The Plumbing System: Wells

One of the major components in any home, the plumbing system is quite often and rightfully one of the major areas that any home inspector will look into. It doesn’t matter where you are, even a home inspection in Yonkers will necessitate that several elements, including the water source, the drainage system and the venting be given careful consideration.

The most common type of water source comes through the municipalities and the water mains that are found under the streets. Some of the older urban areas still rely on well water however and any professional inspection will be able to differentiate between the different sources.

Of course rural homes usually have wells and generally there are two types of these that can be found—deep and shallow. If a well is less than twenty-five feet deep it falls under the shallow category and the other variety can be up to several hundred feet deep in some areas. Although deeper wells are less likely to be contaminated, most home inspectors will recommend that water samples should be taken and analyzed by a reputable laboratory.

There are several different kinds of pumps that can be used alongside wells to move the water up and toward the home. The older style reciprocating pumps and piston pumps are still in use in many places, but they are being replaced by the more modern jet and submersible pumps. The submersible variety is much better suited to deep wells and a surface pump that can be located near the top of the well in a pump house are common. Of course there are different concerns with the differing varieties of pumps and one is that precautions must be taken to make sure that all outdoor pumps don’t freeze.

The storage pressure tank works with the pump and these have been known to vary in size from the very small which can only be a few gallons to others that are several hundred gallons. These tanks are designed to not only store water but also to act as a means of providing steady water pressure. A portion of this tank should be filled with air as well since water is generally relatively incompressible. The system works this way: when there is a demand for water pressure inside the home, that water is forced out from the tank using the accumulated pressure.

If the house uses a municipal water system, the pipe feeding the water into the house is often found in the home itself, usually in the basement. You should also be able to find a main water shut off valve near that entry point.

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