Living in a historic farmhouse can sometimes be a huge challenge. Crumbling plaster, lead paint, leaky roof, drafty windows are what we have decided to accept as character. Put me in a new home with plastic windows and glossy floors and I feel confined and out of place. Most people would feel overwhelmed with the amount of work that comes with owning an old home, but it grows on you and eventually you develop a hunger for the daily challenges. I'm not talking about the plasticized HGTV version of renovating an old house where you rip out all the perfectly good parts or throw money at a gaudy designer and never get your hands dirty. No, it's a delicate balance of finances, DIY ingenuity, and knowing when a professional is needed. There is an easy way and a hard way for any project and I've learned that the hard way is almost always the cheapest and usually the most rewarding.
Our home has a giant artesian hand dug well 25' x 8' diameter built of stacked stones weighing 100-200 pounds each which supplies plenty of water. We have recently developed an issue where our pump runs randomly and will not shut off. We nursed it all winter but now that the ground is not frozen we called in a pro for the daunting task of descending into the dark depths of the well. We had the foot valve tested and then pressure tested the line. We found that the line has a leak and will not hold pressure. The only problem is that the line going to the gravity feed well is over 500 feet long running under our nicely paved driveway. $$$ that we really don't want to dish out. So instead of just calling in the excavator in to dig up the yard we're digging by hand to find the root of the issue. By digging up the line on both sides of the driveway we hope to determine if the water leak from the well requires ripping up the driveway or the line to the well. If we can isolate the issue we hope to save thousands in unnecessary repairs. Photos will come soon.
Our home has a giant artesian hand dug well 25' x 8' diameter built of stacked stones weighing 100-200 pounds each which supplies plenty of water. We have recently developed an issue where our pump runs randomly and will not shut off. We nursed it all winter but now that the ground is not frozen we called in a pro for the daunting task of descending into the dark depths of the well. We had the foot valve tested and then pressure tested the line. We found that the line has a leak and will not hold pressure. The only problem is that the line going to the gravity feed well is over 500 feet long running under our nicely paved driveway. $$$ that we really don't want to dish out. So instead of just calling in the excavator in to dig up the yard we're digging by hand to find the root of the issue. By digging up the line on both sides of the driveway we hope to determine if the water leak from the well requires ripping up the driveway or the line to the well. If we can isolate the issue we hope to save thousands in unnecessary repairs. Photos will come soon.
