Realizing My Limitations On The Pond

I hired a professional to do what I couldn't: find water below the ground to fill our backyard DIY pond. Professional well drillers are here to get it done for us.

[@zzzzzzmc]

As a guy paid to sit in front of a computer and manipulate symbols, gotta say those drillers do an honest days work. Thanks for the perspective.

[@MarkWilliams-vp7xw]

Kudos to the well drillers for bieng professional and letting you ask questions. Some contractors aren’t so nice I know from experience cause I am one 😂

[@allenmartin7193]

Well part of the problem is that they get in the way and could possibly get hurt. So I can see why they aren’t wanted standing around asking questions and distracting others

[@sidsixseven]

They didn’t want to be on a video with their faces blurred and him telling the camera (they wouldn’t let me ask questions…) 😂

[@mickthefixer2010]

Those guys have a lot more patience than I'd have, fair dues to them 🙏👍

[@SaultPaintballers]

Asking this many questions is how mistakes happen.. sometimes you have to let professionals work. I don't mind it myself but I'm more likely to make a mistake.

[@toms4020]

This is the customer contractors cant stand. Let them do there job.

[@sirflimflam]

I don't know how I got sucked into watching this pond project but I'm super invested and excited to see the pond full

[@zTribalstylerz]

Ditto!

[@commenter8360]

I’ve mentioned things from this KZbin series multiple times in the just few weeks.

[@9arsons]

same here! YT brings you some interesting videos you never would have searched up yourself.

[@fridofridolin]

Yeah me too, this isn't something I usually watch, but this was too good to miss! Good job there Neil :)

[@mattbloom1004]

Lol same here

[@opietaylor9945]

Two things I learned from this video. 1. Keeping the grass clean while digging a well is next to impossible. 2. It doesn’t matter how much confidence you have in your ability to complete a project. Sometimes you need the professionals, and that’s okay. Great stuff as always.

[@snowpaw360]

Well I get my off-grid property, digging the well will be top of my list now thats for sure.

[@csolo3813]

We dig our well at 280ft(85m) , that was a mess😂 they filled up a hole about 7×7×7 ft of mud , it take around 2 years to dry 😂

[@TherealHughman]

Grass is really easy to clean off though if you’re just dealing with clay/soil/sand. We top dress the grass at the golf course I work for almost monthly during the growing season, and that requires basically spreading large amounts of sand directly over the grass to replace lost sediment

[@brucemitchell5637]

The drillers were very professional and equipped with the latest in drilling technology. Always nice to see true professionals do what they do best! I really liked the drawi gs that you diid , it really helps to explain the whole process!

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks! The drillers were great and good sports to put up with me hovering around the entire time!

[@DC-ce6nt]

Sir, I absolutely applaud your willingness to say, “I couldn’t have done it myself.” To be humble enough to recognize your own limitations (and to be willing to share such) provides a valuable learning experience for us all. Well done, and thanks for sharing…. I’ve been following from early on… nice job!!!

[@UnjustifiedRecs]

Doesnt take much to realise you aint digging a well without all this equipment, you're delusional if so 😂

[@9arsons]

at 43 years of age, it's amazing that it never gets old to watch machines work, like when we were kids and amazed by big machines. Thanks for sharing this journey!

[@HabitualButtonPusher]

This gives me a whole new appreciation for our ancestors that dug, built, stone lined and maintained hand dug wells dotted across the US. We have a long lineage of finding and collecting water. I mean imagine how sophisticated they were to build aqueducts and clay water/sewage pipes for cities well over two thousand years ago. I concur with the well crew, might be chilly for a Thanksgiving Beach Party haha

[@mondavou9408]

I was thinking the same thing. Really impressive.

[@missingremote4388]

​@@mondavou9408I wonder how the cavemen got water. Particularly during a long winter. must have moved to Mexico

[@shable1436]

Dowsing rods or pendulum dowsing on a map.

[@craigc.7033]

Wow, an awesome, informative video. Incredibly Interesting!!

[@legoalert33]

That is the cleanest well install I've seen, normally it looks like someone hooned a monster truck through a flash flood in the grass and a gravel truck overturned

[@MehrdadGivehchi]

Not sure as why I am so glued to see the progression of this project… thanks for sharing

[@resiliencyisrough]

Neil, I truly appreciate how you take the time to illustrate the process. As a person that has a never ending amount of curiosity, I am always excited to understand and learn how things work. You are a skilled teacher and I appreciate you!

[@zacharyruss1406]

Some pretty cool guys to let you hang out with them all day. Thanks for the info on the process can’t wait to see if it holds water

[@digdrivediy]

They were great 👍🏻

[@duanepaquette9322]

Great video. Brings back old memories of when we got a new well put in about 20 years ago.

[@dealsfromvirginia1773]

I've never seen young guys drilling a well. Usually it's some 80 year old. Nice to know the trade continues.

[@fennynough6962]

Wow! Amazing how this old tech, has advanced to this high level of sofistication! Swimming by Thankgiving, (with a Solar Pool Heating System). Florida life.🏖🏝

[@robertmccall8666]

I've seen a dozen well drillers and those guys have it figured out the best ... That's pretty slick set up

[@AdventuresofAwesomeJoe]

So glad to have gotten on update. Now I know how they drill for wells.

[@jeffpicken5057]

My son, and I traveled to Guatemala with a group from our church several years ago to help put in a well out in the middle of nowhere in a small village. It was interesting to watch this video and see how things were similar and different.

[@timtaulu9914]

👍 to the drillers they were professional and informative. Thanks for the video. Ice skating this winter😃

[@sassafrasvalley1939]

Neil, I wish I could grow grass like that. Due to our annual drought seasons… the only lush green yards are irrigated. In late summer, our golf courses are brown except for fairways and greens…. Crops? Same story. We get a good corn harvest one year out of five! Our well pump went out 7 years ago. Until then, I had no idea how deep it was. What I found out surprised me. The old pump was set at 160’. It was into the water table 10’. However, there were almost 40 more feet of water beneath it. The pump guy told me that the mineral stains on the old pipe showed that the water table rose and fell about five feet. He said that it was unlikely that it had changed since the well was drilled… but, because a lot of forest areas around us had been cleared in the last 20 years… he recommended that we drop the pump another 20’. So, we are now pumping from 180’. There is 30’ of water above my pump and 20’ below it. Tests have shown that the water has a ph of 7.8. It tastes great but leaves hard water deposits on everything. We have a softener for everything in the house… almost. We elected to have a separate well water spigot installed in our kitchen sink for drinking and cooking. (We love the sweet taste that lime imparts on it… and a steady dose of calcium ain’t bad for us either!) Our outside faucets are well water, also. We are blessed that our well has no metals or sulfur whatsoever. That is unlike many others in our area. I consider myself fortunate that I live over a huge untainted spring fed lake encased in a bowl of solid limestone. It is one thing I’ll never have to fret about in the foreseeable future! I would be interested in how your water tests. That will tell you a lot about what’s underground!

[@digdrivediy]

It's amazing and sometimes overwhelming to think about what is below us. I had a pretty good idea what to expect based on what we know about other wells in the area. I know that there are artesian springs close and the water table in the well casing now reveals how close I really am! There is water only 3 feet from the ground level! So I was very close to having free flowing water and during some parts of the year I wouldn't be surprised if it would break the ground elevation, but the elevated casing will keep it from spilling out. We've tested our water and we know that it is very hard as well. Lots of iron but fortunately no sulfur. We have a filter system in the house but the pond will likely have iron. I'm hoping that over time we may be able to filter some.of it out as well but much will just settle to the bottom. We are certainly fortunate for our annual rainfall here too. Something about our location or proximity to the great lakes must be a factor I'm guessing. It just never gets old learning about what mother Earth can provide and the interesting aspects of how we utilize her resources.

[@BigJeddak187]

The suspense on your channel is worse than your favorite tv show!😫 😄😄 Been following the pond and yard and I Love it brother. You have an amazing property. A little slice of the paradise that God promised us all! 🙌God bless to you and yours man 🌾🍁🍂☃️. Stay warm and enjoy your holiday season Brother

[@kyleteer9780]

I really enjoyed this video, thanks for putting out wholesome content.

[@gholmes03]

Fascinating and fun to watch. As far as you trying and then having to get a driller, it was fun to watch that too. And it didn’t hurt to try.

[@Cronuz2]

The fact that you guess something, try it out, give up and get pro's, ask questions and do hardwork yourself etc. Just so many things make you a quality guy..! Great videos and greetings and respect from Norway.

[@digdrivediy]

Great to hear from Norway!

[@matthewcox1122]

Nice to see a drill crew willing to be filmed even when things don't go to plan it,s a game of working in parameters not precision

[@Oklahoman-in6ph]

About your netting . You made the right decision leaving it down, sometimes the netting pulls the grass out with the roots. Nice job on the lawn, as well with the Well ! See ya on the next one neighbor.

[@sameaston1301]

This video reminds me of the stuff Mike Rowe does! Awesome job. I learned SO much!!! 😁👍

[@digdrivediy]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@BigFarles]

Tell those drillers thanks for answering all the questions. Great video.

[@digdrivediy]

Oh I did!

[@timfontenot5]

I had a company in Louisiana drill for water on my property. Pump was deep in the well. Water was softer. So glad you will be filling up the pond & getting softer water for your home. Can’t wait for next weeks culmination of the ‘great pond saga’. The original reason I started following you.

[@digdrivediy]

I appreciate it so much. It might be a few weeks as I'm gonna wait for it to be full to share the final results! Fingers crossed 🤞

[@nelleg152]

The new grass looks great. Alot of mess to clean up from the well ❤

[@fitter70]

Your channel is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

[@michaelmcguire3983]

Very interesting Niel! I can’t wait for the next part, anxious to learn! Take care my friend

[@RRRIBEYE]

I had to have our well extended during a drought down in Florida in 2000, we had to add 60' of well pipe and get a custom pump made that was more powerful and we got through the end of the casing and into the water table cavern below - (never run out of water again!) and when all was said 'n done, it was 'only' $20000 to do that fix, but afterwards, I installed golf course grade TORO irrigation and wow! Everyone else in our subdivision had your typical lowes and menards irrigation systems. My golf course work experience when I was younger truly came into play here. Major overkill, but when my irrigation zones fired up, you could clearly see the difference in our watering vs. any of our neighbors! btw...when we were done adding the 60' of well pipe + pump, we were nearly 400' down. That was surprising as I thought down in Florida, the water table would be relatively shallow! Great job on your seeding and looking like everything's coming together nicely for you all! Another btw...the water coming out of the pump is usually around 55 degrees. Of course it will cool fast in your pond to provide a chilling swim experience! Perhaps a Polar Plunge on New Years?!!! 🤣

[@jimreid67]

Neat process. I worked with several well drillers in Texas where we had our water business. 600-700’ wells were the normal. $50k average price. Thx for the video. Looking forward to seeing the pond filled.

[@wayne735]

Those well drillers were awesome. Very interesting

[@markbrown9838]

Great video. Very interesting watching them drill the well and your diagram really helped. Can't wait to see the next video and the pond full.

[@two_in_tasmania]

I'm so eager to see this pond full of water ... I'd watch a live feed just so I can watch the progress of the fill 😁

[@neptune4167]

That well driller is awesome. Very friendly and willing to explain things.

[@markbrown2296]

I love the drone footage of your property!

[@brocktillman1014]

I’m enjoying watching the whole process bud! At least you tried… 👍💪💚

[@floridadawg9857]

First class operation 💪..... Thanks for sharing. can't wait for next video

[@johnmichaelkarma]

Fascinating,thanks for the colored drawing and play by play narrative. Beautiful looking yard.👍

[@Georgiagreen317]

Takes me back to all of those wells I watched being drilled years ago. Back then all they had were cable tools and more or less had to bang their way through whatever they ran into. Often for naught. One of my wells ended up at 210 feet and all I got out of it was 2 GPM. I was the third hole. That house sat on heavy clay and the ironic part was with every rain our basement flooded. Just didn't have the water where we needed it. These guys have it much easier. But I don't know if I would rather clean up the mess on the ground or wash that driller's pants. He really gets into his work. By the way, we're still in the middle of a nasty extreme drought not all that far south of you. Every pond around here is bone dry. As always, well done. See you next week.

[@techienerd5451]

Those drillers deserve huge kudos for being so nice and helpful. I can for sure say that I learned a ton today about drilling and it was awesome! Love the question at the end of the video!

[@thomasherrin6798]

Witching? I assume he means water divining or dowsing!?!

[@zianeshkasparen4358]

There is always more than 1 way to Rome. Good for you. It is always good to try lut new stuff for yourself. You already had an understanding but with ghis experience you now have a bigger scope. 👍🏼

[@OneEyeCustoms]

The best part is how nice that grass came in! Looks perfect and the straw matt is fine where it is at!!!

[@MrRickoscar]

Hey Im gonna watch your video next.

[@digdrivediy]

We progressively pulled up some of the mat behind the barn as you explained and it worked well. We reused it up by the house on a little reseed patch. I think your method for recycling works great we just couldn't keep up with it all. Thanks for all the tips and tricks Doug!

[@OneEyeCustoms]

@@digdrivediy glad it worked for you! It’s just too expensive to not try to get more than one use out of it! Or, maybe I’m just cheap….😁😁

[@TheShowgunofHarlem]

God love ya man. You have the drive and patience I wish I had. Such a beautiful property that you worked so hard for. Something to be proud of.

[@tomm5765]

If you want drive and patience you can practice and learn day by day. Some days it might seem impossible, but humans have an incredible capacity to change if they practice and don't give up. Start small, few minutes practice a week, and build up from there. Don't beat yourself up if you have a bad streak, just find way to keep coming back. All the best!

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks 👍

[@Iko0025]

Ok - we all click for different reasons but I was really impressed watching the pros drill - very interest on not only the drilling but sealing the whole hole. Nice job

[@vincentpisculli5233]

Nicely done. Now I know to never drill for water on my own 😂

[@jimjebbia9027]

Really enjoying your videos. We had to drill 340 feet to hit water on our well in Texas.

[@Tdale85]

Your new lawn looks stunning. Congrats Neil. Nice job.

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks!

[@terryrogers1025]

The well drillers knew their stuff, they have good equipment to work with and a great attitude, that combo gets it done every time, enjoyed watching the video, good content. Thanks for the update sir.

[@papaoctopus]

Great video. Can’t wait to see next one!

[@kylebruhn]

Neil, on my grandma's farm we had sulfur water and the well was old and to sell the property my family had to have a new well drilled. The company you choose had a good way to contain the water used for drilling. We unfortunately did not have a box like this so we had to wait until it dried up then come and clean up . The well drillers did a good job of explaining what was going on.

[@ProfessionalByNoMeans]

Great video, can't wait to see the pond full, you're living my dream.

[@richardmain8059]

Good afternoon, thank you for sharing the crew is impressive with their skill and knowledge. The new grass looks great, nicely done, looking forward to the next episode. 😀👍👍👍

[@tylerwilkins2096]

Such a beautiful property! I still think you should do a tutorial on how to grow a yard like yours. Keep up the great videos I love ‘em !

[@dadzilla13]

Awesome 🎉glad to see you are making headway on the pond and the well. I have a JD 3005 and I'm looking for a Yanmar 3NTV82A if you have any leads on a used engine even a complete engine that needs to be rebuilt. Thanks have a great day.

[@ArmoredXJ]

Huge kudos to those guys! Very professional too. This info was very helpful!

[@gabigibson8407]

Very cool watch, thanks for allowing us to see the process for any possible future situation one of us may have. Much appreciated.

[@MrVeraedward]

Great landscaping job. Looks really nice. Drilling people know what they are doing. Closer to deep dive in your pool. Congratulations!!

[@dougvazquez6571]

My first thought about the location of the well head is the fuel tank location. It would be terrible to have a fuel spill and contaminate the groundwater. Rules for private wells are probably very lax. A public water system well would not be able to be located near anything like a barn or fuel tanks. Otherwise, I enjoyed the video, as I do all of your videos.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Great video! I remember the excitement of the well drilling on my property when I built the house. Our well is 72-feet deep. It's great water and we're so blessed to have good water with a well under 100 feet. Some wells further away from our land water table are 300+ feet deep. Oh - and I was not shocked at all to see Neil picking up the mud, putting it into a bucket, and getting it out of that nice limestone driveway!

[@joe5938]

I've seen several videos on drilling wells and I know the basics of how it's done but this video, along with the sketches, has been the best I've seen for explaining the components and process.

[@ratmanmurray7137]

Can't wait to see it all working. On 'witching'... we call it 'divining'... a friend I used to drive a drilling rig truck for used to walk around with a couple of pieces of wire from coat hangers... he could find underground rivers and junctions of rivers or tributaries deep in the ground... pick the best spot and start drilling. He never missed and it could be 200 yards below ground level! Greetings from Australia

[@brandonpaul5712]

Great video! I have always seen well digging trucks but never knew exactly how the process worked. Now I see where the price for a well comes from. It isn't the materials used, (with the exception of the well pump) it's the equipment and labor to get it done.

[@digdrivediy]

You bet!

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

The pond struggle is real, Neil! We worked on our pond this weekend. Tractor Hard! 🚜💪!

[@tjnholmes]

Not sure I'd want that silt in my pond. Cool video on the well drilling process.

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

Very exciting. I truly hope to see the pond full soon. And the family enjoying it. Amazing.

[@GregoryJohnston77]

Man, that grass grew quickly and turned out NICE!!! Great work man.

[@bunnieswithguns1297]

Thanks for taking us along on another adventure. I would like to take my bunny hat off for your editor and camera person. Never once have your videos failed to entertain with great editing, music and amazing shots.

[@shanesherwood343]

Interesting video I’m putting in my lawn next spring fingers crossed definitely going to look in to those straw matts I would bet they would keep the deer from eating all the grass seed

[@digdrivediy]

I really like the convenience of them and reduction of loose straw blowing around but they are more expensive.

[@Kevin15301]

good video. I have never had an explanation of the whole water well drilling process. You did an excellent job of explaining the process.

[@razvanon]

i can't wait to see it full of water and i'm not even skipping the video to the end

[@jackel440]

Definitely was the wise choice. I do give you props for trying to do it on your own. Curious to see what kind of flow you get out of it.

[@davidepperson2376]

The struggle is real man - nothing worse than having a “well” manicured spot and then having to temporarily destroy it - I feel your pain Great video as always - thanks for sharing!

[@OOOHBILLY]

It’s wild that the “smaller” bit is still massive. Very cool to see the process and hear detailed narration.

[@OOOHBILLY]

Or is it commentary? 🤷‍♂️

[@goptools]

Hi Neil. That was pretty cool! The drilling truck is quite a piece of machinery. Glad you were able to get the pros involved. Even they had a little difficulty at first. This was not something you could have done without the specialized equipment. You will have a better well though that should provide water for many years. Thanks for the video! -mike

[@CHICOB4261]

Neil, really enjoy your channel and the content. Great to see a normal American doing normal stuff on the farm. I spent time growing up on a small farm when I was a kid, best time of my life. Learned to drive a manual (Case 400 & 500) when I was 11 years old.

[@DJ-ui2cn]

Absolutely amazing! All of the work that went on getting this done! And still not finished. Can't wait to see your next video!

[@wm005]

I am so impressed with all that you have gotten done. You really have it looking great...

[@ficastle2114]

Yeah! Wish you all the luck to have filled up that pond. Keen to see it. Somehow a kind of cash back day for all the work you've done so far.

[@matthewsavidge6248]

Just love these videos, re the corner that’s struggling with the grass growth I noticed it looked a little lower so may be too wet and rotting the seed before it can germinate, may be clutching but maybe add some top soil and re seed 🤷🏼‍♂️👍🏻

[@meirionevans5137]

Good old 755 saved the day! 16yrs ago, we drilled a domestic well, similar setup but air cooled. After 40ft, water shot sky high. Woo-hoo, we thought, but no. They kept drilling to 265' The hole they drilled is also a tank in the ground, the pump hangs 20' from the bottom. Works like a charm, although some quarrying activity nearby has raised concerns for us. Good luck, enjoy the swim party!

[@frankbruno7122]

Great job on this.. Neil. Really enjoyed the show! But.. you're gonna dig that grass up again in spring and reseed.. it's just you! And me too! Frank in Colorado

[@jacobjacob4855]

That’s exciting man can wait to see it filled

[@mattbeaumont1838]

Really appreciate the drawing and asking so many questions. I learned a ton.

[@FeralPreacher]

Super interesting watching the well be drilled. Amazing how much difference a few feet made in the second attempt. Looking forward to see the final install of the pump and piping. Thanks for sharing.

[@ischmidt]

That was really cool. I live in a house where the water's from a well but it was already there and working great when I bought it, so I didn't know what that process was like. Kudos to the drillers for letting you film and ask questions, too. Can't wait for the next video!

[@allatv82]

I haven't had time to watch much of your pond series videos yet, so maybe this has been thought of already. But I would pipe whatever gutters from buildings are nearby to help Keep the pond full. The well waters free other than electric but the rain even cheaper. Also maybe some sort of water level switch that will pump water from the well automatically when the pond drops below a certain level.

[@user-df8xj1hx7e]

To clarify, the Grout on the outside isn't about the water coming to the surface, but much more to prevent groundwater contamination from surface water going down. Think how gravity works... the water table rarely is close enough to the surface to push it up (that's a spring). That's why the grouting is so important.

[@arturoarenas476]

Excellent educational video, thank you for sharing your experience.

[@davidepool5884]

The well drillers were much nicer about you asking questions than most I have experience with. There was a mechanic in my area years ago that had I sign at the entrance to his shop that said something like this, $10 an hour, $20 an hour if you watch and $30 an hour if you help. I’m not sure about the exact dollar amount since it was so long ago but he was basically saying leave me alone and let me do my work.

[@danhopley1928]

Great job, fantastic machinery, I’m a well driller in Northern England. Most of my drilling is in rock. Good to see the mud pump in operation. Looking forward to seeing the pump installed and pool filled 👍🏼

[@HazzyME]

Very different method of well drilling that I’ve experienced. Looks less expensive too! That’s a plus

[@kjbathe]

Cleanest well drill ever. Those guys are special.

[@user-nw3xc2tk6y]

Almost there!!! Canny wait for next week!

[@jakemustian99]

Im gonna be perfect honest here. This is my first time seeing content from this channel. The thumbnail looked just like something new in farm-sim. So in the first fewseconds i realized i was very wrong but i stuck around to learn something. Keep it up

[@BissellMapleFarm]

Dang, Neil! 200K! That's awesome. I knew when you drove your lawnmower from Indiana to PA you were dedicated 😂 Ha! Great channel. Next project: The KZbinr Band!

[@digdrivediy]

Haha! Yeah that trip was a good one!