Project summerhouse (7): Drill deeper

After some excavation work, it was time to think about the drilled well. First, we had to decide on the place for it and second, we had to select which company would be the best for us.

Choosing the place for the well was quite easy if thinking about the positioning of the house. There were only a couple of good options. Selecting the company was even easier as my two colleagues could recommend a company that they used themselves. The price and the quality were perfect and they provided extra flexibility.

So, the preparations were made and the day was set! Both of us, I and my husband, wanted to be present on the drilling day. It was just too exciting to miss! Would there be water? How deep would we have to drill? How much water? Would it be pure and drinkable? Would it stink?

The whole operation started with placing the special drilling equipment. Luckily, they could place their equipment very well even though the equipment actually needs a lot of space.

Now, it was time to start drilling.

It all seemed fine for a couple of meters. Then we hit the rock... Not a basement, which would have been perfect, but a separate rock. Drilling through the rock was not an option, so we had to switch the place to another and start from the beginning. The reason was that the rock was too small to drill through but big enough to destroy well pipes in future. Another try then. Guess what? We hit the rock again... Damn!! Switching the place again. The third time went well, luckily.

The basement was found at 12 meters which is quite deep. At this point, they had to switch the drill that is more suitable for it. They also placed and fixed the steel pipe at its place. After that, it was just drilling and drilling and, well, drilling. After 70 m we started to feel desperate... Our estimated depth was 50 m but even after 80 m, there was no sign of the water. And every meter means more money. :/

Rock powder from the hole

90 m and still no water? Kidding me? This seemed a bit strange and the drillers decided to wash the hole before drilling more. This was a good idea as right after that the water started to flow. We counted that the well will produce more than 8000 l of fresh water per day! After counting, they drilled another 12 m for less than half price. It will make sure that the well is productive and more meters means that we won't have to clean the well too often from the sediment. Fewer maintenance costs in the future.

Fresh water coming from the well.

The older driller tasted the water a bit and in his opinion, there shouldn't be too much iron. We also didn't notice any smells which is a very good sign. For example, sulfur smells like a toilet or a rotten egg, not very nice, right? So, good signs. The final quality of the water will be evaluated later.

All in all, the day was exciting! And we'll have our own fresh water with almost no daily limits on our future summerhouse. :) There is a lot of work before that though.

Lindiry

P.s. I'm sorry about the pictures. My phone doesn't co-operate.