Building a fence for your home is as important a construction process as building the house itself. For a reliable fence design that can withstand the weight of heavy materials, temperature changes in the soil and the effects of strong winds, it is necessary to lay an appropriate foundation. If the load-bearing structures of the fence are not properly strengthened, you may encounter unpleasant situations such as deformation or destruction of the building. To prevent this from happening, you need to determine how to install the pillars correctly.

How to install fence posts: advantages and disadvantages of installation methods

Any installation of support posts for a fence involves their deepening into the soil. To make this process less expensive and faster, many owners prefer to drive them into the ground. In some cases, such a decision is quite justified, but it should be borne in mind that such actions may be initially incorrect. To avoid such mistakes, you should: determine the quality and composition of the soil in the area being built, the location and level of groundwater rise, as well as the freezing point. This point is of great importance, since an incorrectly chosen base for the fence will lead to deformation of the building, and in the worst case, its destruction.

Soil with a high content of sand, during rains or after snow melts, can shift, forming cracks or landslides. In this case, it is recommended to use screw piles as fence posts. They are screwed into the soil to a depth below the freezing point.

The high content of clay and sandy loam in the soil contributes to deep freezing of the soil and makes it unstable. In such soil, pillars cannot be concreted, since when frost sets in, the clay base tends to expand. As a result, it will be squeezed out, from which it is clear that the fence will be deformed and lose its original appearance. The impact of weather precipitation on this soil entails the formation of quicksand. Therefore, as in the first case, this soil requires the installation of screw piles.

Soil containing a large amount of gravel is not subject to deep freezing and displacement under the influence of moisture. This soil is ideal for concreting pillars.

Solid stone soil or rock has similar properties, the only difference being that it is harder. When building a fence on such a site, you can use all types of foundations, except pile foundations.

When making the final decision on installing pillars, you should rely not only on the properties of the soil, but also on knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Let's try to understand these nuances in more detail.

When choosing the method of driving pillars into the soil, you must consider the following:

if the future structure has a lot of weight, then the building will shrink;
Installation in rocky soil must be carried out carefully so that the pipes do not fall on large stones.

Table: pole installation methods

Hammering the pillars
The advantages of using the method of driving pillars include the following criteria:	The following can be identified as negative criteria for this method:
there is no need to make holes for the pillars - this significantly reduces the time for their installation;	if the spans of the fence block large air flows, then the posts driven into unstable or loose soil may “lead”;
there are no extra costs for sand, gravel and concrete mixture;	the fence will skew if its total weight is large enough. This must be taken into account during spring floods, when the groundwater level rises, causing the soil to become unstable;
the soil in which it can be used is common.	When struck on the end, the pole may become deformed.

Concreting pillars
Concreting as an installation method has a number of advantages:	The presence of so many positive criteria still does not exclude the negative aspects of this method, which include:
poles installed in this way have a long service life;	Concreting pillars cannot be done in heaving soils, as they can be squeezed out under the influence of low temperatures. This usually happens in winter when water crystals expand, displacing everything around them;
concrete supports are able to withstand the weight of a fence made of heavy materials, such as: concrete slabs, stone, profiled and steel sheets;	the installation process takes a long period of precious time, which will be spent not only on digging holes, but also on waiting for the mixture to harden;
waterproofing metal poles with a concrete mixture protects them better than bitumen or paint.	Concreting fence supports requires significant financial investments.
the concrete support is held very firmly in the ground, so intruders have no chance of pulling them out of the ground;
allows the construction of high fences.

Taking into account the above nuances, it should be said that the final decision on the choice of methods for installing fence posts depends on: the quality and properties of the soil, groundwater level and freezing point, financial capabilities, availability of the required material, and customer preferences.

At what distance are the pillars installed?

The distance between the posts is made in the range from 2 to 3 m. These parameters depend on the material from which the posts and sections of the fence are made. The distance of 3 m between supports should not be exceeded, since the installed canvas in sections will sag. This fact applies most of all to fences made of chain-link mesh and wood. The optimal distance for this is from 2 to 2.5 m. In this case, regardless of the material, the load on the canvas and pillars will be evenly distributed.

Hammering the pillars

Hammering poles involves driving them into the soil by hitting the top end, using a sledgehammer or special devices and equipment created for this purpose.

This installation method justifies itself when constructing relatively lightweight fence structures - with a chain-link mesh or a wooden picket fence.

There are three ways to drive pillars into the ground:

Using a sledgehammer.
Using a special device, popularly called “grandmother”.
Using a construction tool - a hydraulic or gas-powered pile driver.

Please note that before any method of driving a post into the ground, you must adhere to the following rules:

The posts must be buried in the soil to a depth of at least 120–140 cm.
The installation of pillars should begin with the outer supports. They will serve as guides, since the rest of the pillars will be aligned with them. To do this, a stretched cord is tied to them.
When installing the support, you should not be too far along the upper end so that it does not go deeper than required. Pulling the post out is much more difficult than carefully striking it several times.
It must be remembered that strong impacts may cause the pole to become deformed.

Hammering with a sledgehammer. This method is most often used for installing low poles up to 150 cm long. To prevent the metal pole from being deformed, a thick pole is placed at its end, which is struck.

This method is quite simple, but requires a lot of physical strength. When working with a sledgehammer, there is a risk of the post being skewed due to impacts. In this regard, it is more convenient to work together - one person holds the pole, the other strikes with a sledgehammer. It is necessary to periodically check the pole for verticality. To do this, use a building level or plumb line.

Another effective way to drive pipes into the ground is with a headstock tool. This is a homemade device, which is a weighted piece of pipe with handles, put on a metal pole to apply tamping blows.

To make this tool you need:

From a pipe with a diameter larger than the diameter of the post, cut a fragment 100 cm long.
Weld a metal circle to the end of one of the sides, to which add a load of lead or other heavy material. The heavier the tool, the easier it is to hammer in the posts. The optimal weight of this device ranges from 10 to 30 kg.
Weld two handles to the outer surface on opposite sides.

Use the tool as follows:

the pole is installed in the intended location;
the tool is put on the upper end of the support;
using the handles, the device is lifted and released, striking the end of the pole;
the metal pillar, under the influence of impacts, goes deeper into the ground.

Using a headstock makes installation more precise, as opposed to using a sledgehammer. This is characterized by the fact that the tool does not need to be aimed, but only raised and released on an installed post. This ensures a minimum degree of deflection upon impact.

The pile driver is a professional tool designed for lifting and installing piles to established points. This tool can be hand-held, self-propelled or non-self-propelled. The speed of installing poles using this device is very high. With the help of a piledriver you can not only drive in poles, but also pull them out of the ground.

Preparatory work: selection of material for pillars, advice on selection, calculation of quantity

Tree

Using wood to make poles is a traditional solution as it is quite affordable in some regions. The shape of the log, even without special processing, is suitable for use as supports for fencing. In the central regions of our country, installing fence posts made of this material is an expensive pleasure. In addition, not every type of wood is suitable for this purpose.

All elements of the fence will be exposed to unfavorable natural conditions such as: critical temperature changes, high humidity or drying out, damage by mold and wood-boring insects. Therefore, wood requires pre-treatment with antiseptic agents and antifungal impregnations.

Considering these nuances, the most suitable for fence posts are: oak, pine, larch, ash. Spruce and fir wood has similar properties.

Advice: you should not make supports from birch, linden, aspen and alder, as this is soft wood.

Metal

Along with wood, metal poles are very popular. This material wins in the price-quality ratio. They go on sale in a large assortment, and differ in cross-sectional diameter, wall thickness, alloys, length and shape. To install metal supports, it is convenient to use pipes with a square cross-section, with a width of 6 cm on each side and a wall thickness of at least 2 mm. When choosing the size of a profile pipe, preference should be given to material with a larger diameter and cross-section. This will ensure additional resistance of the fence to mechanical and natural influences. The shape of such pipes ensures convenient installation of chain-link mesh and fastening of metal plates for longitudinal joists. If such material is not found, then pipes with a round cross-section are used with the same success. Metal supports are convenient because, with a small pipe width, they can support relatively heavy structures.

Advice: the upper ends of the pipes must be welded so that water does not get inside them, causing corrosion of the metal.

Concrete and asbestos cement pipes

Asbestos-cement pipes and concrete are also used to construct fence posts. Due to their characteristics, these materials are used only for certain types of fences. It is inconvenient to install sections on supports made of asbestos-cement pipes. If moisture gets inside such a pipe, then at low temperatures the water will begin to expand. As a result, the pipe will burst at the point of freezing. Asbestos-cement pipes are convenient as insulating material or formwork for columnar foundations. If we talk about concrete pillars, they are heavy, require laying a solid foundation, and are not suitable for all types of soil. Most often they are used in the construction of fences with heavy structures.

Advice: when making concrete pillars, you should select proven compositions for mixtures. Otherwise, the pillar will become covered with cracks or begin to crumble.

Brick

Brick pillars look beautiful, but their construction requires knowledge of construction and masonry skills. It should be taken into account that the brickwork of the pillar must be built around a profile pipe installed in the middle of its base. If you hire specialists to install such poles, you will have to pay a considerable amount for their services.

Brick pillars require the installation of a reliable foundation. As such, columnar, strip and strip-column foundations are used.

This material is durable, but this property depends on correct installation. Otherwise, such a pillar will become warped after several years. To correct this defect, the pillars will have to be reconstructed.

Calculation of materials

In order not to make extra money, it is necessary to calculate the building material for erecting the pillar. How to calculate the exact number of pipes, concrete, wood and bricks?

When calculating the length of wooden posts, it should be taken into account that about 100–120 cm of the support should be buried in the base. If the height of the fence is 200 cm, then the total length of one log for a post is: 200 + 120 = 320 cm. For example, the fence will have 18 posts, therefore: 320∙18 = 5760 linear meters of material. In the same way, calculations are made for profiled pipes.

To calculate the volume of the mixture for making concrete pillars, it is necessary to make calculations using the geometric formula for finding the volume of a cube, which looks like this: V=h³, where h is the multiplied values of the length, width and height of the pillar. If the concrete support has a length and width of 150 mm, and its height is 2700 mm, then according to the formula: 0.15∙0.15∙2.7=0.06 m³ of concrete mixture is required to make one column. If there are 18 pillars in the fence, then: 0.06∙18=1.08 m³ of concrete mixture for all supports.

To calculate the required number of bricks for eighteen pillars 200 cm high, you need to use the parameters of this building material. Let's say the pillar will be built from one-and-a-half hollow red bricks, measuring 250x120x88 mm. 4 bricks will be laid in one row. For calculations, you only need a material width of 88 mm. Now you need to determine how many rows need to be laid out to make a pillar 200 cm high. Let’s do the calculation: 200:8.8=22.7 rows. Since there are 4 bricks in one row, then: 22.7∙4=90.8 bricks are needed to build one pillar. Now it’s easy to calculate how many bricks are needed for 18 pillars: 90.8∙18=1634.4 pieces.

Required Tools

To drive pillars into the ground, you will need the following tools:

Sledgehammer or hydraulic pile driver.
Electric drill.
Cord.
Construction level and plumb line.
Yardstick.
Molar brush.
Sandpaper or grinder.
Concrete mixer.
Containers for solution.

Instructions for installing fence posts with your own hands by driving them into the ground

Before all land work, it is necessary to clear the area being built up, free it from debris and uneven areas.

In the selected area, make markings with points for driving in each post. To ensure that the pillars are positioned strictly in one line, you need to use a stretched cord and stakes. The distance between the supports should be no more than 200–250 cm, since a large value will create a critical windage of the fence, which will create a threat of deformation of the fence in strong winds.
If wooden supports are to be installed, then it is more convenient to use hammer-in ends for their installation. To do this, drive driving rods into the first and last marks for the posts. Then, insert the posts into the connectors. Using a building level or plumb line, level the posts. So that they are located perpendicular to the base.
Using an electric drill, secure the supports into the driven ends.
Tie a stretched cord to the top edge of the posts. This will help install the following supports in one line.
When installing metal poles, it is more convenient to work together. In this case, one person will hit the end of the support, and the second will hold it. If the height of the pipe being driven is inconvenient for working with a sledgehammer, you need to use a headstock tool or a hydraulic pile driver.
The depth of driving the pillar must be at least 120 cm. If construction work is carried out on soft or unstable soils, then the depth must be increased to 150 cm. In such cases, it is better to use metal screw piles that are tightly screwed into the soil.
After the pipe is buried in the ground, you need to check its verticality. In case of deviation, use the crowbar as a lever.
When the posts are installed, you can begin installing the fence sheet or installing sections.

Is treatment required and what kind?

The metal part of the pole that will be immersed in the ground must be protected from moisture. If this is not done, the water will cause corrosion of the metal. Bitumen, anti-corrosion compound or ordinary paint will serve as a waterproofing layer. First you need to clean the surface of the pipe with a metal brush. Then you need to cover the surface with waterproofing material. To do this, you can use hydroisolon, which is asbestos paper impregnated with bitumen with the addition of polymer compounds and cellulose.

You can also use geotextiles, which look like durable fabric with good waterproofing qualities. The required section of pipes is wrapped with this material.

A modern way to protect metal surfaces is cold galvanizing, which is based on an epoxy or polystyrene base. This method is not cheap, but effective. To protect the metal, you must use a roller or brush to apply the material. As a result, a dense layer is formed that does not allow moisture to pass through.

Wooden posts also require special treatment. Unlike metal supports, they are susceptible to rotting. To avoid this, you need to use special antifungal compounds and antiseptic impregnations. Penetrating impregnations are more effective. The most popular wood impregnations are:

Aidol Langzeit-Lasur;
Senezh Ecobio;
Belinka Interior Sauna.

Senezh Ecobio can be combined with varnish and paint. Pirilax impregnation reliably protects wood from fire. Impregnations that provide good protection against wood-boring organisms include:

Aqualak Bor;
Polyex Woodpecker;
Aquatex.

The part of the post that will be immersed in the ground requires additional treatment to remove moisture. To do this, you can paint the required part of the pillar in several layers.

Some builders are of the opinion that it is better to burn the log and wrap it in roofing felt. However, this method does not always pay off.

If it is necessary to properly insulate the underground part of the pillar, then the best way to do this is to use liquid bitumen. This material must be heated before use. Then, using a molar brush or roller, apply the insulation to the supports. When hardened, a reliable waterproofing layer is formed that resembles dense rubber. This protection allows you to preserve the wood for 25–30 years.

For pillars made of red or facing bricks, impregnations for brick surfaces are used. As a result of application, a layer in the form of a thin film is formed on the surface, protecting the pillar from cracks and destruction. The same result can be achieved by painting a brick or concrete pillar.

We concrete the pillars

Concreting fence supports is strengthening them using a concrete mixture and bulk material. This method is more expensive, but its use, in some cases, may be the only way out of the situation. Concreting the pillars makes the fence stable in unstable soils. This process differs from the previous one in that the pillars are installed in pre-prepared holes, in which the bottom is compacted with sand and gravel. Then the supports are filled with concrete mixture.

With proper organization of the construction process, a fence with posts installed in this way will last more than 50 years.

It should be noted that fence posts can be concreted completely or partially.

When partially concreting the support, it is necessary to fill the bottom of the hole with a concrete mixture of 20–25 cm. Then insert the post to the bottom of the hole. Pour gravel and broken brick into the space between the support and the walls of the hole so that this layer does not reach 15–20 cm to the upper level of the hole. Fill the remaining space with concrete mixture. Using partial pouring you will significantly reduce the cost of expensive concrete. This method can be used to install poles in weak soils and in areas with shallow groundwater levels.
When concreting is complete, the bottom of the hole is compacted with bulk material to form a uniform layer 10–15 cm thick. Then a post is installed in the hole. Depending on the material, it can be driven a little into the bottom - this is more suitable for metal poles. Then the space around the support is filled with concrete mixture. After complete pouring, it is important to rid the concrete of air bubbles. To do this, the unhardened mixture is stirred with a reinforcing rod.

Preparatory work, selection of materials and calculations (with examples)

To install supports using this method, metal pipes, wooden logs and ready-made concrete pillars are used. Pre-processing and calculation of the required amount of material are similar to the previous method. You should understand in more detail the required volume of concrete for laying the foundation. The permanent foundation for fence posts may not be limited to just pouring the mixture into the holes. As such, a columnar strip foundation is used. Due to its specific shape, this base requires high-quality mathematical calculations. The image shows that the foundation consists of simple geometric shapes - a cylinder, a cube and a parallelepiped. We need to find the volume of each of them.

First, let's find the volume of the cube. In our case, it is located under each support and has dimensions of 40x40x40 cm. To calculate this value, you need to use the geometric formula for finding the volume of a cube. We already used it when we made calculations for the production of concrete pillars. To do this, you need to multiply all the dimensions of the cube: 0.4∙0.4∙0.4=0.06 m³. Since the proposed fence will have 18 supports, then: 0.06∙18=1.08 m³.

Now we calculate the volume of the cylinder using the appropriate geometric formula: V=πR²h, where π is a mathematical value equal to 3.14, R² is the radius, h is the height of the figure. Let's substitute the values: 3.14∙0.2∙0.7=0.43 m³. For eighteen pillars you need: 0.43∙18=7.74 m³.

Now we calculate the volume for the parallelepiped. It should be taken into account that between 18 pillars there will be 17 such figures. For calculations, we use the formula for finding the volume of a cube by multiplying the length, height and width. Let's substitute the values: 0.3∙0.4∙2.15=0.25 m³. We multiply for all intervals: 0.25∙17=4.25 m³.

Now you need to find out the total amount of concrete mixture needed to make a columnar-strip foundation for fence posts. To do this, you need to add the resulting values from the calculations of all figures: 1.08 + 7.74 + 4.25 = 13.07 m³.

Required Tools

For concreting or installing a strip-column foundation, the following tools are required:

Bayonet and shovel.
Earth drill.
Concrete mixer.
Containers for the mixture.
Pliers.
Welding machine.
Electric drill.
Hammer.
Self-tapping screws, nails.
Wire.

In addition, you will need edged boards for making formwork, roofing felt for waterproofing the base, reinforcing bars for the pile frame and polyethylene for covering the concrete.

Step-by-step instruction

First of all, it is necessary to clear the built-up area of debris, plants and uneven ground.

Any construction process must begin with markings. To do this, it is convenient to use a stretched cord and wooden stakes.
Since a strip-column foundation was chosen to strengthen the pillars, it is necessary to dig a trench 30 cm wide and 30 cm deep.
Then, at a distance of 215 cm from each other, dig 18 holes with a diameter of 20 cm and a depth of 70 cm. If you can’t find an electric earth drill, you can just as easily use a hand spinner. Only in this case, every 15 cm of depression, you need to remove the soil to the surface. This technique will make manual labor easier.
When the trench and holes are dug, the surfaces of each of them must be carefully leveled and compacted. Pour wet sand into the bottom of each hole and trench, which is also compacted until a uniform layer 10 cm thick is obtained.
Place a layer of fine gravel of similar thickness on top of the sand cushion.
Now it's time to prepare the holes for pouring concrete. First you need to install the formwork inside each of them. For this, a roofing material or asbestos-cement pipe rolled into a pipe, the same diameter as the hole, is suitable.
To strengthen the concrete pillar, a metal frame must be installed inside the formwork. For its manufacture, reinforcing bars with a diameter of 8 to 12 mm are used. You need to connect 4 rods together with wire so that you get a three-dimensional structure. The distance between the metal rods should be 10 cm. The metal frame should be 5–10 cm higher than the bottom of the trench. This will subsequently secure the entire base.
Install the structure inside the hole.
Install a profiled pipe with a side width of 60x60 mm and a length of 270 cm in the middle of the metal frame. To keep it in a vertical position, it is reinforced with temporary stops.
Now you can pour the concrete. To do this, use a mixture of grade M 200. Pour the mixture inside each hole to the level of the bottom of the trench.
Then you need to make formwork for the concrete strip. To do this, use edged boards or wooden panels. The height of the formwork should be 20 cm. Around the pillars it will have dimensions of 40x40 cm, and in the spans - 215x30 cm. To prevent the structure from falling apart under the pressure of the concrete mixture, it is strengthened with spacers and stops.
To strengthen the concrete strip, it is also necessary to make a metal frame for it. For this purpose the same fittings are used. The rods in the finished structure should be fixed at a distance of 20 cm.
Install this frame at the bottom of the trench, laying it horizontally along its entire length. It should be noted that the reinforcement should not touch the bottom of the trench. To achieve this, you can use broken bricks and place the frame on them.
Pour concrete so that its level is 10 cm above the ground.
Now it takes from three to 6 weeks for the concrete mixture to harden. The poured foundation must be covered with polyethylene or roofing felt. This is necessary to prevent rapid evaporation of moisture from concrete, as well as to isolate it from direct sunlight.

Video: how to drive fence posts

Video: foundation for a fence

What summer resident does not dream of a good harvest? And what kind of harvest can there be without good watering? But here’s the problem: there is no running water, the river is far away – where can I get water? You can invite specialists with equipment. They will drill a well for you, and you will pay them a lot of money. There is another option: you can figure out how to plug a well yourself and enjoy the work done, the availability of water and the finances saved.

If you are more satisfied with the second option, let’s consider the issues that you need to know about to drill a well.

Aquifers

To better understand how aquifers are located in the thickness of the earth, let's imagine the earth cover in the form of a layer cake.

The first layer is fertile. Its thickness is approximately 1 m. Beneath it there are dense water-resistant layers, which mainly consist of clayey or subclayey rocks, very rarely stones. Waterproof layers are located at an angle to the horizon and have different thicknesses. As a result, cavities are formed in the thickness of the earth, similar in shape to lenses. They are filled with sand in which water accumulates. These are the aquifers. The area of such underground lakes can reach several square kilometers. The depth of their occurrence can be different, from 5 to 30 m. There can be two or three such layers in the thickness of the earth. The higher the aquifer is located, the less stable it is. In dry weather, they can dry out and refill after rain or melting snow.

From this we can conclude: if you need to constantly have water in the well, you need to break it at least to the second aquifer.

At a great depth of 30-50 m there is a rock layer. The purest artesian water is found there. Making a well to such a depth is only possible with the use of special drilling equipment.

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Choice

If the aquifer is located relatively close to the surface of the earth (from 5 to 15 m), then the choice can be made in favor of a well. Its construction is less expensive and labor-intensive than a well.

Well disadvantage:

depending on the area, the first aquifer may dry out;
the water of the “subcutaneous” layer is suitable only for irrigation and domestic needs;
water must be constantly withdrawn, otherwise the well begins to silt;
periodically it is necessary to disinfect and clean the well

If the aquifers are below 15 m, the choice clearly remains with the well.

Return to contents

Before considering drilling a well, it is necessary to understand its general structure. A well is a fairly deep hole in the ground from the surface to the aquifer. To prevent it from crumbling due to the settlement of the earth, it is lowered into it. Its diameter can be in the range of 50-300 mm.

Do you want your well to last longer? Then you need to use a metal pipe. Due to the fact that the water is deep, the casing pipe must be long enough, therefore, as it goes down, it is extended with new sections using a threaded connection or couplings.

Drilling a well is not a complicated process, but it is labor-intensive. It is better to do this work together.

You can plug a well with your own hands using the shock-rope method. To work, you will need to make a glass with which the soil will be excavated. It is a piece of pipe, on one side of which a loop is welded to which the cable will be attached, and on the other side it is necessary to make teeth and sharpen them (this procedure can be performed with a grinder).

The principle of operation is very simple: throw the glass down; falling, the teeth crash into the ground, which remains inside the glass. Use the cable to lift the glass to the surface and remove the soil. And so we repeat the procedure, slowly increasing the depth of the well.

It becomes obvious:

that the glass should not be light;
if you want to make a well of a large diameter (for example, for asbestos casing pipes), then you can weld a pipe of a smaller diameter on spacers inside the glass. This will roughly look like a manual apple peeler. Then the earth will not fall out of it during the lifting process.

To make it easier to lift a glass from the depths, you can use the most ancient invention of mankind - a simple block. To do this, you can build a tripod over the well from pipes. Attach a block to its top, and install a gate between the two posts. These simple devices will make your work much easier. All that remains is to wind the cable around the gate, pass the free end through the block and secure it to the glass - and you can start drilling.

Installation of the casing can be carried out after drilling the well. In this case, difficulties may arise with collapses of the well walls during its driving. In this case, the glass must be selected with a diameter larger than that of the casing pipe.

It is better to install the casing as the well deepens.

In this case, the diameter of the glass must be chosen so that it slides freely along the pipe. By the way, it will also act as a guide during drilling. Conclusion: the height of the tripod should be such that the new part of the casing pipe fits freely under it.

To ensure the lowering of the casing, during the process of deepening the well, you need to make removable handles and a stop. They will be installed at the top of the casing. Their purpose: firstly, it will be possible to hang the load; secondly, using them to rotate the pipe around its axis, achieve its smooth immersion into the well.

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Do-it-yourself water on site

The driven well is quite common today. Since there are fewer and fewer wells, and water is a vital product, it is better for private homes to have their own well or two. One well is usually installed inside the house, and the other outside, perhaps on the street near the bathhouse. The wells will provide constant water inside the house and for the entire garden plot, as well as backup water supply. For such work, you will need knowledge of how to drive a well pipe correctly.

Before driving a pipe for a well, it is advisable to find out from nearby neighbors the depth of the water surface, take a closer look and become familiar with nearby wells.

A driving well is quite convenient, if only because its construction can be done in almost one day, of course, if all the necessary components are available. The cost of construction work is not very high, and the process itself is quite simple, so if the aquifer is good enough, then this is the best option for supplying water to a residential building. Before the main work, you can begin preparatory work already in the winter. Before driving a pipe for a well, it is advisable to find out from nearby neighbors the depth of the water surface, take a closer look and become familiar with nearby wells.

What is needed for a well

First you need to purchase pipes that are about 15 m long. The most important part of a tube well is considered to be the intake - a filter, which is made of the same material. as well as the components of the entire structure;

The length of the intake is determined by the aquifer. If the vein for receiving water is good, then the intake can be 0.5 m long, and its longest length can be 1.5 m.

The intake cone is made by a turner. It is either welded to the intake or placed on a thread. Numerous holes must be drilled along the entire length of the pipe, the diameter of which should be about 80-100 mm;
holes are drilled in a staggered pattern. Then such a pipe is wrapped in mesh and soldered along the edge with tin solder. The intake mesh is a completely different matter. A good mesh can hold a small puddle of water and at the same time prevent it from flowing freely and easily. Mesh made of non-ferrous metals is not suitable, since it is most likely to be subject to corrosion;
Today, stainless steel self-tapping screws with large heads are increasingly used in construction work, which are even very suitable for attaching mesh to self-tapping screws. For fastening, you need to drill holes of a couple of millimeters along the entire length of the intake pipe.

Extension pipes are cut into pieces 0.5 and 1.5 m long, depending on the type of soil.

When the mesh is wrapped, it needs to be pressed with stainless steel tape using self-tapping screws along the entire length of the pipe, using a screwdriver for this, and then cut off. Wrapping the mesh with wire will not bring any benefit, because if the intake gets caught in the ground on something strong and resistant, the wire will not help and the mesh will break anyway.

extension pipes are cut into pieces 0.5 and 1.5 m long, depending on the type of soil. If the soil is not very hard, but plastic and the pipes go into the ground easily, you can make them a little longer. The couplings for the connection are made only of steel; in order for them to hold tightly and not burst during operation, they are made into half a coupling. Couplings are most often installed on flax with paint.

We begin drilling a well

Drilling the earth is carried out with an ordinary fishing drill, in which the handle is only altered in such a way that it is possible to attach extension legs to it and replace the brace with a T-shaped handle.

Drilling a well will require two people, since it will be necessary to remove the drill from the ground, and this work is quite difficult for one person.

Drilling the earth is carried out with an ordinary fishing drill.

If quicksand is discovered as a result of drilling, the work is stopped. A pre-prepared pipe with an intake is lowered into the well and a mallet is taken.

The beater has the appearance of an ordinary block of wood, which has hammered metal brackets on both sides in a vertical position. Pipe clogging can be done by one person, or by two. If the pipe is too high, then hammer it in using a stepladder.

The intake into the aquifer must be hammered with uniform blows on the pipe. Water is tested by pouring liquid into the well. If it does not linger, but immediately leaves, water can be obtained at the drilling site.

Pump connection and water analysis

A hand pump for pumping out water is connected to the intake using a rubber hose with clamps.

Next, using a rubber hose with clamps, a hand pump is connected and the water is pumped out. Using a hand pump, lifting water from a well is quite easy and simple. If the water appears clean and tasty, without the formation of film and sediment, it means. it is of good quality.

To determine the quality and quality factor of water, it can be analyzed in a special laboratory. If you don’t like the quality, you can continue driving the pipe to a greater depth, checking from time to time whether there is an aquifer. It is possible to drive a well no deeper than 15 meters until it stops.

If the water surface is at a level below 9 m, then it cannot be pumped out. Of course, you can lower the pump a few meters by first digging a pit, or simply make a well and install a water pumping station.

If water is not found or it is of poor quality, then the pipes are removed. If difficulties arise in lifting them, use a jack.

Preparing a well for operation

If the well is used only in the summer, it is advisable to remove the valve for the winter - then the water column will drop to the usual level and no freezing will occur.

If, as a result, you have found good water, you can begin to prepare the well for operation. The height of the pipe is leveled above ground level for easy connection. Sometimes they change the last elbow to another of the required length or simply saw off the excess part and cut a thread on it. The thread is necessary to be able to install the valve and further connect the hose.

The valve is a rather complex device, so it can often break down or fail. To prevent this from happening, the valve is installed at the top in front of the pump. With its help, the pole is supported, and if something happens, it can be easily replaced. If the well is used only in the summer, it is advisable to remove the valve for the winter - then the water column will drop to the usual level and no freezing will occur. In the spring, the valve is put back in its original place and the water is raised.

If the well is used in winter, the valve can also be removed and put on during use, only then you need to make sure that water is not left in the pump. Next, you need to connect the water pumping station or electric pump through a pipe or hose. For this, a high-pressure hose is used, since there is a vacuum in this place and it can be flattened. Sometimes the installation of a driven well is done on the street, a pipe is connected to it, and this, in turn, is brought into the basement of the house where the water pumping station is installed.

Water pumping stations operate with a steady column and when the entire system is filled with water. Therefore, first, a hand vacuum pump is used to raise the water. It is connected separately through a special valve, which is located in front of the water pumping station. When the water rises to the required level and the receiver is filled, the system will begin operating automatically. There will always be a column of liquid in the pipe.

Well and pipe cleaning

You can also clean the well using a special device called a bailer.

Often during long-term operation of a driving well, the water flow slows down significantly. This happens as a result of clogging and clogging of the collection grid. Then it is necessary to pull the pipes out of the well and clean them or replace them with new ones; you can simply change the collection grid or the collection as a whole.

There are times when the water in the well disappears completely. This happens sometimes for natural reasons, and sometimes for man-made ones. Then it is necessary to carry out deeper drilling and install a well with a casing pipe.

New technologies for driving wells

Today, quite interesting driving wells have appeared, such as disposable ones. For their arrangement, a metal-plastic pipe is used. To drive it into the ground, a composite rod is required, which is reusable.

The intake is similar to that of conventional driving wells, only a conical-shaped depression is made inside it, which is intended to support the driving rod. An elbow made of metal-plastic pipe is connected to the intake through a coupling and lowered into the drilled well.

Inside the pipe there is a driving rod, which strongly rests against the recesses of the conical intake. An anvil is screwed onto a steel rod and the intake is hammered through this rod. Having reached the aquifer, the rod is removed from the pipe and the pipe is connected to the pump.

The lack of private wells and the poor quality of water in central water supply systems has led to the fact that the driven well has again become in demand. In private homes, this design is often the only option for providing water. In addition, a well can be made both at home and outside, near a bathhouse or in the garden. Having your own autonomous supply is always attractive, but you need to know what a driven well or, in other words, an Abyssinian well is.

The well is convenient in all respects:

Equipment efficiency. An Abyssinian well can be dug in one day if pipes and other components are available;
Affordable price . The cost of pipes (the main cost factor) is low, and if the aquifer is close, the process is accelerated and greatly facilitated;
Preparatory work You can start already in winter.

The main thing is to find out from your neighbors how deep the aquifer layer lies or take a closer look at the wells located in the area.

Tools and equipment for the well:

First you need to purchase water pipes of at least 15 m in length. An important part of the tube well is the intake - filter, made of the same material from which the entire structure consists.

Important! The length of the intake filter is calculated based on the saturation of the aquifer. If there is excessive saturation, the length does not exceed 0.5 m; if it is insufficient, it can reach up to 1.5 m.

A turner can be entrusted with making the intake cone. It is immediately welded to the intake part or equipped with a thread and screwed on.
Pipe perforation is required. To do this, holes are drilled along the entire length of the pipe, with a diameter of up to 0.8 cm. The holes are staggered, then the pipes are wrapped in mesh, soldered with tin solder along the edges.
The intake mesh is a mandatory element, which can also be made with your own hands. A good mesh should hold a small puddle of water and at the same time allow the liquid to flow freely; the design of the mesh element can be seen in the video.

Important! A mesh made of non-ferrous metal is not suitable for the intake, due to its ability to quickly corrode and deform.

The mesh is attached to stainless steel self-tapping screws equipped with large heads. For fastening strength, it is better to drill small (2 mm) holes along the entire length of the intake pipes. It's simple and easy to do with your own hands. But after wrapping and attaching the mesh, protruding and excess parts of the mesh must be cut off! Wrapping it with wire is wrong, as soon as the intake catches on something strong in the ground, the wire will not help, the mesh will immediately break through, and not only small, but also large particles of dirt and soil will begin to fall into the water.
Extension pipes are cut into pieces of 0.5-1.5 m, depending on the soil filling. For soft formations, a slightly longer pipe length is allowed.
Use only steel couplings! But for the strength and reliability of fastening, it is better to supplement the threaded step by turning it halfway through the coupling. The operation is also simple and easy to do with your own hands, if you have some thread cutting skills. To minimize leakage at the joints, the couplings are placed on linen threads with paint.

Drilling a water well

If all the tools and equipment are prepared correctly, you can proceed to the next stage - driving the well. It’s better to first watch the whole process in the video and use our tips:

Drilling is done with a conventional fishing drill with a modified handle and brace. The handle is changed so that extension legs can be connected to the drill, the brace is changed to a T-shaped handle.

Advice! To make driving take as little time as possible, it is better to do the work together. This will make it easier to remove the drill from the ground and clean it.

As soon as quicksand is discovered, the process must be stopped, a pipe with an intake pipe should be lowered into the well and a mallet should be taken. The beater is an ordinary block of wood, equipped on both sides with metal brackets fixed vertically. The pipe must be hammered with it, it is only important to maintain the uniformity of the blows.

Advice! The presence of water in the layer is checked by pouring liquid into the well; if it does not linger, but leaves immediately, the drilling site has been chosen correctly and the Abyssinian driving well will soon be ready.

After clogging the pipes is completed, you can connect the pump using a hose with clamps and pump out the water.

Clean and tasty water flows out, without film formations, foam and sediment - the result is achieved. But for your own peace of mind, it’s a good idea to do a water analysis in the laboratory, since it’s impossible to do it yourself, to make sure it’s safe. In case of an unpleasant odor or the appearance of a film, it is better to continue driving the pipes to a greater depth, checking from time to time the presence of an aquifer. There’s no point in going deeper than 15 meters; it won’t be an Abyssinian well, but a different structure.

It is difficult to pump out water if the water surface is below 9 meters. If an operation is necessary, a pit is dug into which a pump is lowered or a well is made to install a water pumping station.

It is rare, but it happens that the aquifer is not located. In this case, remove the pipes; if you don’t know how, watch the video, bury a well and drill an Abyssinian well with your own hands in another place on the site.

Preparing a well for use

So, the water is good, the groundwater is saturated, which means you can start constructing a well. To do this, a set of pipes is leveled above the soil level for ease of connection. In this case, you can replace the last elbow that was added with a piece of the required length or simply cut off the excess by cutting a thread on the top. A thread is required to equip the valve and connect the hose part.

Advice! The valve often breaks, so it is better to install it in front of the pump (at the top); in case of failure, the valve will be easier to replace. If the well is intended for use during the warm period, in the winter cold the valve is removed until spring. And if the well begins to operate year-round, then in severe frosts it is also better to dismantle the valve, putting it on only for use of the well, and make sure that no water remains in the pump.

After installing the valve, the well is pumped with a hand pump, and only then, when the system is filled with water, an electric pump or water pumping station is connected. This will ensure a constant column of liquid in the pipe and the Abyssinian well will work more efficiently.

Cleaning the Abyssinian well system

As you can see, it’s not difficult to plug a well with your own hands; all you need is a set of pipes, tools and some patience. During operation, the intake will become clogged with particles, which means you will have to clean or completely replace the intake mesh or the entire collector. But there are also cases when the water disappears completely. The reasons can be different, from natural phenomena to man-made. Solution: drill deeper into the ground and build not an Abyssinian well, but a well with a casing pipe.

In conclusion and to help

New technologies for plugging “disposable” wells with your own hands are interesting. Such wells are made for a short time, for example, to provide water in the summer until the Abyssinian well is ready. For the arrangement, a metal-plastic pipe is used, hammered with a composite rod. The intake is no different from a regular one, only it is equipped with a cone-shaped recess inside so that the driving rod rests in this place. The metal-plastic elbow is connected to the intake via a coupling and the entire structure is lowered into the drilled well. As soon as the rod is inserted into the pipe, it is rested against the recess of the intake, an anvil is screwed onto the top of the rod and the intake is hammered to the required depth. Having reached aquiferous soil, remove the rod, connect the pipe to the pump and you can pump the well to obtain clean water.

The reliability and durability of any fence largely depends on how correctly the structure’s supports were positioned and secured. Installing fence posts requires thorough preparation of the well or hole and careful alignment of the position of the supports during the assembly of the supporting frame. It is even more difficult to install fence posts on clay or drive supports into rocky soil filled with rock fragments, although such soil would be ideal for a foundation.

Conditions for installing fence posts

In a fence structure, the posts are the main strength element that holds the entire mass of the structure in a vertical position. Depending on the material used to make the frame and fence, the load on one post can range from 40 to 120 kg. If we add the high windage of the fence, it becomes clear that the requirements for the post must be quite stringent:

Ensuring maximum bending strength of the columnar support. To select the correct section, you need to know the maximum wind speed in a given area. For example, with a not very strong wind of 15 m/s, a load of 130-140 kg falls on a solid vertical fence sheet, so the support must be quite massive, and it must be driven to a considerable depth;
For heaving soils, the pillars are driven or buried below the freezing point of the soil. If the water level is significant, you can limit yourself to a hole or well to a depth of 1/3 of the height of the post for picket fences and slatted fences, and ½ for fences with a solid web;
For soft, waterlogged soils around the point where the support is buried in the soil, experts recommend making a transition section in the form of a blind area, laying a mini-foundation of brick or casting it from concrete.

For your information! The use of a concrete collar makes it possible to increase the rigidity of fastening the post in the ground by an order of magnitude, even if it is driven to a depth less than the recommended value.

In addition to installation speed and strength, the second, but no less important criterion for high-quality installation of poles is to ensure the most accurate positioning of the supports in height, along the contour line and deviation from the vertical position.

The easiest way is to use a building level, a plumb line and a marking cord. This set allows you to simultaneously hammer the post and periodically control the height and deviation from the vertical. Experts recommend plugging the pipe and checking the level every 100-150 mm of support settlement.

If the pole or support is not intended to be driven in, but dug in, you can use more complex devices, for example, such as in the photo.

One of the homemade devices that helps to score and control the deviation is shown in the video:

For straight sections of long fences, it is recommended to use a geoleveler, which provides high positioning accuracy. When driving in supports over a length of more than 15 m, cords give an error of 50-70 mm, which, for example, is unacceptable for laying sheets of corrugated sheets, since the error is visible to the naked eye.

Pole installation methods

Today there is no universal technology that allows you to drive any type of support into weak or strong soil. The second factor is cost; you can, of course, install supports or drive piles using construction methods, but in this case their installation will be more expensive than the entire fence. Therefore, when choosing a method for installing supports, you have to look for a reasonable balance between price and strength, based on the material, the size of the supporting elements and the amount of work.

Fence supports are installed in the ground in three ways:

Steel profiles or pipes are hammered or screwed into the ground under great mechanical force;
They dig into a pre-drilled hole or pit with the base reinforced with gravel, rubble stone or concreting;
In a combined way, using motorized drilling and support insertion methods.

For your information! The latter method is most widespread for installing a large number of steel tubular poles of increased diameter. The combined method eliminates the need for concreting, which significantly increases the speed of fence installation.

How to drive fence posts using a combined method

For small cross-section tubular posts, the easiest way is to drive the steel profile into the ground using a pad or sledgehammer. This is the most productive and crude way to install supports. The support is hammered in by a team of at least two or three people. One worker fixes the support at a point, the second and third in turn upset the profile post by hitting the top edge with a sledgehammer. A free or resting team member periodically checks the deviation of the pillar using a building level.

The combined process of installing pillars is carried out in several stages. After marking and clearing the installation site of turf, before hammering in the support, a hole of smaller diameter is drilled at the point, to a depth of 2/3 of the calculated depth of the column, but not less than 30-40 cm.

This method of preparation helps to hammer the pipe even in the most difficult soil. In addition, the reduced soil resistance to a minimum facilitates the initial alignment of the pipe along the vertical deviation.

The higher the pillars have to be placed, the more difficult it is to hammer in the support posts with a sledgehammer. A standard two-meter fence will require a pipe up to three meters long. Even taking into account the preliminary hole, the height is quite large, and it becomes inconvenient to hammer into the end part of the support with blows.

It is much easier to work with headstock hammers, with which you can hammer a post of any height, from one to five meters. The system consists of two parts. The first, in the form of a massive steel clamp, is rigidly attached to a tubular support, the second, made in the form of a heavy steel headstock, is simply put on the pipe. As the pipe sinks under the blows of the headstock against the clamp, the latter has to be rearranged and hammered until it settles completely.

The most difficult and time-consuming task is to hammer in a tubular profile with a square cross-section. First of all, due to the uneven deflection of the pillar and deviation from the vertical as it sinks into the ground. If you need to hammer in a large number of squares, in some cases it makes sense to use jigs or guides.

Small and thin pipes can be hammered using an electric jackhammer. At the same time, the speed and quality of immersion in the soil increases by an order of magnitude.

How to dig fence posts

The process of installing a pole using digging requires much more effort and time. But, unlike “hammered” supports, dug-in posts can be aligned almost perfectly, which, in turn, provides a very smooth surface of the fence.

The standard digging method involves drilling a well with a diameter of at least 20-25 cm. The depth of the well is chosen below the level of soil heaving. A gravel cushion is poured onto the bottom of the well, and the walls are lined with a layer of roofing felt. A pole made of metal or wooden beams is installed in the hole and fixed with supports, aligned to the building level.

The pillar can be secured by pouring concrete, rubble stone or compacted gravel. Fixation by backfilling crushed stone can be combined with pouring concrete. In this case, the crushed stone is moistened with concrete mortar and carefully compacted in layers. At the well head, concrete is poured with a layer 20-25 cm thick.

To increase the stability of the support against heaving forces, a steel plate or cross made from angle sections is welded to the end of the steel pipe.

Conclusion

The fastest way to drive posts under a future fence is to use ready-made screw piles or geoscrews. The disadvantages of this method include the high cost of the piles themselves; each support will cost at least 1000 rubles. Since the load on the pipe from the weight of the fence is an order of magnitude less than the calculated value, in many cases such supports are made independently by welding two cutting knives to the end of the pipe. Installing such a fence post will take a maximum of two hours.