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This article describes How to identify types of wells and how to diagnose well problems. We describe various types of drinking water sources like wells, cisterns, dug wells, drilled wells, artesian wells and well and water pump equipment. We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong. Water pressure loss diagnosis starts at WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE.

Readers of this document should also see Water Tank Types and before assuming that a water problem is due to the well itself, see Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case which offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost.

© 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Types of Private Wells & Water Sources & What to Watch Out For

Basement Wells

Wells located in the basement or crawl space of a building are sometimes found, usually at older, pre-1940 buildings. On occasion it appears that the well was originally outside the building but the building was expanded over it.

Early American construction sometimes located a well (or cistern) in a basement so that a mechanical hand pump could be located indoors (perhaps in a kitchen). This pair of photographs show my clients discovering that the plastic in the center of the basement floor covered a flimsy wood cover which covered a hand-dug stone lined well in the home's basement.

Some concerns for basement wells include the problem that if the building needs to be treated for termites there are extra costs because the well is certainly located too-close to the building. Also if the building has a problem with basement water entry, depending on the type of well in the basement, there may be a risk of well contamination. For a modern drilled well which has been "built over" during a building expansion, it becomes impossible to pull out and replace the well piping, foot valve, or submersible pump unless someone has cut a trapdoor into the ceiling/floor above. Well problem diagnosis continues with the articles listed below. Water pressure loss diagnosis starts at WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE Life Expectancy of Water Pumps - Well Pumps: how long should a water pump last? What affects pump life? Life Expectancy of Wells & Water Tanks how long should a water well and its components last?

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PRESSURE & FLOW MEASUREMENT
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL REPAIR
  WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PUMPS & WELL TANKS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
WATER PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK BLADDERS & CAPTIVE AIR
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK BLADDER PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
  WELL TYPES: DRILLED, DUG, POINT, CISTERNS & SPRINGS
  Basement Wells
  Cisterns
  Drilled Wells - steel casings
    Drilled Well with Submersible Pump
    Shallow Well with One Line Jet Pump
    Well with Two Line Jet Pump
  Driven Point Wells
  How Much Water is In the Well?
  How to Test Well Water Quantity
  How to Get More Water From a Well
  Hand Dug Wells
  Springs as Water Supply
  Well Pits

• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

Plumbing Diagnosis & Repair: Water supply, drainage, septic systems, water testing, water contamination, defective plumbing materials & products.

• Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost
• Water pressure tank failures & water pump short cycling diagnosis and repair
• Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
• Drinking Water Testing Advice for home buyers home owners home inspectors
• Interpreting Drinking Water Test Results and Correcting Unsatisfactory Water
• Drinking Water Contaminant Levels - Maximum Allowed
• Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: Testing & Correction - Advice (This Article)
• Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from Lead Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
• Water testing for Pesticides: comprehensive and pesticides-example parameters
• Water Testing: background comments on classes of water contaminants, & links to home buyer advice about water testing, drinking water, water supply
• When and How to Shock or Chlorinate a Well - Procedure for Shocking a Well to (temporarily or maybe longer) "Correct" Bacterial Contamination
• Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
• Typical Water Tests & Fees this water test fee schedule applies when testing is combined with other onsite building inspection services
• Drinking Water testing, contamination, correction - all topics
• General water testing and corrective measure advice: contact your local health department.

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