Is it always necessary to create a clay castle around a well? Or can I get by?

Good afternoon. We decided to get our own well at the cottage. They hired craftsmen who dug up the mine and put in concrete rings. When tamping the soil outside around the rings, a controversial situation arose. We know that in order to protect the well from the water and rainfall, a clay castle is made from above. But the masters said that this was not necessary, and suggested replacing it with a soft blind area made of sand, gravel and a waterproofing film. Advise what protects better: clay or the second option?

Clay Castle Disadvantages

If you entrusted the work to a professional team, then it makes sense to listen to their recommendations and that's why. A clay castle is very rarely made perfectly dense. To do this, the clay must have good plasticity, crumple in your hands and be compacted so tightly that there are no voids and air bubbles inside. In most cases, the owners do not wrinkle clay, but simply throw around the first ring and stomp their feet or tamper. With this installation, clay does not create a solid waterproof layer, but simply blocks the penetration of moisture from the soil surface. But through the voids under the castle, the tip of the water easily penetrates, which seeps through the ground, and not on the surface of the earth, and thus enters the mine itself.

If the sealing of the seams of the rings is well done and all the walls are missed, then the overhead is unlikely to spoil your water. The problem is different: the moisture accumulated under the clay castle in the winter will turn into ice. And if your area is characterized by heaving soils, then the earth will begin to increase in volume and forcefully press on the first well ring. As a result, the seams may break and a horizontal displacement of the upper part of the shaft may occur. So, all the garbage brought in with sediments and groundwater will start to get inside. Such consequences usually have clay locks, not covered with waterproof material (concrete, tiles), but simply covered with earth.

Apparently, the masters know these nuances and decided to replace the old grandfather way of waterproofing with a more modern one. Perhaps the clay quality is not very good for you, and the soil freezes strongly in winter. In addition, a clay castle is recommended to be made a year or two after digging the mine, so that the soil near the walls is compacted and settled in a natural way. And before that, the top is covered with some kind of temporary waterproofing. Your team does not want to wait so much time, so it offers a very reasonable solution - to lay a soft blind area.

Features waterproofing soft blind area

We will understand, in the features of this option of waterproofing. A soft blind area is created around the second from above the ring, because the first is located on the surface. The width of the structure is 1.2-1.3 meters. The main materials are sand and a waterproofing dense film. The most durable version of the film is the one used to create ponds.Geotextiles and decorative coatings such as tiles, stone, gravel or grass can be added to them. In your case, the masters were going to lay crushed stone as a decorative top layer.

Styling technology

The whole structure resembles a layer cake, where the film is laid out first, then sand, on top - geotextile (if weed growth needs to be blocked) and decorative material.

Sequence:

1. The entire fertile layer of the earth is removed (to the depth level of the second ring).
2. The film is laid out so that one of its edges covers the soil near the wall (more than a meter), and the second winds up on the ring itself, closing the seam between the second and first rings.
3. The film must be pressed to the well so that it does not slip. To do this, cut a metal tape and wrap it with the wall of the first ring, crushing the film. Fix directly to concrete with screws.
4. You can simplify the task: fix it with tape, wrapping it several times around the ring. True, in the second case it is necessary to hide the pasting place under the decorative material.
5. A sand cushion is poured over the film with a slope from the well and a decorative coating is laid out.

With this method, no swelling of the soil will not break the seam, because it is covered with a dense, freely adhering film that can adapt to the movement of the soil.