Insulating the Well House & Preparing ICF Basement for Waterproofing

[@mr.rodriguez3908]

Just a thought... someday your grandchildren will be able to watch all the videos of how their grandparents worked so hard to make their dreams come true. You guys are awesome. Good job on the progress!👍

[@RRinTN]

A single incandescent light bulb would be enough to heat that pump house. You could set it to come on at a given temp. You should have left the floor exposed so you could draw heat from the ground... That may have been enough to keep it from freezing. Enjoy the videos. Looking forward to seeing everything finished.

[@cheekysaver]

A electric (once you have it hooked up) inkbird thermostat will help. You plug it into electric... then plug in a heater to it. The really cool part... they are not expensive and they will use wifi to send you a alert to your phone if the temp falls below your setting. That gives you the additional back up of a alert before a major water problem will happen.

[@justme-uw6bz]

Wow you guys have an awesome view.

[@sherrydesmarais7032]

May I suggest adding wiring for a 60 watt bare bulb. It’ll provide light and keep the are warm.

[@runningrabbit07]

A lot of the small things you're including are left out by other video building series. Thanks for sharing!

[@JimfromIndy]

Harbor Freight sells a 100w solar panel kit. Add an old car battery, a temperature switch and a 100w light bulb, I think you're fully automated....

[@tomlawler3661]

I agree that a old style 100W bulb on a thermocube works fine for an insulated pump house. I built a bigger closet in an unheated barn in Massachusetts. It worked fine for 3 winters.

[@andrewslagle1974]

You are doing a great job . foundation looks great.

[@patriciariddle2997]

I am always amazed by your ingenuity. You have come so far. I have been watching forever. You always figure things out.

[@Guildbrookfarm]

We do the best we can! ❤️

[@sovereigns1grace]

It is so satisfying to see the basement walls. Especially after the threat of no building at all. Such a relief!

[@JJKHaywood]

I found the “King” 110 pick a watt heater for wall mounting, set at 500 watts, very economical The Thermostat is mounted on unit. We heated a large Dog house, during Northwestern winters and well insulated 6x4 barn style for two big dogs. Lowe’s sells “king” heaters and are UL listed. (We used the small rectangular model with 500, 1000, 1500, options. The wires have to be selected at element for desired wattage).

[@leannalam4919]

we are in Virginia we put a 100w light bulb in our well house to keep it from freezing in the winter

[@manolisgledsodakis873]

Did you run power to it?

[@LanThrasher]

Take a picture - Excellent advice.

[@Quake81270]

You can get a solar powered 150 watt bulb and your pump house with the insulation you put in would keep it above freezing. I also like @Cheeky Saver's suggestion. Once you have permanent power it will be easy to find a method to suit your needs.

[@brandyf1932]

Stopped here for the tips. Stayed for the tunes. Thanks!

[@jdgibs3446]

Kerosene lamp. Excellent. That's what my friend uses. His pump house is 6x6 by 8ft tall. In extreme temps with extended days, he has plug for 1 incandescent bulb. 👍

[@perpetuallearner5416]

One man's "random" is another man's multi-tasking. Great vid.

[@ciaobella8963]

Watching you insulate the pump house I was remembering the first winter there when you were dealing with the old pump in the seeping stream and all of its problems. You guys certainly have earned the chips for getting a big beautiful house with fresh spring water.

[@davidj.mackinney6568]

We enjoy following your work.

[@Fidg234]

The house is so big I can just see now all of your canned goods, separate bedrooms and looking forward to seeing what you do with the rest of your home. Going to take time but will be so nice when it's finished.

[@livesoutdoors1708]

We used a light bulb powered by a truck battery to keep the well house from freezing.

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

To keep the house warm enough without electricity a small propane lantern set at it's lowest setting should do the job. You don't get that cold for that long. you probably won't need to use it unless it gets down into the teens.

[@kmaynor16]

Glad you got the pump house completed! It looks really good! Looking forward to the basement waterproofing.

[@DebbiesHomeplace]

Very nice well house. Glad you got it tightened up. Can't wait to see the next video.

[@angelacross2216]

You have the best views now. Taking down those trees was genius. So many people are too reluctant to take down trees which are blocking gorgeous views.

[@cherilcooper289]

I'm so happy for you and your family!🐸🐸💖💖💖💯💯💯

[@doyourbest.9554]

Hey Guys...I just restored my Papas well. I also spliced in a 9000 watt generator when power goes out. However the whole roof and 3 cinder walls got demolished (because a tree grew up at a corner and blew out the grade and walls) but I'm learning alot. I'm all on well water now! Still restoring the original well house but will insulate it like yours! Thanks for the video.

[@raymondmills9377]

1)Cheap temperature sending unit in there. 2)100 watt bulb down low near unit with switch outside (Ultimately in house).

[@raymondmills9377]

metamud aid they are going on grid and theres a electrical pole not far away. Assume their pump will need electric anyway.

[@pavelbenjacob]

Good on you for also insulating/covering the floor inside your well house. I was part of a military exercise (Operation Jack Frost 1979) in Alaska where a tent "city" was built to support an Army/Marine exercise where they simulated defending the Alaska Pipeline (which was in its final construction phase at the time) from "The Soviets". My Air Force Prime B.E.E.F. team built plywood floors in all the M.A.S.H. campaign-style tents used at the time so we could put diesel drip heaters (usually two--one at each end--of the 10X40 tents), since it averaged 50 BELOW Zero during much of the overall 5 week, Jan/Feb operation. (The actual exercise where the Army/Marine defenders did their thing was three weeks in, and only lasted 3 days. The rest was set-up, then 2 weeks of debrief and tear down. I, as the squadron Base Emergency Expedition Force [B.E.E.F.] supply sergeant, was one of the few who spent the entire 5 weeks up there; it seemed like 5 months!!!) Anyway, when we tore down the tents, the necessity of those plywood floors was graphically evident: The footprints of 35+ 10X40 tent sites were clearly visible as thawed portions of the tundra, which, when walked on, felt eerily like walking on a waterbed (yes, I know what that's like!) Undoubtedly, the floor of your well house would be a soupy mess if left uncovered, and by insulating it, you'll actually let it stay at least solid, although probably not frozen. Good job!

[@BigDawgHome]

You should fine a small solar powered space heater, just enough to take the chill out of the space

[@texasnative4803]

Loving the progress- Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your videos with us 👍👍

[@karlfair]

The lamp is a good idea. You may need to add a vent so it can breath. It might be worth putting a recording thermometer in the well house, so you can see how much heat it really needs.

[@arussianasset3948]

Nice job! 1 less thing to worry about when snow flies.

[@PowerTom286]

Hello Jamie and Jeremy, that should work. Good Job

[@seriouslyreally5413]

Eventually you can trench the water line and bring the pressure tank inside the basement once the house is built. Easier low/no maintenance and protect from freezing as pressure tanks have a mechanical lifespan and have to be replaced from time to time. You have enough work on your farm than to have to remember to check on the pumphouse.

[@Guildbrookfarm]

Exactly. That is the plan.

[@TWC6724]

More progress. Awesome. It's coming together 👍🏻

[@sailme2day]

Great update as always . In your well house , consider adding an outlet inline from your well electric supply line. Then buy 2 ( backup) "thermo " block ( amazon cream colored not the yellow one by a different name) . I buy the one with 2 outlets. It will cut your light on when below freezing and cut off when above freezing. You can also use a second light on the second therm block outlet , but install a screw in photo cell then your light bulb. Why , when the first bulb might burns out the second light will come on. Backup :) Also the bulbs that "last" 1.8 years , that is a 3 hours use per day. So well light without a thermo cube will last 30 days with 24 hour on time in the winter. I place the lights on bricks or a large concrete paver. Because if a mouse knocks the light over the light will melt the foam of worse break and short out, throw the breaker. I also remove the lights and thermo cube when the weather gets warm ( the humidity in the well house will go to 100% now that it is insulated ) . I test the thermo cube at the beginning of winter by placing it in the freezer until cold ,then take it out and plug in a light and when it warms up , it turns off the unit is ready to use, test passed . My well guy gave me thumbs up on my inline well filter. I installed it before the bladder tank. This keeps the sediment / grit out of the pressure tank , it will extend the inner bladder life . I also double clamp all fittings, stainless clamps. I leave a screw driver in the well house to test the clamps every filter change. If you want to go full protecto, wrap a thick plastic gal bag around the pressure switch. with a few cloths pins, closed seam downward. You could also install a weather tight electric wire box clamp to the pressure switch , where the open hole has the wiring running through. No water in the switch , no rust, longer life. A tale of experience, you will have mice in the well house. I always set 2 traps with a little peanut butter , because where there are mice there are snakes. The only type I find and have killed 2 , baby copper heads, on different occasions. They like the safe , cool concrete blocks I have inside. On the pored walls... will you be using a dimple shield over the peel and stick to protect the waterproof material from punctures ? here is a little something I found while reading on line . hope it helps. "When you say non-permeable sheet, do you mean a type of 'peel and stick' membrane, a thick rubberized material that comes in rolls?? I use a few different products depending on which ICF I use, whichever brand name they supply, Nudura has their own brand name, Logix has Resisto or I buy a product called Blue Skin at the local lumber store. All are the same thing, pretty much. I don't worry about the 'sheet' tearing during backfill, our Code requires backfill be done with a 'clean' material, typically sand is used, it is free draining as well as it being free of any rocks or materials with a sharp edges that would damage the waterproofing.If that is still a concern of yours, you can cover the 'peel n stick' with another product called Delta MS, I am not sure is this is available in your area but something similar may be. Check it out at www.deltams.com. This product is a solid plastic dimple board, that you would roll on on top of your peel n stick. you use a screw and washer system and attach it at the top to the attachment strip in the ICF. There is no way that this product will tear, unless the excavator hits it!! The dimples in the product leaves a channel between it and your wall for water to run just in case some gets between them.I have used both in the past and so far no one has called me back to fix a leak." source- www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/aff/4/aft/36460/afv/topic/Default.aspx#:~:targetText=It's%20pretty%20commonly%20accepted%20that,LEAST%204%2D5%20days%20old. All the best , thanks for sharing your journey .

[@lynnb7511]

Mr. Jeremy you have so much knowledge and do amazing work! I can't wait it see your new home, and so looking forward to some more canning video's from Jaime! Ya'll try and get some rest! Ya'll been going and going!

[@Guildbrookfarm]

Busy busy busy!

[@PaullaWells]

Soon, very soon, progress will be made by leaps and bounds and this is just one more tedious stepping stone toward that activity. Stay strong. In case you have not tried it, do, on your back, an hour's worth of cold followed by hot making sure you end with cold. It really does help. It takes a bit of time, but you'll notice results sooner rather than later.

[@rongreene1788]

One of those large fat candles will burn for several days and provide enough heat to keep from freezing. It worked at our hunting cabin.

[@makapalatrace8385]

We always just used a 100 watt bulb for our well point.

[@raynall3593]

Sometimes the random stuff that doesnt get done here and there mounts up till it has to get done or the whole project is held up. Lots of lil things to do when you build your own house. Glad to see it all getting done and on to the next item.

[@dianehall5345]

Our house was built into a hillside and we water proofed the new foundation in 2016. We used the sticky thick black tar product. It worked great! Nice dry walk-in basement. You have made good progress. From all the helpful comments, you should be all set to keep the water pump from freezing. Better to over compensate than to lose your pump.

[@davidkilbourne2711]

Great looking foundation!

[@joeyhardin1288]

That is such an amazing view!!!

[@honeybadgers1996]

A good insulation job there👍 People use lightbulbs in their water pump house in Northern AZ. We’re at over 6300 ft and gets negative single to teen here time-to-time.

[@thorson7842]

That is a beautiful few from up at the pump house

[@manolisgledsodakis873]

view?

[@mschilepepper10]

Really enjoying your videos. Place is coming together very nicely

[@gailbrault9251]

Excited for you both...looks good.

[@simoneconsciousobserver3105]

I went to your channel about 15 minutes ago thinking surely Jeremy has done more on the house since the concrete pour 4 daze ago,...joila!. It sure is gorgeous up there on your homesite

[@bonnie3994]

We have insulation along with two HCW(heat cord wires) works well. Looks real good, can't wait to see how your journey continue 🤗👍

[@MNTNSTARZ80.]

My dad used to hang a 25 watt bulb in our insulated pump house in winter to keep things from freezing that were above ground

[@fooshampoo904]

These hide vids are very helpful. Thanks. And the challenges and fixes.

[@paoemantega8793]

As you have an electrical supply to the pump house, I would add anti freeze protection in the form of a bar heater, with a thermostat set to 5C (42F) so that it will warm it up. Fish Tank heaters are small, better to go slightly bigger. I would also paint to roof and walls with black paint or with bitumen, not for waterproofing, for radiant heating from the sun, the snow will melt sooner and the sun will warm the water pump house quicker.

[@garyb4929]

don't think has electricity, he was using generator to power pump for testing.

[@paoemantega8793]

@@garyb4929 OK

[@JesseHires]

My father-in-law keeps an oil lamp burning inside his pump house. With a low flame it keeps it warm enough to not freeze in weather that reaches below 0F regularly during winter.

[@arizflash]

I see you installed a cycle stop valve. I really like mine. My well house is 7' x 7' x 12' buried 5' in the ground with a shingled pitched roof. I use a milk-house heater on a thermostatic receptacle that comes on at 35°.

[@daverowsome4023]

I wonder if instead of insulating the inside concrete blocks that you do the outside walls so that the blocks can act like heat mass when you add a heat source

[@HOMESTEAD_AUS]

Great job....We don’t have to do that here in Australia...Be handy to have a well here on our farm though for another water source...You guys have been very busy as usual.

[@remushaynes2693]

my opinion dictates an A plus for your insulation job. keep that attitude and all will work together for you.......g

[@Stevey_B]

AWESOME

[@Jeff_MT09]

It looks like you are making good progress. I’m from Australia, so not much needs to be done to stop water pipes freezing (except in some of our alpine regions during winter). That said, I saw a video the other day where the homesteaders were trying passive ways of keeping their poly tunnel from freezing overnight. They ended up putting in a number of 50 gallon black water containers as thermal mass. Your pump house is kind of like a refrigerator now and refrigerators work best when they are full. Maybe you could try some water containers to reduce the air space and increase the thermal mass within the pump house. Regards, Jeff. 👍😀🦘🏠

[@northstarprepsteader]

One things you might want to consider, if your ground freezes solid there, is to insulate the outside by at least stacking hay bales around the base of the concrete blocks. This keeps the cold from freezing through the ground.

[@mylifesjourney...sharonkar7802]

Happy Thanksgiving!🦃❤🙏

[@drbbhiggins]

A small heat lamp works good for a heat source. Doesn't draw to much juice and does not get to hot. Nice job on the well house. I sure hope you at least prime paint the wood on your well house. Protect that raw lumber, although the wood is unlikely to get wet, blowing rain could wet the raw wood especially the end grain of your rafters. Thanks for the videos.

[@enjoyingthejourneycanceras2355]

You guys have done a lot.

[@bruceleonard81]

Pretty good insulation job I would probably get 150 watt solar or a little 300 to 500 watt wind generator set up a inverter with a 100 watt bulb be enough to keep from freezing. Enjoy your vids

[@fookutube501]

Have you guys thought about getting a Central Boiler it save you heaps of money through the winter.Just saying knowing you have endless of wood around

[@gratituderanch9406]

Sorry I’m not home right now walking in the spider was but leave a message and I’ll call you back… No worries. The video was great. We know you’re working on many many projects. We just like seeing what you’re up to!!!

[@ibislife]

I have the same set up, and the insulation and a small well house will be installed this week. A bit late, as we already had frost and several snowfalls, but temp rise again, and rushing to finish it. Anyways... The pressure tank, why don't you install that in the house? I was too afraid of frost, so that is placed in the technical room with the water heater, water softness filter system and the air filter.. Also have the pipe in pipe water system in there, with controls if there is a leak somewhere, and the fuse box! Crowded room. 😂 So happy for you finally getting things going. Guess the girls are excited to plan their rooms!

[@beachlife1411]

Nice

[@PatricesProjects]

Moving right along. It sucks that you had so many issues trying to find a general contractor and others delays. I realize that summers are real hot there, and working on the house would have been sheer torture most times, but if the exterior of the house were done before winter halts work, you could have been able to continue interior work on warmer days. How deep is the basement, and will you be putting any kind of flooring in it?

[@suenorton873]

Happy Thanksgiving

[@FromThePrairies]

Since you're going for grid power you could wire up a 100W lightbulb or two on a temperature switch. That will keep the temperature well above freezing. I live way North and that's what's done up here.

[@Guildbrookfarm]

That’s what we do at the trailer.

[@suzisaintjames]

Instead of a kerosene heater (which maybe over kill) consider a white gas lantern or even a candle for that small space. 💝☀🌵

[@SandCruzer6]

Hi Guy's one nifty way to insulate the exposed pipes, faucets, and the tank without a lot of time and money is to take some fiberglass batting type insulation, take off the paper and just stuff it in big clumps all around your plumbing stuff, so by the time you are done you shouldn't see any exposed pump stuff. Take care!

[@KaleidoscopeJunkie]

THERMAL MASS is your best protection from off grid freezing. Put 55 gallon drums inside and fill with water. Buckets/lids or gallon jugs. I used shelves with 2 liter bottles from My soda addition. :-) I have a 2 gang duplex receptacle. When we're going into the low teens I'll drop an aquarium heater in one of the drums. It's thermostat controlled and cheap so I keep 2 int the well house. - Prepper rule #1 redundancy. 2 is 1 and 1 is none. - Use food grade containers and you'll have a back up supply of water for power down or pump failure situations. Good luck - KJ - DesertSun02 has some great videos about solar heating options. One is heating water with a solar panel. If you heat the drums of water during the day they will radiate heat for long after and protect from freezing. And I agreed with one of the other posters. Take the insulation off the floor. You don't want to insulate against the warmth from the earth.

[@rtheprizeisright7323]

Sir, you may want to put the spray foam around the white tank bottom, and down in the cinder block, as I had a pump house, in KY, very similar to yours and a whole lot of snakes, decided to use it for their winter hibernation house. I removed 42 snakes the 1st year. They were mostly grey rat snakes and never got mad I was hooking them and moving. I don't usually kill snakes unless a life is endangered and I read a recent study shwed that snakes just 1 can kill up to 2500 ticks a year. My pump house was 50' from the house so I would just release them down over the hill as I had 35 acres in Ky back then. God I miss that land and house that was almost 20 years ago and that would be worth 200k now, we only paid 66k for the land with 3 ponds, a small garage (they called it) however, you could probably only for a dodge neon in there comfortably. and a 40x46 ft barn than was all metal covered and huge that you could park 3 cars in there and have 8 horses or cattle and a lowered hill 4rd stall where you could separate animals and it a the land had a small creek running though it and the 1 pond was so big it was an acre and it was stocked with fish. god I miss that place me and my wife broke up and we had to move a developer bought it separated it into 3 parcels and now there 3 houses on it right on top of each other when before i needed binoculars to see my nearest neighbor now the neighbors are close i can hear them talking between the walls. these are great videos by the way thanks and sorry for my rant.

[@fastfeets2695]

You can backfill around basement with just gravel ,dirt holds water .

[@GrandsonofKong]

Looks good! Will the same crew be out to remove all the bracing? For the Well House, you might want to consider a Min/Max battery powered thermometer to see how cold or hot it gets inside. Just for some data points.

[@oldtimeengineer26]

insulate the small pipe up to the pressure switch

[@Sciayam]

Yes all the little things to be done, well done. How is your back?

[@Guildbrookfarm]

Day by day. Some are ok some hurt.

[@jeffcotton526]

Wouldn't the kerosene lamp use up all the oxygen in the well house since it's so well sealed up? Going out after a while?

[@totherarf]

What he said ...... also you might want to check what happens when kerosene meets insulation!

[@dougmc666]

For all the folks saying that a light bulb is all you need to keep things from freezing, my neighbour did that and it cost him a $900 pump, apparently it heated the roof more than the floor. Try a thermostat with an infrared heat lamp pointed at the pipes.

[@markrigsby2425]

What did they do before Cell?

[@georgeshaw8276]

When are you going to run the plumbing for the main drain and prep for the basement floor?

[@shawnoney5678]

That foam might catch fire if you put a kerosene heater or lamp heat tape might be safer and better.

[@joed7073]

Don't beat on a plastic fitting, apply a little heat to the pipe it will slide all the way on.

[@Guildbrookfarm]

I was gentle. 😏

[@KaleidoscopeJunkie]

A little spit on the fittings makes things slide too !

[@YoungbloodFamilyFarm]

Jeremy, I did not read all the comments, I’m concerned about condensation and ventilation. Is there a plane for this in this space? Condensation is inevitable, and causes electrical and mold issues quick, Take Care folks, I’m enjoying the home build

[@cabininthewoods7326]

Didn't film the pouring?

[@PlanetMojo]

Our well has no parts that can freeze at the well head. It has a 500 gallon holding tank under ground. It runs to buildings and frost-proof hydrants from there. Are you putting that pressure tank and other stuff in the house at a later date?

[@Guildbrookfarm]

Yes

[@ateamofone]

I have 2 incandescent light bulbs on a thermostat. Once comes on when it hits 40F and the other comes on to heat it at 35F. The second light never comes on. My well is 6ft deep so my first light bulb rarely comes on.

[@jameswitte5167]

Smart move ... That insulation is meltable and flammable ... Live flame ??? Might look at diff heat source ... Could almost heat it with a fridge light ...

[@belloscabrosfarmingwithtra3441]

Great

[@slamsshenanigans2296]

Little tip, unplug everything when your firing up and powering down your generator

[@JimfromIndy]

If I saw correctly, he had the breakers off when he fired it up...

[@Guildbrookfarm]

Correct

[@stevencrawford9576]

With no power, you could place 1 battery with a 300 w inverter. A thermostat controlled receptacle with a 60 w bulb would be all you need. Much safer that burning anything inside. You could charge the battery every 4 or 5 days.

[@jameswitte5167]

Or put up a cheap solar panel to keep charged ... Wouldnt have to be much ...

[@terrynoraturner1848]

Draw your wiring on the tank. It will be there when the battery on the phone dies.

[@benwinkel]

A heat source for the well house, on solar maybe? You still got the panels...

[@Guildbrookfarm]

Yep. I’m gonna try it.

[@jaccisshadegarden4631]

Love you guys. Jeremy are you playing the guitar in your background music?

[@Guildbrookfarm]

No I don’t have time right now to write our own tracks but I hope to at some point.

[@theBrightman]

What's the music that's playing during the foaming montage around the 3 minute mark? Thanks!