$5k to 10k for a well?

[none]

Does that sound a bit steep? We were trying to do something for an emergency water supply. At that point I would almost try a shallow well.


Thoughts?

[runco]

My brother had a well dug 5 years ago, I remember somewhere close to $5K. 

[Jonnin]

probably.   labor is expensive, and equipment / heavy stuff is expensive, and validation (hitting water and environmental implications) of some sort is involved, and you also have the hardware (pumps and power and whatever?) ... it can add up fast. 

 

yardwork and heavy equipment == $$$ in a hurry these days. 

 

That said, get a few quotes, don't stick to just one.  That one might be on the high side, you never know.   Last roof I put on, the difference between the most and least expensive was a factor of TWO ... which is huge.

[Ugly]

Yeah, where I am you can have em dig and they'll charge as deep as they dig or you can pay a flat rate of 10k and they'll go till hit water.

Option 1 could be cheaper or it could be more than 10 k.

[gregintenn]

You're in Wilson county. You damn sure won't dig it by hand.

[Chris]

I had one dug about three years ago and it was in the 5k neighborhood. 10 sounds a little steep unless they have to go really deep.

[VERO1]

Stuck in Florida for a while. We start hitting water at about 20 feet. We may have to go to 40 depending on the amount of sulfur in the water. LHard to believe there is that much difference.

[56FordGuy]

Stuck in Florida for a while. We start hitting water at about 20 feet. We may have to go to 40 depending on the amount of sulfur in the water. LHard to believe there is that much difference.

Wells out here run 150-300' down. I looked at a few properties without a well when I was house hunting. Bids started at $10k, and they said realistically it might be closer to $15 and that was per hole. If they didn't hit water or hit bad water, you still had to pay for the hole. The process started all over if they had to drill a second hole.

Geographic area makes a huge difference in where the water table is.

[Spiffy]

See if you can find someone who can "witch" water before you start.  Dad sold some land and the 2 guys who built houses they just backed up and started drilling. They went 800 and 1'000 feet before they hit water. Dad got a guy at work to witch out where sis was gonna build her house. He said there is water within 125' and marked a spot. The drillers showed up and wanted to drill over by the fence. Dad said nope drill here on this stake or you don't drill. They didn't hit water at 125 feet and laughed as they screwed on the next extension to the drill......the water was 135 feet and it runs over the top 12 gallons a minute. 

[raildog]

I had two wells put in at a place i owned in Marshall County 2 years ago one was $6,000 the other was $8,200 they were within 300 yards of each other. Those prices included hole, liner,& pump

[CaleR]

See if you can find someone who can "witch" water before you start.  Dad sold some land and the 2 guys who built houses they just backed up and started drilling. They went 800 and 1'000 feet before they hit water. Dad got a guy at work to witch out where sis was gonna build her house. He said there is water within 125' and marked a spot. The drillers showed up and wanted to drill over by the fence. Dad said nope drill here on this stake or you don't drill. They didn't hit water at 125 feet and laughed as they screwed on the next extension to the drill......the water was 135 feet and it runs over the top 12 gallons a minute. 

Crazy how it works, but it does for some reason.  I can do it, as can my grandpa, but my dad can't.  Skipped a generation I guess.

[Mark A]

Well... I just finished paying for mine. Right at 300' and with the pump and everything I was just a bit under 11k. More than I'd hoped to pay but in the end it is what it is.

First place I called was an outfit just south of Columbia. They told me to go ahead and get on the list and they would see me in about 3 1/2 months. Next couple never returned my call. Read about Henry drilling here on the forum and used them. Nice folks. Took a few weeks but they came out and got it done.

My well is a slow producer so before we build up there I'm going to have to put in a good sized storage tank.

The numbers to get city water to our property were a lot higher and I didn't want on city water anyway so...

Mark Edited July 2, 2015 by Mark A

[seez52]

Crazy how it works, but it does for some reason.  I can do it, as can my grandpa, but my dad can't.  Skipped a generation I guess.

same here.

 

In Wilson co. you're likely to get sulfur unless is a fairly shallow well. Used to you could call the state and they would look up for you wells close by and tell you how deep they are and if the water is sulfur.

[Mark A]

Crazy how it works, but it does for some reason.  I can do it, as can my grandpa, but my dad can't.  Skipped a generation I guess.

CaleR, just curious. Can you wear battery operated watches? A long time ago I worked for an old man in Texas who could reliably witch for water. He couldn't wear battery operated watches as they would go dead in just a few days. Craziest thing I've ever saw.

Mark

[partypilot1]

Cost usually depends on depth. I had 2 dug last year in middle Tn. Henry drilling was charging $2500 per 300', if my bad memery serves me right.

[10-Ring]

same here.
 
In Wilson co. you're likely to get sulfur unless is a fairly shallow well. Used to you could call the state and they would look up for you wells close by and tell you how deep they are and if the water is sulfur.

My grandmother has a sulfer water well in Wilson County. Neighbor has a well about 300 yards away that he gets nice clean water out of, so it's hard to tell what you will get even if there are other wells close by. If thus was an either or proposition I would elect for city water. It's nice to not have a water bill and have your own water but you can drive yourself crazy trying to maintain a filtration system to make your well water suitable enough to bring in your house and even then it may stink and stain everything.

[kckndrgn]

I was looking at getting a well put in on my hunting property.  Called the state to find out what the depths are in the area, they were less than 300'.  Called a couple of well drilling companies and got quotes.  Ended up going with city water from Sardis as it was 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the well.

May still get a well drilled, to use as a backup water source and to keep the pond filled.

 

One of the quotes was something like $1500 for the first 100' then $4 per foot after that.  And every well company I spoke with wanted 220V service for the pump, and wouldn't discuss an off grid installation.

[Dolomite_supafly]

That does seem a bit high. But also watch out for those who under estimate then hit you with a HUGE bill. That is what happened to me. I talked to the guy drilling our hole and got a written estimate. It was $7 a foot so I said go ahead and drill. He hit a couple of gallons at 75 feet and like four more gallons per minute at 125 feet. I told them to go ahead and go to 200 feet for a reserve thinking the bill would be $1,400. After he was done I told him to let me pay what I owed before starting the next step. He sent me a bill for $2,800, twice what I was quoted. When I asked why it was so much more he said the pipe costs money, the grout for the pipe costs money and a few other items brought the cost up. And although I did not agree I went ahead and paid it before finding someone else to finish the work. We were already under a lot of stress as we were building our own house and just did not want to deal with any more.

 

Our well flows between five and six gallons a minute and with 200' in reserve we should never run out of water as long as we don't run it constantly.

 

I had a friend who hit water at 13 feet. They started drilling right into rock and like 20 minutes later they had water shooting out of the hole.

 

If I could I would have city water in a heartbeat. A lot of water in my area leaves rust colored stains from the sediment. It can also sometimes smell of sulfur. I also get 3-4 years between water heater elements because of the sediment that collects on the elements.

[Caster]

Only one I had done was in 1998 it was $5500.  235ft deep with about 150ft or so of casing.  I can only imagine things have gone up since then.

[seez52]

My grandmother has a sulfer water well in Wilson County. Neighbor has a well about 300 yards away that he gets nice clean water out of, so it's hard to tell what you will get even if there are other wells close by. If thus was an either or proposition I would elect for city water. It's nice to not have a water bill and have your own water but you can drive yourself crazy trying to maintain a filtration system to make your well water suitable enough to bring in your house and even then it may stink and stain everything.

that was the same conclusion we came to. The only factor I could link on looking over the difference between wells with sulfur and the ones not, even when they were close, was that the non sulfur wells were all fairly shallow, maybe 150' or less.

[Jonnin]

Yeah, where I am you can have em dig and they'll charge as deep as they dig or you can pay a flat rate of 10k and they'll go till hit water.

 

 

Or lava!  It sounds like some of these wells go halfway to china... 

 

absolutely get some high tech gizmo or something to find the water.  Just digging at random seems like a doomed to fail exercise?

[john455]

I had to replace my pump around 5 yrs ago it costed me $1,200 then 2 months later they ran county water here with a $700 hookup fee needless to say I wasn't happy lol 

[Ugly]

Personally I would avoid city water if financially feasible. Besides the chemicals the likelihood of hardness in east TN is great. When I bought the house, most of the plumbing fixtures were ruined from the calcium in the water. I had to replace toilet innards, the dish washer, the kitchen sink, the lavatory sink and flush out the water heater. 

 

That's why I called a well driller. I'm on the side of a mountain so it can be costly. Needless to say I stuck with what I had but installed a conditioner and filter. There is no telling what kind of chemicals are making it through though. 

 

If artesian wells were prevalent in my area I would invest in a well.

 

I did live in a home with a shallow well and it was absolutely the worst water I've ever had. I don't recommend it unless it's your only option and plan on having some great filters involved so you can enjoy the purpose of water :)

 

Good luck!

[none]

Personally I would avoid city water if financially feasible. Besides the chemicals the likelihood of hardness in east TN is great. When I bought the house, most of the plumbing fixtures were ruined from the calcium in the water. I had to replace toilet innards, the dish washer, the kitchen sink, the lavatory sink and flush out the water heater. 
 
That's why I called a well driller. I'm on the side of a mountain so it can be costly. Needless to say I stuck with what I had but installed a conditioner and filter. There is no telling what kind of chemicals are making it through though. 
 
If artesian wells were prevalent in my area I would invest in a well.
 
I did live in a home with a shallow well and it was absolutely the worst water I've ever had. I don't recommend it unless it's your only option and plan on having some great filters involved so you can enjoy the purpose of water :)
 
Good luck!

The shallow well would be for live stock. We have rain barrels now for filling up the ducks pool which works well.

[TNWNGR]

_{Don't fixate on a well as a supplemental water source, people got by fine with cisterns and rain barrels. There's all kinds of water storage systems available now that'll only cost a fraction of having a well dug.}