Ground Works

Spring Well

There are two wells nearby. One is accessible; the other one marked on the map is currently hiden under vegetation. It wouldn’t take too much work to uncover it; actually finding it might be more of a chore. It was however in regular use to provide water to my late parents’ herd of cattle in the 1980s and afterwards; and is an excellent well, with good water.

The locations of both wells are marked on this map.

Ideally, we would want both wells piped into the supply; but it probably makes more sense to make a start with the well above the old house, marked with an arrow on the map. That already-accessible well, marked with an orange arrow on the map, is already lined and probably should be disturbed as little as possible (it just needs a new, secure concrete lid fitted. The plumber will be fitting a filter inside the house; but it may need an additional, initial filter at the well? We want all the water to be drinkable, out of any tap.

NB: When doing the inlet pipes from the wells, leave a connection so that the second well can be added in easily later, so that we don’t have to split open existing pipes etc.

Bio-tank

The bio-tank location is down the hill to the right, and should be one which produces minimal waste water. We’ve looked initally at tanks from the likes of:

We look forward to your recommendations about which tank to use.  

The layout map of the site (house and old sheds) is here; and the details map of the site, showing the location of the well and the approximate location of the bio-tank, is here.

NB: The bio-tank needs to be kept inside the red line, to keep the bank happy.

Drains

Exterior drains, gratings, manholes, and pipes should be over-sized / industrial spec, with over-sized, heavy-duty metal grills and covers (no plastic). The small, flimsy gratings and pipes used in lots of domestic builds are no use, and there will be a fair bit of rain water coming off the mountain anyway; needs to cope with the odd flood lol.

Paving Stones / Stones

You will need to put durable, charcoal colour, non-slip (slightly rough finish) paving stones on the upstairs patio and on the small bridge area up to the main door. There will be LED ground lights on the latter area, speak to the electrician.

Basic ground works and stoning will be done by the owner, under your supervision.