How much does it cost to dig a well?

[Coconut Kidd]

What should I expect to pay in Phuket per meter to dig, install rings and top.

 

The plumbing part after that is pretty simple and can be easily connected to the current system, so I'm not too concerned with that part of the cost.

 

Are there any hidden costs I should be aware of?

 

Drilling is not necessary as the water table is very high even during dry season.

 

Your comments, experience and/or information are welcome

 

Thanks,

 

Kidd

 

[Laza 45]

...measure a piece of string and multiply by 2..  works every time...

 

[English Engineer]

In Hua a 150m well cost 180000B to include all equipment pump etc. The pump typically needs to be replaced after 5 years. Cost of pump is around 40kB.

[Henricus]

500 to 1000 thb per ring depending on the size of the ring 

[LivinginKata]

34 minutes ago, English Engineer said:

In Hua a 150m well cost 180000B to include all equipment pump etc. The pump typically needs to be replaced after 5 years. Cost of pump is around 40kB.

 

OP is not asking about a drilled bore hole well. OP wants to know cost of hand dug ring well. I can't really answer that as it all depends if you as Farang ask or if your Thai lady does a good job of negotiating the price.  Remember that's it is a really hard labour job, some injuries can be expected, These guys really work for their money.

[The Deerhunter]

57 minutes ago, English Engineer said:

In Hua a 150m well cost 180000B to include all equipment pump etc. The pump typically needs to be replaced after 5 years. Cost of pump is around 40kB.

At 150M, that sounds like a drilled well.  Ask if your local Amphur has a budget to DIG one well per property.  They do in our area, (We are no where near you but.....  ask.)  Drilled wells hold almost no water ( with say a 6"  or 10" diameter hole) so they only work where there is enough quickly flowing water down there to keep pumping.  Dug wells (the wider the better) rely on slow seepage to fill and then pump from that well storage until the float switch cuts in to protect the pump from pumping dry air.   Regardless whether you or the Amphur are paying,  usually the contractor uses a long reach back hoe and they commonly go down about 10 metres. I think they can go down deeper with longer reach hoes.  Eventually at some depth, they are dug by hand.  We went down 27m on one well last year all dug by hand.  Unbelievable to see it done.   In our area that means 6 metres of air in the hole before you reach the water table.  Common concrete well ring sizes are 80cm, 1.00m, 1.2m 1.35, 1.50, 1.7 and 2.0 metres, up to 2.7m I think..  Ring prices if I remember  correct are about 200B to  about 700B for the above sizes to 2.0m.   Well rings seem to all be 30cm  (one foot high).  Pumps for a Shallow dug well down to 20 - 25 Metres or so are only 2,500 B to 5,000k B for a dug well say, 10 metres or so, and can be sited above ground.  Above ground pumps of  say 1" to 2"  diameter, being above ground, they suck the water up, or with a budget one-piece submerged pump, they are pushing the water up.  Above ground pumps need a rigid pipe to prevent it collapsing and always need a non return valve on the bottom.  Submerged pumps need no priming  to start pumping, unlike above ground pumps.  But if you get a pin-prick air leak with an above ground pump, after a few days the water drops back down the pipe and the pump needs priming every time it leaks air in.  Can drive you mad.   American made Franklin submerged pumps are a 2 piece affair 1.25" diameter on up to ???" bolted together by the seller.   The American-made Franklin Motor at the bottom and (frequently) a cheaper Chinese pump connected to it on top of the motor, sometimes with a "Made in America" label on the Chinese pump part.  Franklin Motors start at around 8,000b  and the Chinese pump part  3,000 - 4,000b so 12,000 to 16,000b including cables float switches, circuit breakers; etc etc, to protect the pump and an electricians fee to install it all.  It is important to have the pump water intake not too close to the bottom to get maximum pump life.  Water pumps don't like pumping mud.   Our 27m well has 21m of water with our local 6m water table level.  Take off a metre or three for pump clearance and safety on the float switch (above the pump) and multiply by your diameter & "Pi."  3+1/7th and you have your usable well storage volume.  It was really hard to get information on well digging around here.  We nearly went mad trying to deal with our well problems..  (Some say we did actually go mad.)  PM me if you need more info & probably we need to talk on a phone.

[beechbum]

2 hours ago, English Engineer said:

In Hua a 150m well cost 180000B to include all equipment pump etc. The pump typically needs to be replaced after 5 years. Cost of pump is around 40kB.

That's a very deep household use well!

[Coconut Kidd]

8 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

OP is not asking about a drilled bore hole well. OP wants to know cost of hand dug ring well. I can't really answer that as it all depends if you as Farang ask or if your Thai lady does a good job of negotiating the price.  Remember that's it is a really hard labour job, some injuries can be expected, These guys really work for their money.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comprehend the OP.

 

Yes, the Mrs. will be doing the negotiations.

 

In her home (NST) there is a set price per ring, including the ring/size dependent of course. I realize Phuket will be higher, but was hoping for an average price.

 

As I stated in the OP: We will not be drilling.

[Coconut Kidd]

9 hours ago, Henricus said:

500 to 1000 thb per ring depending on the size of the ring 

Thank you for taking the time to read and comprehend the OP. Valuable information indeed.

[Coconut Kidd]

9 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

...measure a piece of string and multiply by 2..  works every time...

 

Did you come up with this yourself or did your mom help?

[LivinginKata]

2 hours ago, Henricus said:

500 to 1000 thb per ring depending on the size of the ring 

 

That sounds very cheap. Last ring well we had dug was 18 years ago, 2m diameter.  10 rings deep = 5 m. Even back then it was more than 6,000 baht for labour.  We bought the rings. I can tell you the guys worked very hard in terrible conditions for their money. I thought they deserved every baht + a generous tip.  

[connda]

 

2 hours ago, English Engineer said:

In Hua a 150m well cost 180000B to include all equipment pump etc. The pump typically needs to be replaced after 5 years. Cost of pump is around 40kB.

 

2 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

OP is not asking about a drilled bore hole well. OP wants to know cost of hand dug ring well. I can't really answer that as it all depends if you as Farang ask or if your Thai lady does a good job of negotiating the price.  Remember that's it is a really hard labour job, some injuries can be expected, These guys really work for their money.

Actually, I wanted to know that, so thanks! 

[oobar]

Built a  house in Isaan next to a government catchment, so the ground water is level with the lake surface.  A few of the local workers asked where I wanted the well, and  I pointed out the spot.  They used an irrigation pump to suck water from the lake and attached the output to a pipe that they worked up and down by hand, using the force of the water to "drill" its way down.  Total cost of the well (labor and four-inch pvc) was under 2000 baht.  I set up two pumps in my garage, about 6,000 baht each, one to supply water from the well to a charcoal filtration system that then fills a 1200-liter tank, from which the second pump supplies the house.  Been using it for almost four years with no problems and have outside the compound wall a tap for neighbors to fill containers with drinking water.  They say it's the best water around.  For sure it is the purest, most crystal-clear water I've seen in Thailand or anywhere else for that matter, and the supply is inexhaustible. 

[LivinginKata]

2 minutes ago, oobar said:

Built a  house in Isaan next to a government catchment, so the ground water is level with the lake surface.  A few of the local workers asked where I wanted the well, and  I pointed out the spot.  They used an irrigation pump to suck water from the lake and attached the output to a pipe that they worked up and down by hand, using the force of the water to "drill" its way down.  Total cost of the well (labor and four-inch pvc) was under 2000 baht.  I set up two pumps in my garage, about 6,000 baht each, one to supply water from the well to a charcoal filtration system that then fills a 1200-liter tank, from which the second pump supplies the house.  Been using it for almost four years with no problems and have outside the compound wall a tap for neighbors to fill containers w

drinking water.  They say it's the best water around.  For sure it is the purest, most crystal-clear water I've seen in Thailand or anywhere else for that matter, and the supply is inexhaustible. 

 

Pardon me .... but how does your post even relate to the OP's question. 

[KarenBravo]

17 years ago, here in Phuket, I used 23 rings (11.5m) at 1000Bt per ring and labour.

It has to be at least double that now.

[The Deerhunter]

Digging a well changes up in price every 10 rings (three metres) that they dig down.   We started with a goal of at least 15 metres and then said "keep going" as we had to get the best result we could get.  They tried to charge for every ring that we bought as if it was dug down to place that ring.  Every time they have an oops they had to step down a ring size to cover their problem with an "overlap."  This is actually a double placement INSIDE the rings and requires no digging but it uses up rings they try to charge for as if the hole is that many rings deep.  As you will find when you depth sound the hole every night like me.   They also will need to back-fill behind the rings with grey concrete making chip to filter the water and stop subsidence.  Here is our costs to dig a 27 metre well starting at 2 metres wide:: 54x  2 metre rings, 31x  1.70 metre rings and 14x 1.5 m rings.  That gives a final count of 99 rings but 8 were used in overlaps.  The well is 91 rings deep: 91x.3= 27.3 metres.   A 1HP Franklin Electric motor with a Chinese 1.5” pump on it, controller and accessories, $14,000.   Over 25 metres of 1.5” PVC pipe & fittings, 5,000 - 6,000 baht  Concrete Rings 68,150 baht.  Digging 165,530 baht.   Total cost of the actual well & pump etc was around 253,000 baht.   Extra storage surface tanks, power connection including poles, pumps & wiring another 90,000B  Your costs will certainly be less than this for many reasons. 

P.S.Always have a big Knife type surface breaker installed to totally isolate everything during electrical storms. Lightning strike to power poles kill everything electrical. 

[simon43]

The last well that I had dug (about 5 years ago) used about 20 rings and cost 30,000 baht all in.

 

Concur with LiK's comments about the hard work.  It is also a very precise skill to dig the well.  I watched the family team place the first concrete ring on solid ground.  Then one guy stood inside the ring and started to shovel out the soil.

 

As he did so, the ring slowly sank into the ground under its own weight.  Soon the top lip of the ring was level with the surrounding ground.  They then placed a second ring on top and continued the process.

 

The rings sank further into the ground as the soil was excavated and also due to the heavy weight of the rings.  The skill is to keep the bore vertical, and to dig out the soil so that the rings sink vertically.

 

After about 18 rings, the water table was reached.  Then the digger continued to dig in the muddy water , to add a further 2 rings so that the well would hopefully always have water in it.

 

Although hard work, the danger to the digger at the bottom of the well is minimal, because he is protected from collapse of the well by the concrete rings within which he stands.

[Coconut Kidd]

18 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

P.S.Always have a big Knife type surface breaker installed to totally isolate everything during electrical storms. Lightning strike to power poles kill everything electrical. 

Excellent idea. Thanks

[beechbum]

11 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Knife type surface breaker

Got an example of this type of breaker?

[The Deerhunter]

3 hours ago, beechbum said:

Got an example of this type of breaker?

Sort of like this Two "knife =blade contacts that drop into contact slots.  Thai ones have a white ceramic (shock-proof)  handle joining the two contacts.  Usually it has a picture of an elephant on it.  All in a plastic case with two removable beige plastic covers covering the contacts for safety.  I can take a pic if you need it.  We have heaps of them fitted here.  Really positive in/out contacts

[steve73]

The choice between a dug well or a bore hole (at least for a shallow water table, of less than about 10m) is all down to the soil permeability.

If you're on a permeable sandy base, then a borehole will nearly always work out cheaper (unless it's really shallow).

If there is low permeability, then you'll need a dug well just to provide some storage and to stop the pump running dry....

Once over 15m a borehole is usually much cheaper (and safer). 

Upto about 6-8 m water depth you can get away with a small surface pump.. Deeper and you need a downhole pump. Couple it with an above ground tank and separate supply pump.

But once you get over 10-15m a borehole will always be cheaper, since much of the cost is the equipment set up, whereas a dug well gets more expensive as you go deeper (for reasons previously mentioned).

 

In Rayong province, about 9 or 10 years ago my neighbor had a 6m dug well, 2m dia which was 1000bt/ring (20)... unfortunately it ran dry in a subsequent very dry season.  I had a 12m borehole drilled using 4" PVC slotted pipe for just over half that cost, and it has run without problems, pump inlet at 8m with an aboveground pump. (OK, I had a small additional cost for an above ground tank and separate pump).

Another close neighbor was "conned" into needing a 20m bore-hole with a down-hole pump. Total cost was about 60k.... His pump was totally oversized which sucked in too much sand and knackered the pump (40k replacement) after just a few years.  All these were on very sandy ground with lots of shallow irrigation ponds around so very permeable, with a 4-5m seasonal range of water table.  

 

 

[The Deerhunter]

14 hours ago, simon43 said:

The last well that I had dug (about 5 years ago) used about 20 rings and cost 30,000 baht all in.

 

Concur with LiK's comments about the hard work.  It is also a very precise skill to dig the well.  I watched the family team place the first concrete ring on solid ground.  Then one guy stood inside the ring and started to shovel out the soil.

 

As he did so, the ring slowly sank into the ground under its own weight.  Soon the top lip of the ring was level with the surrounding ground.  They then placed a second ring on top and continued the process.

 

The rings sank further into the ground as the soil was excavated and also due to the heavy weight of the rings.  The skill is to keep the bore vertical, and to dig out the soil so that the rings sink vertically.

 

After about 18 rings, the water table was reached.  Then the digger continued to dig in the muddy water , to add a further 2 rings so that the well would hopefully always have water in it.

 

Although hard work, the danger to the digger at the bottom of the well is minimal, because he is protected from collapse of the well by the concrete rings within which he stands.

Well described.  (Pun intended.)  The "OOPS's " with our guys came when they dug down too far below the bottom ring and then in attempting to undercut the stack of 18 to 80 or more rings, one ring goes sideways slightly and jams.  They really should go one ring at a time but it takes longer.  91 rings took over 3 weeks because below  about 18 rings they were constantly pumping and working in water with falling water from wall seepage (read squirting like a small boy) from above, towards the end, 20 metres above!!!!!!!  Sounds fun, does it???

[The Deerhunter]

9 minutes ago, steve73 said:

The choice between a dug well or a bore hole (at least for a shallow water table, of less than about 10m) is all down to the soil permeability.

If you're on a permeable sandy base, then a borehole will nearly always work out cheaper (unless it's really shallow).

If there is low permeability, then you'll need a dug well just to provide some storage and to stop the pump running dry....

Once over 15m a borehole is usually much cheaper (and safer). 

Upto about 6-8 m water depth you can get away with a small surface pump.. Deeper and you need a downhole pump. Couple it with an above ground tank and separate supply pump.

But once you get over 10-15m a borehole will always be cheaper, since much of the cost is the equipment set up, whereas a dug well gets more expensive as you go deeper (for reasons previously mentioned).

 

In Rayong province, about 9 or 10 years ago my neighbor had a 6m dug well, 2m dia which was 1000bt/ring (20)... unfortunately it ran dry in a subsequent very dry season.  I had a 12m borehole drilled using 4" PVC slotted pipe for just over half that cost, and it has run without problems, pump inlet at 8m with an aboveground pump. (OK, I had a small additional cost for an above ground tank and separate pump).

Another close neighbor was "conned" into needing a 20m bore-hole with a down-hole pump. Total cost was about 60k.... His pump was totally oversized which sucked in too much sand and knackered the pump (40k replacement) after just a few years.  All these were on very sandy ground with lots of shallow irrigation ponds around so very permeable, with a 4-5m seasonal range of water table.  

 

 

Totally agree.  Our land is clay & rock.  Bore wells do not work here.  If a well is dug during wet season it will go dry during dry season as water tables vary throughout the year.  Ours goes from 5 to 7 metres between seasons.

[beechbum]

3 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Sort of like this Two "knife =blade contacts that drop into contact slots.  Thai ones have a white ceramic (shock-proof)  handle joining the two contacts.  Usually it has a picture of an elephant on it.  All in a plastic case with two removable beige plastic covers covering the contacts for safety.  I can take a pic if you need it.  We have heaps of them fitted here.  Really positive in/out contacts

Cheers, got it.

[Psimbo]

On 12/6/2017 at 3:19 PM, English Engineer said:

In Hua a 150m well cost 180000B to include all equipment pump etc. The pump typically needs to be replaced after 5 years. Cost of pump is around 40kB.

Fascinating- do the workers commute and do they add to the cost?

 

This is about PHUKET.

[natway09]

The deeper you go the better the water quality.

6 rings you will be pumping shit

[simon43]

6 rings you will be pumping shit

That all depends where your cesspit soakaway is located.... :)

[paahlman]

Strange answers... First of all.. Is it a deep water well or a diameter of 1.5 meter.. a water well..?

 

Normally you hit water on around 10-12 meters.. Again. How big is a bag or a fish... You have to consider how deep you need to go..

 

That said.. I recommend a deep water well of 40 meters to 80 deep..

 

It should cost around 70k baht...

 

Thats it...

 

Chris

[KarenBravo]

A hand-dug well that exploits the water-table is usually called "a well".

A narrow diameter deep-bored well using drilling apparatus is usually called "a bore".

Saves confusion and is surprisingly easy to remember.