where there will always be an open space; DRILL the well there; and LEAVE that space open and accessible. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[chadincolo]

Drill it now, as others said, lots of use for water when you are working. Properly dug well won't have any problem sitting for years. We have a well on our place that wasn't used for 15-20 years, needed some water so hooked up the pump jack and filled the tank. Our windmills don't run from September to March or so every winter.

On the septic, here you couldn't do it ahead of time. Septic systems are designed to meet a house needs (bedrooms and bathrooms), so if you don't have a house plan submitted, the county won't approve a septic plan.