How to dig a well

2024 Author: Arianna Cook | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:23

Well digging methods, their pros and cons. The choice of the methodology for arranging the underground part of the source, depending on the geological features of the site. Shaft construction technologies. Digging a well is the process of creating a traditional shaft from surface to aquifer, which involves extracting soil and shaping solid shaft walls. The sequence of work during construction depends on the chosen method of digging. Learn how to dig a well with your own hands from this article.

Features of digging a well

All krynitsy have the same design: they have a water intake device, a barrel and a head. The most difficult stage is the construction of the underground part of the source from the surface to the aquifer.

A hole is dug in various ways: manually, with an excavator, a hole drill, auger drilling or a percussion rope method. Each of the options has its own advantages and disadvantages and is used in certain situations. For example, manual digging can be carried out in any soil, for the extraction of water from great depths, the shock-rope method is used, an excavator will help to quickly get to the underground layer, etc.

The maximum depth of a well with a shaft-shaft, dug manually or with the help of mechanisms, can reach 30 m. This depth is usually sufficient, because high-quality drinking water is often within the specified limits, and for irrigation and other household purposes, you can use a top water. It is dangerous, expensive and difficult to remove the soil further, therefore, wells are drilled instead of them using special installations.

The diameter of the well is chosen for many factors, but mainly for the convenience of working in a confined space. Usually, the inner opening is within 1-1.5 m. Do not dig it too wide, because the rate of water inflow depends on the device of the water intake part and the composition of the useful layer, but the amount of liquid pumped out at a time from a wide well will be large.

During work, it is necessary to take measures to prevent the collapse of the walls of the mine. For these purposes, concrete rings are used, less often log cabins. When performing wells, casing pipes must be installed.

Digging a trunk is a laborious task that requires knowledge of special technologies. In most cases, the soil from the mine is taken out manually so as not to disturb the aquifer and the order on the site. However, the use of mechanisms and special devices has its advantages. Let's take a closer look at the most popular ways of digging a well with our own hands.

Digging a well by hand

Manual digging of the mine is carried out by a team of 2-3 people, equipped with a pump, a device for lifting buckets of earth and lowering a person. If the walls are reinforced with concrete rings, a crane will be needed to move them.

This option for building a well has the following advantages over other methods:

Manually digging mines in any type of soil - hard, loose and rocky. In the latter case, jackhammers, crowbars, axes, etc. are used. Only financial possibilities can become a limitation.
The walls have a regular round shape.
The shaft of the well is sealed due to the use of concrete rings with landing bands in the form of protrusions and grooves.
The hand-dug shafts, whose walls are reinforced with concrete rings, withstand the pressure of quicksand and the movement of soil in the horizontal plane.
Heavy mechanisms are not used for work, therefore, it is recommended to use rings of small height in order to easily install them in their original place without lifting devices. Three people easily lift a product with a diameter of 1 m and a height of 0.25 m.
The opening is often made wide to facilitate cleaning and deepening of the structure.

There are few disadvantages of this method of digging, the most significant is the long construction period. A mine with a depth of 5-6 rings is dug for 1-2 days, 8 rings - 2-4 days, 12 rings - a week. The rate of penetration depends on the composition of the rocks, the experience of the builders and the weather.

There are two options for digging a well - open and closed. Each is used on certain types of soil.

The closed method is used on loose, loose soils and quicksand. When working on such soils, there is a great danger of the trunk collapse, therefore, concrete rings of large diameter are used to strengthen the walls. In addition to standard concrete products, you will need a shoe - a low pointed ring that ensures smooth immersion of the mine into the ground.

Digging a well manually in a closed way is as follows:

On the selected area, mark the outline of the curve. To do this, hammer in a peg with a string attached to it, the radius of which is slightly larger than the outer size of the concrete product. Use a cord to draw a circle on the ground.
Dig inside the selected area to the depth of the height of the ring.
Place the knife in the hole.
Align it horizontally and vertically.
In the lower elements, to a height of 1.5 m from the knife, make holes in a checkerboard pattern. Cover them outside with a stainless steel mesh. This will create a filter that does not allow dirt to enter the mine.
Place the hole ring on the knife. Check the verticality of the wall with a plumb line.
Seal the joints between the elements. The way of filling the joints depends on the type of soil. If there is sand below, it is enough to use tarred hemp. Quicksand requires high-quality sealing of the joint, therefore, a mixture based on cement and glue is placed between adjacent elements.
Make four undermines under the knife in diametrically opposite places. Drive temporary supports into the openings so that the load from the rings falls on them.
Remove any soil inside the ring and under the knife.
Knock out the supports from under the shaft.
Sit down the structure evenly. This method of digging is called downward digging.
Check the verticality of the walls and ensure their correct position by removing the earth in the required place.
If the soil is sandy, it is likely that the walls will collapse, warp the rings and pinch them. To prevent this from happening, connect the elements together with metal staples, which can be made from rods with a diameter of 5-10 mm.
Repeat the operation until you reach the aquifer.
Determine the thickness of the useful layer. To do this, dig a prospecting hole as deep as possible.
At the bottom of the layer of sand and crushed stone, there is usually a waterproof clay, similar to plasticine. If such a layer is found, pour three layers of crushed stone on the bottom, which will act as a bottom filter. Place small pebbles below, large ones on top.
Removal of soil after reaching the aquifer will have to alternate with pumping out the liquid.
Construction ends after the bottom filter is created.

The open method is used on solid soils, where you can dig a well without fear of collapse of the walls. The soil is removed manually to the aquifer, after which the trunk is reinforced with concrete rings, a frame, masonry or brickwork, concrete formwork, etc. The cladding is done immediately after the end of the digging. Do not leave the mine for a long time without strengthening the walls, they can slide off after rains or floods. If the well is built in dense clay, reinforcing elements may not be installed. After creating the bottom filter, the process of arranging the underground part is over.

The use of a yamobur for digging a well

Before digging a well with a pit drill, find out the composition of the soil under the fertile soil. This method can be used if it is hard and clayey. Going through quicksands and sandy soils using such a device will not work. The work is carried out using special mechanisms - an auto-drill and a manipulator.

The advantages of using a tool when building a well:

The speed of the work. The pit will be ready in a few hours.
Low drilling cost.
A very deep shaft can be easily dug.

The disadvantages of this method include:

Compulsory use of heavy oversized equipment. To access the mechanisms to the place of work, you will have to disassemble the gates and lay a temporary road, often through the vegetable garden, front gardens and paths made of paving slabs.
Holes of relatively small diameters are obtained with the help of yamobur, which require reinforcement with concrete rings with a maximum inner diameter of 700-750 mm. It is difficult and expensive to clean shafts with such a rather narrow opening. For the same reason, the criticism cannot be deepened.

Digging a well with an excavator

Heavy machinery is used for working on clay soils. The depth of the pit is limited by the length of the bucket bar and rarely exceeds 5 m, but the owners pay more attention to the advantages of mechanizing the process:

It is possible to build a well with a large diameter, which will provide a larger volume of water compared to other structures. However, the rate at which the mine is filled will still depend on the composition of the aquifer.
The pit will be ready in 6-10 hours.
With the help of an excavator, the excess soil is immediately loaded onto a car and taken away.
Wide wells are easy to clean and dredge.
When building a mine, you can use thick-walled products of high strength, which are installed mechanically. There are grooves and protrusions at the ends of large-sized items that prevent horizontal movement of the rings. You can use special rings with steps.

Refuse to dig a well with an excavator in such cases:

If the soil is sandy or from loose soil, which threatens the wall collapse.
If it is necessary to dig a hole to a depth of more than 5 m due to the limited length of the working tool of the mechanism.
The excavator is not capable of digging a hole in hard rock.
A hole with vertical walls cannot be dug the first time.
The shaft is much larger than the rings. The voids between the trunk and the ground have to be filled with soil, which cannot be uniformly compacted. Therefore, after installing the rings, there is a risk of their displacement due to the uneven density of the soil around them.
During work, a large area is dug up and the site is spoiled.
It is necessary to organize the approach of the excavator to the place of work through a landscaped area.
Note that it is best to use an excavator to dig a well when the soil is dry. In spring, the soil is wet, which makes it difficult to install the rings in a vertical position.

When digging a well with an excavator, adhere to the following requirements:

Use powerful excavators with an experienced driver for work.
Lower the rings into the pit with the manipulator immediately after moving the mine to a new level. If you hesitate, water will fill the pit and can collapse the walls.
After installing the next element, the excavator bucket must press on it to lower the structure. It is necessary to work carefully so that there is no distortion.
The person who is below should indicate where and how to press.
Use a plumb line and level to control the horizontal and vertical sides of the barrel.
Facilitate the construction of a ring with grooves and protrusions at the ends, but they are more expensive.
Make sure the bottom is clean before installing the rings. In winter, ice may appear on the ends, in spring - dirt.
For the convenience and safety of working on the products, provide for the loops for which they rise.

The cost of the work cannot be determined in advance, but it will be much more than manual digging.

Digging a well with a screw

Drilling requires neither knowledge nor expensive special tools. To make a well, you need an auger - a rod with a working tool fixed from below in the form of a screw. The drill is rotated manually. This design allows you to reach the water to a depth of 30 m.

Digging a well with a drill is carried out as follows:

Set up a tripod to fix the auger in a vertical plane above the selected location.
Secure the instrument to the tripod.
Rotate the auger by hand until it engages the ground at its maximum depth.
Lift the drill along with the ground and clean the work surface.
Place the tool in the hole and lengthen the rod by adding a new piece.
Repeat the operation until the drill reaches the aquifer and passes it 0.5 m.
Remove the tool from the shaft.
Install the casing in it.
Using the auger rod, lower the filter into the well.
Lift the casing to a position where it is in the middle of the aquifer.
Fix the pipe in this position.
This completes the well completion process.

Instead of auger drilling, rotary drilling can be used. To implement it, you need a drilling rig, in which the tool rotates the motor. You will also need equipment for flushing the well. This option is not very suitable for independent drilling - experience with such mechanisms is required.

Digging a well using a shock-rope method

For work, you will need a special tool - a bailer. It is a long, narrow section of pipe with a pointed bottom and a valve orifice. The tool should be heavy enough to sink into the ground more easily. To complete the well, you need to be patient - you will have to work for several weeks or even months. But on the other hand, in this way you can punch a mine to a depth of more than 40 m. Often this method is combined with auger drilling. For example, the auger is used on hard soil, and the bailer is used for passing quicksand.

The technology of digging a well using the shock-rope method looks like this:

Use a garden drill to drill into the ground as deep as possible.
Place a tripod with a block above it. Its height should be such that after installing the thief, a distance of at least 2 m remains between it and the surface.
Pass the cable through the block and secure the tool.
Set up the tripod so that the fixture is exactly aligned with the hole in the ground.
Connect the other side of the cable to the winch.
Raise the thief and release the cable.
The device will pass through the hole made and fall further into the ground, which will enter the projectile through the hole.
Raise the instrument off the ground and lower it again.
The bailer will sink deeper and deeper into the ground.
Remove soil from the cavity of the fixture periodically.
As you go deeper, install a casing in the ground to prevent the walls from collapsing.
After reaching the aquifer, continue to work with the bailer until it goes through the formation.
Dismantle the projectile from the mine.
Lower the casing all the way.
Flush the well with high pressure water. It will wash away the sand from below and create a cavity in which the liquid can settle. A bottom filter is not required in this case.
Raise the casing and fix it in this position. This completes the construction of the underground part of the well.

For the passage of viscous soils, instead of a thief, a driven glass is used without a side hole. After falling to the bottom, the earth clogs its cavity and is held there on its own. It is removed through long narrow slots in the body with the help of fittings.

How to dig a well - watch the video:

From the above information, we can conclude that when choosing a method for digging a well, many factors are taken into account: the financial capabilities of the site owner, the geological features of the soil in the area, the need for water. The information obtained will help to avoid mistakes in the performance of work that affect the high-quality filling of the well with clean water.