Where's the well? (Waterville, Wells, Oakland: how much, house, inspector)

[foglover]

I am bidding on a property in Moderator cut: town name deleted and am frustrated in my effort to find the location of the well. The current owners have lived in the house since 1978 and the owner prior to that is still in the area; however none of them can remember where the well is. This well business is totally new to me and I find the situation preposterous. The property is almost three acres, some of which remains wooded. Recently the owners had someone dig up an area in the front of the house, but no well was discovered. I have spoken to numerous local folks and various gov't entities. The only information I have is that the well pump is in the basement and is a jet type. Weeks Wells in Oakland told me that there are only two mechanisms inside this well type: the jet, and the foot valve.

One of my concerns is that the well might fail at the jet. If that were the case, ay yi yi. But Mark Weeks said that it is not unusual for these relatively simple mechanisms to last for a very long time. I am not totally reassured by this.

I called a surveyor in Waterville and asked if one could find the well with a shoenstadt locator. He dissuaded me from that notion.

I would welcome any comments and suggestions about this predicament. I really want that house, but this well business makes me extremely anxious.

Thanks for reading.

[7th generation]

Originally Posted by foglover

I called a surveyor in Waterville and asked if one could find the well with a shoenstadt locator. He dissuaded me from that notion.



Thanks for reading.

....and what was his reason?
Seems like the logical solution to me.

[foglover]

Originally Posted by 7th generation

....and what was his reason?
Seems like the logical solution to me.

He explained that the device reacts to every bit of metal so that in the search for an iron property pin for instance, one might pull up numerous screws, bits of wire, etc. This might not be practical when covering a large area. That is what I got out of the conversation.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Possibilities:

1. The well may not be on the property. It could be a shared well with a neighbor. These situations do exist in Maine.

2. Turn the pump off. Disconnect the larger plastic pipe in the cellar. Attach a big magnet like a cow magnet and feed it out until you encounter resistance. Call your local surveyor or plumber. That magnet will scream on a metal detector. Dig there. You may have only found an elbow in the pipe, but most of these elbows are at the top of the well. (You local agricultural supply store will know what a cow magnet is.)

[foglover]

@ Northern Maine Land Man: sounds reasonable. Wonder how much that will run me. I am back in NYS right now and trying to get this settled from here. Thanks for your suggestion. But what does 'feed it out' mean?

[PAhippo]

Is it possible there isn't a well but a spring?

Just thinking about possibilities in PA and applying that to Maine.

[foglover]

Originally Posted by PAhippo

Is it possible there isn't a well but a spring?

Just thinking about possibilities in PA and applying that to Maine.

I have no idea. But the seller and previous owners talk in terms of wells.

[wordsmith680]

Jet pumps are used for a shallow well. Is this a dug well (point driven) in the basement?

[foglover]

Originally Posted by wordsmith680

Jet pumps are used for a shallow well. Is this a dug well (point driven) in the basement?

I was told today that it is a 'pounded' well and it is my understanding that it is in the (finished) basement. I spoke to the son of the man who built the house in the early 70's. This son did recently excavate a section of yard and says that he couldn't go deep enough with his machine. His father lives only two lots away, but cannot recall the 'exact' location.

I was also told this morning that the current code requires that the well head be visible above ground 18 inches. I asked if the older wells are grandfathered in and was told that a good building inspector will note it as a violation. The seller's view is that they already discounted the asking price by 10k once they came
up empty on their search. Nevertheless, I don't see why I should have to assume the cost of locating the dang thing.

If the well should fail when the ground is frozen, I will be in a hell of a mess.

[wordsmith680]

"it is in the (finished) basement." Answers the question. Its most likely straight down from the first elbow / tee near the pump which is horizontally mounted.