Private Well and Well Equipment Inspections
Well Inspections
As we conduct home inspections around the Knoxville, TN, area, many houses still do not have public water. About 15% of homes across the US are estimated to use a private well as their water source. If you live in a home or are buying a house that uses a private well as its water source, there are two critical inspections you should have done to ensure you and your family’s safety. The first of these inspections is you should have the well water quality tested. If you have not read about the importance of well water testing, you can click this link to read more about this. The second critical inspection you should have completed is testing of the well and the well equipment. Bent Nail Home Inspection Services can handle this inspection for you. Bent Nail has been trained to conduct the inspection of your well and well equipment by a leading well and well equipment warranty company, WelGard. The assessment is thorough enough that WelGard offers a free 6-month warranty with a successful inspection of the well. If we find issues, all issues are reported back to the customer, so they will know what needs to be corrected.
How Is The Well Inspection Conducted
To inspect the well, Bent Nail will conduct a yield and flow test to help ensure the well will support a family under normal usage loads. To do this test, we run approximately 300 gallons of water and measure the flow rates at different time points during the testing. Why do we run at least 300 gallons of water during the test? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the average family uses more than 300 of water a day. During this testing, we do not open the well call, because we do not want to risk contaminating the well with any foreign material.
How Do We Test The Well Equipment
I am sure your question now is, if you do not open the well cap, how do you inspect the well pump and other equipment to ensure it is working correctly. To inspect the well equipment, we run diagnostics and measure the cycle times during the time we are running the 300 gallons of water from the well. By testing things like the well pump cycle time and the amperage draw of the pump, we can get a very good idea of the condition of the well’s pump and the pressure tank without needing to open the well and pull the pump.
How Much Does A Well Inspection Cost
While inspector rates vary, expect to pay on average anywhere from $300 to $500. You should also know that since most well inspections take place in more rural areas, your inspector may also charge a travel fee. At Bent Nail our well inspections start at $350.
Remember if you are buying a home in Knoxville, Sevierville, Loudon, Maryville or any other East Tennessee community, check to make sure if the house is on a private well or not. If the house has a private well, it is not a problem. Just call Bent Nail Home Inspections and we can handle the inspection of the water quality and the well equipment.