Repairing a well with your own hands: the procedure for carrying out planned and emergency repairs

The well is an ancient hydraulic structure that has not lost its relevance to this day.Owners of country houses and summer cottages will agree with the need to have such a structure on the site. It can be a traditional source of water or serve as the basis for the construction of an autonomous water supply system.

In any case, from time to time you have to clean and repair the well: it’s quite easy to do it yourself. Next, we will tell you in what cases repairs are necessary and how to carry them out without the help of specialists.

When should repairs be carried out?

The first “bell” indicating that something is wrong with the well is a deterioration in water quality. It acquires an unpleasant taste, smell, and becomes cloudy. It is not recommended to drink such water. And it is also unsuitable for household appliances and plumbing equipment: filter cartridges quickly “fly” and devices deteriorate.

The reasons for the appearance of contamination in a well can be very different:

• A large amount of silty natural deposits on the walls and bottom of the mine, which are a mixture of organic microparticles, bacteria and unicellular algae. The organic mixture decomposes, which gives the water an unpleasant taste and odor.
• Large contaminants accidentally found in the mine.This could be an animal that fell into a well, or leaves, debris, etc. that fell into the water.
• Organic matter and soil particles entering the mine through a lining that has lost its tightness.

To prevent cloudy water and other troubles, the well owner needs to carry out all repair work in a timely and competent manner.

Through the joints of concrete rings that have lost their sealing, groundwater and waste water seep into the well, which significantly deteriorates the quality of well water.

Well shaft repair activities are of two types:

• scheduled maintenance;
• unscheduled repair work.

The first ones are carried out regularly, after a certain period of time. Their goal is to maintain proper cleanliness in the well shaft and timely detection of minor damage that needs to be repaired immediately.

You must understand that any major breakdown or accident is always preceded by many minor faults. If you don't fight them, serious problems will arise.

During scheduled repair work, the filter is usually replaced or completely cleaned, deposits and build-ups are removed from the walls of the shaft, disinfection is carried out, minor defects and damage are eliminated, as well as water is pumped, which is necessary after repairs or long downtime.

Unscheduled repairs are carried out to eliminate major defects that appeared due to extraneous mechanical influences, improper operation, etc.

Working at great depths is very dangerous, so safety regulations must be strictly followed.

Safety precautions when working in a well

Working at depth is very dangerous, so neglecting personal safety rules is unacceptable.Experts recommend enclosing the mine with boards placed on edge during the period of repair work.

In addition, the area around the well mouth should be cleared of foreign objects so that nothing could accidentally fall into the trunk. Especially if there is a working person there.

All tools and equipment must be in good working order and safe. Be sure to check the tensile strength of the rope that will be used to lift the container with silt or soil.

If work is to be done at a depth of more than 6 meters, another safety rope must be tied to the tub. Lifting mechanisms, if used, must function flawlessly.

Before the first descent into the shaft, as well as after breaks and every morning, it is necessary to check the air quality in the well. This can be done by lowering a burning candle down; if it goes out, it is necessary to take measures to ventilate the barrel.

Then check the air quality again. If the influx of harmful gases in the well is strong and constant, continuous ventilation is necessary.

For these purposes, a fan or a burning stove installed on the surface is used, the ash of which is connected to the bottom of the shaft through a pipe. When lowering or lifting any objects, you should always notify those working below. During the immersion process, the depth of the barrel wall unprotected by the fastening should not exceed one meter.

To clean the walls of the well from deposits, you can use a high-pressure washer. The process will go much faster with it

Planned repairs

For the well to function properly, it is necessary to regularly carry out scheduled cleaning and inspection work.During their implementation, minor damage is often identified, which is immediately repaired.

Well cleaning is carried out in stages:

1. We dismantle the over-well house or the cover of the structure to provide ourselves with free access to the shaft.
2. We pump out all the water from the well. You will have to do this several times. The first time - before diagnosing the mine, subsequent times - during the work, and the last time after completion of cleaning.
3. We clean and wash the walls of the shaft. To remove plaque, use a stiff brush and scraper. To speed up the process, you can use a high-pressure car wash.
4. We carry out a careful inspection of the walls and bottom of the structure.
5. We eliminate detected defects.
6. We clean the bottom from soil debris and deposited suspended matter. If necessary, replace the bottom filter. Alternatively, it can be lifted to the surface, washed and laid down again.

As seen, well cleaning - an indispensable component of unscheduled repair work, since it is simply impossible to detect problems in a contaminated well.

What kind of work will need to be done depends on the type of structure. Let's look at the most common problems and ways to solve them.

Wooden wells and their repair

A well is called a wooden well, the shaft of which is a log house. The problem for such a structure most often becomes premature damage to individual crowns that need to be replaced.

Sometimes during a routine inspection it turns out that almost all the crowns are affected by rot. In this case, no cleaning of the logs and their subsequent processing will help; you will have to re-lay them.

The main problem of wooden wells is premature damage to one or more frame crowns. If necessary, they can be replaced with new ones

How to properly replace the frame of a wooden well?

If a decision is made to completely replace the frame of a wooden structure, we carry out the work in the following sequence.

Stage No. 1 - pumping water out of the mine

First you need to completely pump out the water from the well, using any suitable pump. It should be noted that pumping will have to be carried out constantly, because the water will flow continuously. After the structure has been drained, further work can begin.

Stage No. 2 - repairing damaged crowns

The lower crowns of the structure, which was assembled according to all the rules, must stand on special strong supports. They need to be carefully removed, which is usually not difficult. They are most often badly damaged and can be taken out one by one, carefully helping yourself with a crowbar.

As practice shows, a well frame does not “react” to this operation in any way, since years of operation have made it almost monolithic.

After this, we begin to carefully disassemble the frame from below. We lift the logs up. If it suddenly seems that some elements are well preserved and can still serve, we still dismantle them and raise them to the surface. We subsequently use them when installing a new log house.

After all the parts have been raised to the surface, we clean the mine of crumbled soil and remove the worn-out bottom filter. Then we compact its walls with a wide board to prevent crumbling.

To dismantle the old log house, you will have to dismantle the house above the well, after which you can begin dismantling the structure. Work is carried out from below the last crown inside the well

Stage No. 3 - assembling a new log house

The material from which it will be assembled should be taken care of in advance. For a log house, you should not use conifers, which release bitterness from resins into the water. It is optimal to choose moisture-resistant ash or oak. The latter must be stained, that is, it has undergone special treatment. It involves placing logs in running water for at least a year.

During this time, all tannins and other undesirable substances will be washed out of the wood, and the material will be better prepared for long-term contact with water.Oak logs treated in this way and dried are ideal for lining a well.

Working with a log house is similar to building a log house. All structural elements are folded in the required way, numbered and disassembled for subsequent installation.

The quality of the work performed is very important. Untidy gaps are simply unacceptable. Soil from the mine walls will definitely get into them, because you can’t caulk the log house.

The peculiarity of a well log house is that the lower part is cut without leaving any residue. If you make the upper part of the structure with it, you will get a traditional Russian version of arranging wells.

The above-ground part of the well frame should be larger than the underground part. This is quite simple to do: all the elements are extended onto the tree trunk and chopped “into a bowl”

Stage No. 4 - put the crowns in the well

At least two people are required for the job. One will be at the bottom, the second at the top - for safety. A new one is poured into the bottom of the well bottom filter. Then we put new supports-bars on it, on which we will lay the frame.

We assemble the first crown at the top and, having secured it with temporary boards, we carefully lower it into the shaft. We lower it onto supports. We assemble the next crown and lower it in the same way.

But it will already settle on the walls. Gently tap it so that the earth does not fall off the walls. In this way we raise the frame to the surface of the earth.

We immediately remove all dirt that has fallen to the bottom of the well: clay, construction waste, soil. Otherwise, our bottom filter, even before it begins its work, will be clogged with a plug made from mud trampled underfoot. After the mine reaches the surface, its dimensions change.

It should become wider.This is quite simple to do: all the elements are extended onto the tree trunk, and the structure is cut into a bowl. Thus, we bring the shaft to a height of about 1.5 m, maybe more if there are kids in the house.

The above-ground part can be fastened with metal dowels or staples. This is unacceptable for underground. Our well is almost ready, all that remains is to arrange its above-ground part to your liking.

Before replacing damaged log crowns, the logs lying above them should be securely fastened. With this design, the elements are “suspended” on trestles, which allows all the necessary work to be carried out

Replacing logs in the frame of a wooden structure

If the damage is not so global, repairing your wooden well will be easier. You can get by by replacing a few parts inside the log house. We carry out the work as follows.

If the damaged elements are below the water level, install a pump and pump out the water. Then we proceed to strengthening that part of the frame that is located directly above the destroyed logs.

For this purpose we install a special device. We install trestles on both sides above the well head. We lay four short logs on them. We fix two strong long boards on them, which we lower into the log house.

We nail crowns to them with long nails, located above the damaged elements. In this way, we seem to “hang” the remaining part of the log house.

Alternatively, instead of long boards, you can take strong ropes with hooks and secure the logs with them. After the strengthening has been carried out, carefully remove the damaged logs and lift them to the surface.

Guided by their size and shape, we prepare a new part to be inserted into the frame.It must be admitted that this is quite difficult to do, since the new log must be covered by the groove of the old upper part.

First, carefully cut down the lower part of the old log located below, so that it is on the same level with the groove. Then we take the prepared log, put it in place and carefully hammer it in with a wooden hammer.

Then we jam it securely. Instead of logs, you can use concrete elements cast to the dimensions of the old part. This significantly increases the efficiency of the repairs carried out.

After proper repair of a log house, a wooden well will last a long time. You can also update its house above the well, decorate it with interesting decor

Damaged elements of the above-water part of the log house can be repaired by concreting using sliding formwork. Before starting repair work, we prepare a site on which the worker will be located. The easiest way is to knock it down from strong boards.

The dimensions of the structure must be such that it fits freely inside the shaft. We hang the platform on cables on a beam lying on the head of the well and lower it into the shaft.

We attach the reinforcing mesh to the wall above the damaged area and install the sliding formwork. Prepare a cement mortar with fine filler and pour the mixture into the resulting gap.

After the composition has hardened, we will obtain reinforced cement, which is almost as strong as concrete. Upon completion of the repair work, the well must be disinfected.

Repair work in a concrete well

Concrete shafts, despite their strength, also require repair work. The most common reasons for its implementation are shift or destruction of the rings that make up the column.

Damaged seams and cracks

The cause of the problem may be a shift in the rings or their destruction. If only the outer layer is damaged, repair work is carried out from the inside of the well. First, we thoroughly clean the shaft wall.

Then we determine the degree of destruction by tapping the seam or crack. We remove all chipped elements and then carefully repair the damage.

Careful sealing of the inter-ring seams is the key to the normal functioning of the well. For work you need to select a high-quality composition that will last a long time

If it turns out that the crack is through, the work will have to be carried out from the outside of the well. To do this, we dig around the perimeter of the concrete column so that a repair trench is formed in which you can work relatively freely.

After the damage has been completely dug out, we clean the wall of dirt. We seal the defect with cement or mastic and cover it with a layer of waterproofing.

Shift of concrete rings

To prevent this problem from occurring when installing concrete rings, it is recommended to staple them, that is, fasten them together with metal plates measuring 0.4x4x30 cm.

At least 4 such staples are installed at each joint. Holes are drilled in the body of the rings for their fastenings. The plates are secured with 12 mm anchor bolts. This procedure prevents the rings that make up the column from moving relative to each other.

If the staples were not completed and movement occurred, we proceed to repair work. We dig a repair trench around the column. We descend to the shifted ring.

We return it to its place, after which we seal the seams on both sides and seal them with sealant.Then we install fastening brackets at each seam along the entire column so that we do not have to correct the shift of the ring again.

To prevent the concrete rings from moving relative to each other, they must be secured with special brackets. In this case, the column will be able to withstand ground movements

If the first method is not satisfactory for some reason, we use a repair column made of plastic pipes, the diameter of which will be smaller than that of concrete rings.

The plastic elements are lowered into the shaft and connected by twisting along the thread, which must be treated with sealant in advance. We raise the repair column to the entire height of the concrete shaft. We fill the free space between the ring and the pipe with sand or a sand-cement mixture.

Pneumatic repair method

This is a new method that is often used by professionals. It consists of eliminating concrete surface defects through the use of special restorative and protective agents.

These compositions significantly increase the resistance of concrete to mechanical stress and increase resistance to temperature fluctuations. In addition, they provide anti-corrosion protection for fittings and reliable waterproofing.

The composition for work is prepared in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Before applying the solution, the concrete base must be prepared: remove dirt, clear away crumbling areas and wet them with water.

For better adhesion of the material, it is desirable that the base is slightly rough. Application of the composition and its subsequent drying is carried out according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Plastic pipe can be used to repair displaced concrete rings. It descends down to the entire depth of the structure.The space between the columns is filled with crushed stone, sand or sand-cement mixture

Drilling a dry well

Increasing the depth of the well is used when the amount of water decreases or in the event of a complete cessation of its supply. It should be noted that this is a very labor-intensive and expensive procedure that does not guarantee a positive result. Deepening can be done in different ways.

Deepening through the use of a repair column

To implement this option, repair rings with a diameter smaller than that of the main column are used. They alternately go down, dig up and settle down. This is how the repair column is assembled.

After water appears in the mine, work stops, the joints of the rings are sealed and stapled. The main and repair columns are fastened with brackets or corners, the space between them is filled with crushed stone.

Building a column from above

This method can only be used for relatively new wells that are no more than 6-12 months old. After this period, the earth around the structure becomes too compacted, and it will be impossible to settle the column.

The lower ring is dug from below to a small depth, after which the structure settles and the actions are repeated. The main disadvantage of the method is the high risk of the column getting stuck.

One of the repair methods is to deepen a well made of concrete rings with a repair column of smaller diameter. The space between the new and old column is filled with crushed stone

Extension of the structure from below

This method can be used for wells that have been in service for several years.It consists of digging up the ring by 25-30 cm, after which the wall is built up with brickwork or a concrete structure, which is poured into the installed formwork.

The main disadvantage is the high labor intensity and low speed of the process, since before the next digging of 25-30 cm you need to wait until the solution has gained full strength.

There is material on our website that describes the methods in more detail. well deepening, we recommend that you read it.

Brick structure repair work

Brick-lined wells are the easiest to repair. Their cladding elements are small and easy to replace. First of all, the walls need to be thoroughly cleaned of dirt, otherwise it’s easy to miss the damage.

If through gaps have formed between the bricks, they should be properly sealed from the outside of the structure. We are preparing a repair trench. Having reached the defect, we clear it to 10 cm in depth.

After this, we thoroughly coat the crack with clay, going at least 5 cm deep. Inside the well, work boils down to replacing damaged bricks and restoring crumbling plaster. We carefully hollow out the defective brick or its remains from the wall. We take a new part and insert it in place of the old one, laying it on cement mortar.

Brick-lined wells are quite easy to repair. The damaged brick is carefully hollowed out and replaced with a new one.

Before plastering, carefully prepare the base. We clean it from dirt and mucus with a steel brush, otherwise a cavity will form under the solution in which water can accumulate. And this will lead to rapid destruction of the new plaster.

We carefully tap the old coating and remove all unreliable areas and crumbled fragments. After this, we clean the base again and begin plastering.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Maintenance work on a wooden well:

Repair of a concrete well with joint insulation:

Repairing a well using a plastic pipe:

Repairing a damaged well is quite simple. You need to accurately determine the cause of the problem and choose the best way to solve it. It is important to understand that the work will have to be carried out at depth, which is quite risky.

Therefore, you should not neglect safety rules. Properly performed repair work guarantees further trouble-free service of the water source.

If you have already had to deal with repairing a well and have successfully completed this task, please share your valuable experience with our readers. Tell us what problem you had and how you managed to solve it.