Autumn has come, and the best time comes for digging wells and their maintenance, for example, cleaning. After all, in autumn the level of groundwater is the lowest. Of course, the year-on-year, and an auspicious moment can only be expected after the dry summer.
As they say: to argue-not to roll bags. So now, if you do not dig, then at least continue to talk about the common misconceptions of wanting to have a well — it’s time.
Than “ring” the well
For well arranged mine, the walls of which are strengthened from fraying. You can use different materials. In our country, were previously common well log-for the same reasons why wood was popular as a building material for homes.
You can lay down the walls of the mine of stone or brick, but this method will require some skill. Today, in most cases, use reinforced concrete rings. Well of reinforced concrete rings-the most simple solution: such products can be purchased almost everywhere, and their installation does not require any very specific knowledge.
Today appeared in sale and plastic rings for wells, connecting with each other by means of thread or welding. They are polyethylene, polypropylene, polymer-sand.
Plastic wells are durable, the joints of individual elements are sealed, which reduces the risk of water pollution from the outside. Although point about the tightness of the shaft assembled from a small height (200 mm) rings, causes mistrust: many joints — the greater the opportunity for leaks. In my opinion, it is better to use weld (the height of one section of 1500 mm) or even seamless options.
Rings made of plastic and used to repair old wells. However, the cost of them is much higher than that of concrete.
Plastic well rings are still in the category of “exotic”, log cabins for wells in recent years are not too popular, and the masonry of the trunk of the well is time-consuming. Therefore, we will talk in more detail about the misconceptions concerning concrete products, under the marking ’ring wall of the working chamber or the neck of the well’.
On sale there are different options: different diameter, with a smooth edge or lock, which allows to simplify the installation of individual elements. This is the lock most often and causes confusion. Recently, it has been widely believed that the lock type “spike-groove” on the edge of the rings helps to solve at least two problems:
- increases the tightness of the walls;
- protects against possible shift of the rings relative to each other.
Both of these points are untenable. The groove depth of 20 mm on a concrete product will not become an obstacle for water-it will find a hole. If the groundwater level is higher than the junction of the rings, the created hydraulic head joint complex shape will not hold: in this case, the same flow and the walls of the rings with a smooth edge, and with curly. If there is no pressure, the water chooses the path of least resistance, that is, flows down the outer vertical walls of the well and does not penetrate the horizontal seam.
Do not keep this protrusion and the horizontal displacement of the rings, if any. For example, if the well hit the quicksand, the forces acting in this case on the well barrel are much more powerful than the ability of a small concrete ledge to resist them. Properly arranged well (which has no cavities on the outside of the shaft) has nowhere to move in the horizontal direction, and the forces of frost heaving act vertically, that is, and here the described lock is useless.
It is also believed that the lock facilitates installation-rings easier to align vertically. However, experts note that this convenience in practice is not too much, and in complex cases (with the device of deep wells, in weak soils, etc.) rings with a smooth edge even more convenient.
When buying rings, pay special attention to the geometry of the products: make sure that the rings are the same and have the declared dimensions, that they are round, not oval. Check the strength characteristics (presence of reinforcement). And most importantly, make sure that the products you purchase comply with hygiene certificates and are intended for drinking water.
How to dig: by hand or by excavator
Traditionally, the well is dug by hand. There are two ways:
- At first the well shaft is dug out, then walls are revetted. Concrete rings one by one fall inside.
- Another way is to dig inside the ring, taking out the soil. Gradually, the ring is lowered, and the top mounts next.
The first method is suitable only if the soil is dense and does not crumble.
The well can be dug with the help of technology, but its depth will be limited by the length of the excavator boom. In addition, the excavator will open not only the well shaft, but also make a fairly large pit, causing damage to the area around the selected location.
Difficulties may arise when backfilling. The structure of the soil around the hand-dug well remains undisturbed, the rings of the mine are held in a vertical position by compacted soil. When digging the pit with the excavator and set it ring, then fall asleep a hole around the walls of the pit with earth excavated from the pit. The soil layers are mixed, and the soil around the installed rings becomes loose.
It is compacted after some time (at least a year), so the rings can move relative to each other. The way out in such a situation can be the use of a solid, not a prefabricated structure, for example, from the same reinforced concrete or polyethylene. And in some cases on the place of the well dug by means of the excavator the level of ground waters can fall, and in a well there will be no water on settlement depth.