How to make a drainage well from tires with your own hands

A high-quality drainage system allows you to drain the soil on the site and thereby preserve the integrity of the stone buildings. Wells are important elements of communication - inspection, rotary, drop-off, revision wells. They are assembled from ready-made concrete rings or plastic tanks. However, a PVC or PET pipe for a drainage well can be useful no worse than ready-made containers.

Types and arrangement of drainage wells

All wells of the drainage system are classified by purpose:

• Revision. Designed to assess the state of the entire communication. The observation shaft must have a sufficient volume so that a person can go down there in case of need for repairs. More often, the revision is mounted on extended sections of the system (from 10 meters) or on its bends.
• Differential. It is mounted in the event that the drainage system is arranged on a difficult terrain and the master fails to maintain its smooth slope in specific areas of the site. Has a sealed bottom.
• Turning. A kind of revision well, designed for the device of sharp bends in the system.
• Absorption (drainage). It is also often called filtering. As a rule, it is installed in the event that it is not possible to discharge the accumulated moisture into the city highway. The absorption well is the end point of the drainage of water from the site and is located at the lowest part of it. The filter shaft does not have a sealed bottom. Instead, a drainage cushion of rubble and pebbles is laid.
• Accumulative (collector septic tank). This is a sealed bottom tank for collecting rainwater. Subsequently, the liquid is either discharged using a pump into the nearest reservoir / ravine, or used for economic purposes (irrigation, watering).

When installing a drainage well for a septic tank, you can use not only store-bought items in the form of concrete rings or corrugated pipes, but also improvised means such as rubber tires, plastic barrels.

Manufacturing material

For the manufacture of wells of the drainage system, two popular types of materials are used:

• Plastic. The polymer is lightweight, which is convenient when setting up a system in the country with your own hands. In addition, plastic (polyethylene, polypropylene) is resistant to aggressive media, inert to temperature extremes. And special rings in the corrugation of the polymer pipe play the role of stiffening ribs. That is, such a mine resists seasonal heaving well and is prone to linear expansion. It is worth considering that it is easier to work with plastic when forming holes for drains. And the polymer lasts from 50 years or more.
• Concrete. Strong, sturdy and durable material. A well made of concrete rings is firmly fixed even in very heaving soil. Due to the fact that the tank is assembled from separate elements, it is possible to mount shafts of different heights. Concrete serves no less than plastic. But when constructing a well, it is necessary to use a special technique, since the mass of the rings is impressive.

You can do it on your own, if you just pour a concrete shaft from the prepared solution into a specially prepared formwork. After the solution has dried, it is removed and a strong, reliable well is obtained.

Careless handling of concrete rings can damage the structure of the material. Concrete is capable of splitting under strong mechanical stress.

Criterias of choice

The type of well is chosen according to the following criteria:

• Dimensions. For many owners, the weight, length and section of the shaft matter.
• Technical characteristics of the material: durability, resistance to corrosion and aggressive environments, fracture and tensile strength.
• Cost. For many craftsmen, this parameter is important, since the device of an extended drainage system can result in a pretty penny.

Often, in order to save money, the owners of summer cottages decide to install a drainage well from tires or polymer containers with their own hands. But the tightness of such a tank remains questionable, since it is difficult to achieve absolute integrity of the mine. Over time, it will still begin to let underground water pass through, and the tires will deform under the influence of heaving soil.

Self-assembly of drainage wells

If the master has decided to make a drainage well from an iron barrel with his own hands, it is important to consider that the metal will rust over time and become unusable. Of the materials at hand, it is better to use a plastic container or rubber car tires. The sequence of work in this case will look like this:

1. Prepare a pit for the installation of a well. Its depth should exceed the height of the finished tank by 30 cm. The cross-section should be 40 cm larger. The distance along the edges will be used for backfill.
2. The bottom of the pit is carefully rammed and a 30 cm thick sand cushion is laid in it. The sand is slightly moistened and compacted well.
3. In a barrel, at a distance of 30-40 cm from its bottom, partubes are formed for drains.
4. A barrel is installed in the pit, pipes are connected to it and filled to the top with water. Only when the tank is full, it is possible to carry out its circular filling with soil and rubble. Otherwise, the barrel will burst under soil pressure.
5. Falling asleep around the earth, you need to tamp it well.

If the well will be built from a corrugated pipe, you must first cut it in height and buy an additional bottom / hatch cover. Holes are also made in the corrugated pipe for nozzles, into which drains can be supplied.

Installation of a well from tires

You can mount the drainage system shaft from rubber tires. Here the work will look like this:

1. Dig a hole of the required depth and diameter.
2. The bottom is well rammed and covered with a layer of sand.
3. One-on-one tires are installed in turn, smearing the edges with each next bitumen mastic. It forms a protective sealed layer.
4. The bottom of the tire well is poured with concrete mortar to form a completely one-piece container.
5. After the concrete dries up, the mine is covered with soil in a circle.

For the construction of a drainage shaft from tires, it is important to use only whole elements, otherwise groundwater will ooze into the well during the rainy and snowmelt seasons.

The device of a concrete well from rings

When working with concrete rings, the procedure changes slightly. Here the installation sequence looks like this:

1. A hole of the required diameter is dug for the installation of the rings.
2. As soon as the foundation pit is ready for the first ring, it is set according to the level.
3. They continue to dig the soil until the first element goes down and makes room on top for the second. In this sequence, the required number of well rings is installed.
4. The joints of the elements are coated with bituminous mastic, and all rings must be fastened together with special metal (steel) brackets. Otherwise, the soil can move them over time, which will lead to depressurization of the mine.
5. The bottom of the mine is rammed and covered with a sand cushion. Reinforcement is laid on top and concrete solution is poured.
6. After the bottom dries out with the help of special crowns from the inside of the shaft, holes are cut in the ring for drains.

If you need a filter well, instead of a concrete bottom, arrange a pillow of sand, fine crushed stone and gravel. All bulk materials are laid in layers of 20 cm each. The top layer is broken brick or river stone.

All drainage wells should be checked periodically for leaks. Correctly assembled mines serve for 40 years or more.