Well Drilling

[LIforrelaxin]

Well I am thinking about putting a well in.... My current water source situation is just not working out well.... I could draw water from the lake again and that I know is the cheapest solution... But I am wondering how much a well would cost....

Also other questions I have is are there any property line set back rules for wells? I know they have to be some X distance from the septic....

any information would be appriciated....

[inquiring one]

If I recall correctly the distance is 75' from your septic system.

Thomas Well (rt 25 Moultonboro 253-7618) has done the last few for us and I have nothing but great things to say about Jerry,Mark and the rest of the crew. They have been accommodating,thorough and just plain nice! A pleasure to work with.

[Sunrise Point]

We just had Mark Lazazzera from Thomas & Son out for a second visit. They will be drilling our well in about a month or so. I had 3 drillers out for site visits and estimates, and 2 of the names (Thomas and Trasker) were highly recommended on this forum.

It was hard to choose between Thomas and Trasker. The prices were not very different. What made the difference in our case was a demo rig that Mark brought with him on the initial visit. This is our first experience with a drilled well and this demo, along with his willingness to answer dozens of questions, sealed the deal.

Well drilling is like gambling, the prices are based on a per foot drilling and casing cost and the estimate that you get, is based on similar wells in the area. The final cost could be higher or lower depending on how deep they have to drill before they hit water. There is a section in the NHDES website that has well info. They have figures from all wells that have been drilled (it has the depth of the well and water flow as part of the database). You can plug in your street or neighborhood to get an idea of what has been done in your area. It will give you a clue what to expect in your area.

Good luck!

[TheProfessor]

Only one well driller in the Lakes Region will provide/offer a fixed price.

All the others provide an "estimate" which can be totally meaningless.

You can visit a NH state web site that does provide information as to depths of wells near you. That can be meaningless also.

If you are paying by the foot you are at the mercy of the good intentions of the well drilling company. Are you able to tell when a well driller hits water? Do you have the ability to tell how many gallons per minute the well produces?

Ask around from others who did have a well drilled recently. Ask for the total price including all trenching, all tanks, pump, and electrical hook-up. The total price. Then compare that to the "estimate" that was provided.

All well drillers are hard working good honest folks. It just comes in degrees of such.

Never ever ask a well driller about powered cement.

[colt17]

we have always used skillings and sons for our water needs at home and at the lake. They are all over the lakes region www.skillingsandsons.com

[Steveo]

Do you know anyone that would install a set point well?

Thanks

[fatlazyless]

For 25-cents/gallon, the Gilford Hannaford has a vending machine in their front vestibule that accepts dollar bills that dispenses local municipal tap water that it supposedly treats through extra filtration processes including reverse osmosis. For about ten dollars, the Gilford Wal-Mart has a six gallon, blue plastic, luggable water container similar to a gasoline container!

The untreated lake water works excellent for washing dishes but I definitely would not drink it.

[Steveo]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

The untreated lake water works excellent for washing dishes but I definitely would not drink it.

Lake water filtered through tons of sand would be safer to drink then most well water. That's how a set point well works

[inquiring one]

Steveo, If I remember correctly James Gray has / had a pounding rig that you may be able to use for that. Many years ago we set up a tri pod and pounded our own. Thankfully we only hit one large rock in the 25'

[inquiring one]

James Grey is in Guilford behind the water tower 1/2 way up the hill

[TheProfessor]

Originally Posted by inquiring one

James Grey is in Guilford behind the water tower 1/2 way up the hill

I hired a well drller with a similiar name.
In the trenching to house, dug up gas lines.
Tried to fix the broken gas lines with plumbing fittings.
There was more.

[fatlazyless]

Using the lake water for cooking has given me a wicked bad case of diarrhea a couple different times over the years, but brushing teeth and washing dishes seems to be just fine.....is that selective winnipesaukee revenge or something?

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Using the lake water for cooking has given me a wicked bad case of diarrhea

Some of the posts on this forum have the same effect on me.

[IslandRadio]

It's always been interesting to me that no one here on Rattlesnake Island (that I know of) has a well. I'm just wondering if there is some practical reason for that. There are some _very_ well off folks here on the Island, where money would be no object... and I don't believe any of these folks have a well either.

[fatlazyless]

From Rattlesnake landing to Gilford town docks to Cattle Landing to Shep Brown 's, it's very common to see islanders lugging one of those 6-gal, 48-lb blue lug-a-jugs from their car, down the dock to their ride back out to their island castle. It's just another item that sets them apart from the main-landers, and probably the single most identifiable with being an islander; those heavy, blue lug-a-jugs.

Refilling my blue jug at the 25-cent/gal water vend machine at Gilford Hannaford sometimes gets me comments like; hey, so which island are you?


For 25-cents/gal, it's much safer and healthier to use because it was filtered and treated at the Laconia water works about two 1/2 miles away on Paugus Bay directly up-stream to Irwin Marine and their Citgo boat gasoline station.