How to Drill a Well: 10 Steps (with Pictures)

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Finish the well. Once the well is drilled, casing is inserted to prevent the water from wearing away and being contaminated by the sides of the well. This casing is usually narrower in diameter than the well hole itself. The most common type for domestic installations is 6 inches (15 cm) in size. They are frequently made out of steel or Schedule 40 PVC. They can be sealed in place with a grouting material, commonly either clay or concrete. To prevent ground water contamination, a bag to filter out sand and gravel is inserted in the casing, then the well is capped with a sanitary seal. Unless it is an Artesian Well and the water is already under pressure, a pump is attached to bring the water to the surface.

• Sometimes for the steel casing, a perforator tool is inserted and slowly pulled up to determine the the depth of the water. Using the drill's compressed air at low volume, it drives a wedge out into the casing multiple times, cutting an opening for water to flow into the casing.
• In sandy soils, a solid piece of casing 5–10 feet (1.5–3.0 m) in length may be used. These have a steel laser-cut slotted screen in a 10 feet (3.0 m) section welded to the top of the casing or a solid casing welded to top of a slotted screen. For extremely sandy soils, a 4 inch PVC pipe and screen is inserted inside the steel casing. Small 'pea' gravel is slowly poured outside of PVC liner casing but inside of the steel casing. This improves the filtration of sand.

Once the well is drilled, casing is inserted to prevent the water from wearing away and being contaminated by the sides of the well. This casing is usually narrower in diameter than the well hole itself. The most common type for domestic installations is 6 inches (15 cm) in size. They are frequently made out of steel or Schedule 40 PVC. They can be sealed in place with a grouting material, commonly either clay or concrete. To prevent ground water contamination, a bag to filter out sand and gravel is inserted in the casing, then the well is capped with a sanitary seal. Unless it is an Artesian Well and the water is already under pressure, a pump is attached to bring the water to the surface.