Well House Dimensions

I just bought a rural property near Portland, OR that has an existing 8GPM well. The pressure tank is in the basement of the house about 100 yards away. The well head and the above grade plumbing around it were left completely exposed, and we get many days of below freezing temperatures in the winter. The previous owner put an uninsulated plywood box around the well head and ran an extension cord from the house to power a small heat lamp to address the issue - after some of the above-grade PVC pipes burst.

I want to build an attractive and heavily insulated structure around the well head. My wife's wish list says it should be a stone-exterior "wishing well". No matter what it is, I need to figure out a couple of things:

1) If I pour a small slab for a structure, how much exposed ground around the well head should I leave for access?

2) How much space around the well head, above grade, do I need to leave to it can be worked on if necessary?

I need to install some permanent structure if I am going to run a circuit out there for any kind of heating. I suspect that given Portland temperatures rarely fall below +20F a properly insulated enclosure with some ambient heat collection might retain enough heat to eliminate the need for a heat lamp - but that also demands a more permanent structure.

I saw one comment in this forum that a well house should leave at least 5' in all directions from the well head, although I have seen many well houses that are smaller. Any advice I can get would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

I'm surprised you don't have a pitless adaptor on the well. That would negate the need for a well house. Building anything around or above the well makes it very hard for us to work on them. I have had to have many customers tear down or remove a roof, wall or cut holes in same for this reason. The piping in the well are going to be either 20 or 21 foot sections depending on whether they are PVC or Galvanized pipe. If it's Poly it will bend some. Rather than go to the expense of building something that if not heated may allow the pipes to freeze anyway (during a power outage).

I would look into having a pitless adaptor installed and be done with it.

bob...

This is Portland, not Fargo, a pitless adapter will be hard to find and someone who knows how to install one will be even harder. If you don't need a concrete floor around the well head, I would leave it dirt, you need room in there to work, so 5' around the well sounds good. A sky light, or hatch above the well is a must so the pump can be pulled, although you didn't say it was a submersible pump... and a light may still be necessary to keep the pipes from freezing, although heat tape does a better job.

Rancher

So your saying they don't use Pitless Adaptors in Oregon? I really don't know since I don't live there. But it would be his best option. What happens when the power goes out? Or the bulb burns out? The Pitless is a safe bet all the way around. And no ugly shed sticking out in the yard.

Fargo? Isn't it a little cold there also? The word North in North Dakota speaks volumns.

bob...

It freezes here in Cal mountains, but no driller sets pitless... must be a regional thing. Its so sloping here that most often I cut the casing a foot low and set a concrete chamber and lid over the well head - a little trenching usually gets you to daylight for a screened drain pipe. No hassle of pitless, no freezing, easy access, not so easy access for kids.

The two states I have worked in, Michigan and Florida both require the pipe stick up a foot (in Michigan) and a foot and a half (in Florida). Terminating a well head below ground is asking for contaminates.

bob...

Doesnt seem to be an issue to the health dept here as long as a 4" drain to daylight and a well seal installed that really seals. You find a lot of wells here in roads and driveways as hitting water is guess and by golly and by stick. IN that case you need the pitless which no one seems to know about, or to set into a pit.

When you find a well seal that really seals, let me know where to buy them. When we have flooding here, you can see the air bubbles coming out of them, that means the water is going in.

bob...