need help with septic instalation and well installment (Klamath Falls, Bonanza: sale, rental)

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I put a well on a 2 acre parcel in WA state many years ago. One thing I'd suggest, is to just figure out where you want the well shed and go ahead and drill there. In other words, don't bother with a water witch. I got talked into using the local old cowboy water witch and the well driller told me I'd have found water anywhere on my parcel LOL. It was a lot of fun, but the well shed ended up in a weird spot on my property. That's just in case you go with a well instead of a cistern.

By the way, do you have to worry about cisterns freezing?

As far as finding out where to hire a well driller, if your small town has a post office with a chatty postman/woman, they're a wealth of information. Also, you could call the building inspector and ask him/her.

As soon as you find a well-driller you want, get on their waiting list asap. They are booked way ahead.

The way I organized things on my parcel, is I first did the driveway - just the large gravel layer and backhoe work. Then, I put my old Airstream trailer on the parcel, and got the neighbor to dig a hole behind the trailer with his Bobcat, and I used it for my septic, and threw lime in it once in a while. Then, I put in an electric pole and box. Then, the well and pump and small shed over it. Then, the septic system, which was perfect timing because the neighbors ratted me out for the hole behind the trailer LOL. The inspector was nice, though, and gave me a deadline to get the septic done, which I was about to do anyway.

I hooked everything up to the trailer, with plans to build a small house. Ended up moving back to CA, and my septic installer wanted the place and bought it at full price :-)

Almost all of the above let me make payments. Of course, I was much younger and a single female, so maybe that was why.

A trick to cool down a trailer I learned: Put a sprinkler on top of it, and slowly run water from the well over it. The water comes out of the well really cold. Worked great to keep my trailer cool. People teased me that I was trying to make it grow.

You've got a lot of work ahead of you. But, it can be a lot of fun, too, seeing it all come together. Enjoy your place!

[Larry Caldwell]

Yes, it gets cold around Bonanza, and an unprotected cistern would definitely freeze solid, so the OP would have to build an insulated, heated building to hold it. The suggestion to catch water off the roof has limits to, since it assumes it's going to rain. That's pretty dry country, and there's no rain sometimes for months. Trucked in water is pretty expensive, so that lets out anything but house use, which negates a lot of the value of having 3 acres. A cow or a horse will drink 30 gallons a day, so keeping livestock would be expensive even before you start to feed it. A well is definitely the way to go. If I poked a dry hole I would just sell the property for what it would bring and try again somewhere else.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I hauled water until the well driller could come. Bought a cheap trailer that was one of those converted sawed off pickup beds, and had a hitch put on my old Toyota Corona (before Corollas). Pretty much ended up wrecking that poor old car LOL. But, a friend who had a campground let me fill it up for free until the well was drilled. Then, I used gravity feed to the Airstream. I had to keep my horse boarded at a friend's until I got the well and a fence in.

Man, that was a lot of work!

This is the type of tank I used for water:

Re-Bottled IBC Totes Caged

They're actually not too expensive.

[peaceloveandjulie]

The cistern needs to be buried to protect from freezing. There are various techniques one can use to protect pipes, as well as different cistern systems one can set up. I've gotten the actual numbers for water delivery and, frankly, it's not much more expensive than what I'm currently paying my municipality monthly for water/sewer. Whether it's a long-term solution or not is up to the individual or family. But the OP wants to build in stages and a cistern system as part of the building plan will get him the permit and give him time to drill a well if that's what he eventually wants to do.

Regarding doing a perc test BEFORE purchasing a piece of land -- are landowners going to allow one to dig up the property before sale? I'm not asserting it is or it isn't but I know from experience (specifically, speaking with the county) that land with previously dug test pits and results aren't simply accepted. I was looking at previously owned land that had the test pits dug but the testing wasn't completed. The county said that the walls and bottom of the pits had to be freshened or new test pits dug for the testing to be done if I decided to buy that property. I passed on that property for other reasons. For the property I did buy, I have recourse in writing if the land fails to perc.

Look, I'm just trying to be helpful to someone who simply asked for some referrals and a bit of info. I bought land in the area and have been working with this particular county. I don't understand why some want to pile negativity on the OP's project. We really know very few details. Sure, building on raw land has challenges but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

[peaceloveandjulie]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I hauled water until the well driller could come. Bought a cheap trailer that was one of those converted sawed off pickup beds, and had a hitch put on my old Toyota Corona (before Corollas). Pretty much ended up wrecking that poor old car LOL. But, a friend who had a campground let me fill it up for free until the well was drilled. Then, I used gravity feed to the Airstream. I had to keep my horse boarded at a friend's until I got the well and a fence in.

Man, that was a lot of work!

This is the type of tank I used for water:

Re-Bottled IBC Totes Caged

They're actually not too expensive.

I'm going to have a BIG tank and Pex pipe buried with the fittings toward the top so there will be a slight slope and it can gravity feed a pillow tank in the crawlspace of my cabin. A pump will take the water up to my sinks/shower.

I'm actually excavating down to the bedrock and using that as the footing for my cabin foundation. That will give me a seriously solid foundation plus a crawlspace root cellar.

[StealthRabbit]

You don't need or want a well shed (pump house) at your well site. Use a freeze proof 'pit-less' adapter at the well head. Place your pump house (pressure tank, pump control, filter system, breaker box) where it is best for you (I usually use basement of house (freeze-proof / handy))

Well placing...
1) best for site plan
2) where there is water
3) acessible by drilling rig (heavy. 40,000#) and later... pump sevice trucks 10,000#
4) in area that will not be risky for well (Flooding, setbacks, neighbors, chemicals, driving)
5) able to run power and water
6) BE sure to have them SEAL your well head (casing AND entry point). Expandable bentonite, and proper grade
7) Protect your investment (lightning arrestor, out of pasture (feed lot) / draws, away from roads...)

You can easily get annual needs from rainwater collection. I get 3x my needs from small TX roofs.
1) study, get info from extension service and library
2) get some videos
3) IF it will work for you, build a BIG underground tank (20,000 gal)
A) dig a hole, B) add a pond liner, C) stack milk crates, D) add pump system. E) wrap it up like a Christmas gift F) backfill

There are several companies that make specific supplies to do this. (Aqua Block IIRC). They are very spendy. Renting a dozer / trackhoe is cheap fun, you will need one for other stuff anyway. Very nice for setting trusses and burning brush. I bought one for under $10k.

Many options, pick your poison.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by peaceloveandjulie

I'm going to have a BIG tank and Pex pipe buried with the fittings toward the top so there will be a slight slope and it can gravity feed a pillow tank in the crawlspace of my cabin. A pump will take the water up to my sinks/shower.

I'm actually excavating down to the bedrock and using that as the footing for my cabin foundation. That will give me a seriously solid foundation plus a crawlspace root cellar.

I had a friend in WA who built up against a hill dug into solid rock. They had a root cellar that was accessible like a pantry. Really keeps the temperature steady in the house, too.

[Hawk J]

Here is a storage container & a trailer someone might be able to use, near Roseburg.

https://roseburg.craigslist.org/grd/5486686173.html

https://roseburg.craigslist.org/grd/5517978778.html

[peaceloveandjulie]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I had a friend in WA who built up against a hill dug into solid rock. They had a root cellar that was accessible like a pantry. Really keeps the temperature steady in the house, too.

Yep! You can see rock as a problem or you can use it. Bedrock foundations are SOLID. You do have to consider when you're excavating down several feet that there could be some water/moisture flow. But there are fairly simply ways of naturally accommodating that during the construction so that your crawl space stays dry and nature still does its thing.

We haven't excavated yet so I'm not sure at what level we'll hit bedrock. I've read soil/water/geological analyses for the area, though, and the average seems to be about 40 inches so I'm hoping that's about where we'll hit and not sooner. I'd like the crawl space to be about 4 ft. high. Frost line is 2 feet so we can start the foundation anywhere below that.

I'd like to use ICFs for the stem walls because you can cut the foam precisely to contour to the rock for a tight fit with the adhesives, rebar and concrete fill. We'll see. ICFs are expensive but they also insulate and save a lot in labor as opposed to block. They're ideal for bedrock foundations.

[peaceloveandjulie]

Originally Posted by Hawk J

Here is a storage container & a trailer someone might be able to use, near Roseburg.

https://roseburg.craigslist.org/grd/5486686173.html

https://roseburg.craigslist.org/grd/5517978778.html

Ha! I like that little trailer!!! If I were there, I'd go take a look at it! I wonder if they rigged a way for the taillights to still work on it, lol? That would be magic.