Update: Plumbing


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September 9, 2010

The two septic tanks were installed today. That's Dennis, our general contractor, leveling the bottom of the hole.





September 20, 2010

The well is drilled. It has a flow of 25 gallons per minute – very good!


August 10, 2017 (An update from 7 years in the future!)

We finally got around to installing our hand pump on the well head. The Simple Pump had been languishing in our basement for five years, but now, after two days' work in pleasant weather, it's installed and ready when we need it.

The pump is capable of charging our home pressure tank, so the outlet has several special items, marked in the photo.

The first step was to replace the well cap with the Simple Pump machined aluminum cap. The well casing top was uneven, so we leveled it with a battery-powered oscillating saw, and the new cap sits flat and level.

Next we disconnected the electric pump wiring so we could route the cable through the new cap. This turned out to be more complicated than expected – the wire connections were corroded inside their wire nuts, thanks to the moisture-laden environment inside the well casing. Mike clipped off these connections, soldered new ones, applied anti-corrosion grease to the soldered connections, and twisted-on new wire nuts.

The next day we installed the 11 PVC drop pipes (99 feet). Louise cleaned them with bleach solution, and we carefully followed the instructions to – one section at a time – thread together the "sucker rods" inside the pipe, then the pipe sections themselves, and finally lower the section into the well through a hole in the cap. A machined aluminum safety bracket prevented the joined pipe sections from dropping into the well.

When all the pipe sections were joined and lowered, we installed the pump head and pumped the handle. Success! Water flowed from the outlet pipe.

Now back to the 2010 sequence of events . . . .


September 21, 2010

The plumber installed most of the piping. We're using PEX for the supply lines (red and blue pipes in these photos). PEX is flexible plastic tubing that is superior to copper or PVC pipe. PVC is still used for drains and vents. You can read more about PEX here.



October 16, 2010

Plumbing is nearly complete. The pressure tank is full of water from our 25-gallon-per-minute deep well, and only a couple of shower drains remain to be connected. Here is the plumbing in the laundry room.



January 6, 2011

We installed a pre-formed countertop and utility sink in the laundry room in preparation for the plumber arriving tomorrow to connect it and all other plumbing fixtures.


January 11, 2011

The plumber installed the faucets and toilets. The house has working plumbing!


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Updated May 23, 2023