How To Plumb Well Water Lines for 2 Homes

[Pettrix]

Building a guest house now and the well is about 100 feet from the house. I am planning to run a 100' underground main water line into the guest house and come up under the slab and have the pump controller in the garage. Years later I will build a main house but the question comes into play on how to get water into the main house?

If the well pump controller is inside the garage of the guest house. I can't just run a tee water line from the well area to the main home because the controller in the guest house garage would never know that a pressure drop occurred and so the well pump wouldn't turn on. Am I correct?

I would essentially have to run a line FROM the guest house garage to the main house and both house would run off the one controller in the guest house garage?

Confused. Not sure on how to set this up.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

You got it. Controller in the guest house runs the pump, and supplies both buildings. Just size it big, and you're good to go.

Since you are doing a slab for the guest house, run that tee now. Stub it outside of the slab, at the very least.

Better yet, lay out where the main house will go and run that line all the way there now. Cap it, mark the end of it.

On the supply end, you may not want to connect it yet, but you can. If you don't, cap it to keep critters and crud out of it. Make sure you plumb in the fitting for it, whether you connect it or not. If it were me, I'd connect it now, but have a ball valve separating the guest house water from the main house water. You want to be able to shut off either one without shutting off the other one.

 

[aircommuter]

Here is a little drawing, you could add more valves for isolation where you want. Are you using a constant flow well pump?

 

[ozley]

Run the line to near the future house now and install a lawn hydrant on the end. That will show where the water line is and give you water near the job site.

 

[Pettrix]

OK, so I will run the main water line from the well to the guest house garage under the slab. Then have the plumber install a shutoff valve and a "T" at the junction and the water lines will reenter the garage slab and then one line exists up inside the home and the other continues under the slab and exists out the side of the guest house and terminates at a Frost Free.

When the Main House is built, I will just dig up the Frost Free and continue pulling the line to the Future Main House under ground and have it come back up inside the garage of the Main Future Home.

See my detail...

 

[Pettrix]

Now with such a long water line from the well to the guest house (100 feet) and then from the guest house to the future house (100 feet). So about 200 feet of water line.

What size water line should I run? I'm thinking 1.25 or 1.50 inch due to the run and due to serving 2 homes.

 

[turnkey4099]

Now with such a long water line from the well to the guest house (100 feet) and then from the guest house to the future house (100 feet). So about 200 feet of water line.

What size water line should I run? I'm thinking 1.25 or 1.50 inch due to the run and due to serving 2 homes.

You can "t" off the line coming from the well at any point in the run, AS LONG AS THERE IS NO CHECKVALVE between the guest house and well. The check valve in the well will prevent back flow.

Static pressure in they system will be the same (assuming identical elevation) at every point in the system.

I was on a similar system, Pressure switch was at the well house at one residence, my house about 1,000 ft away and at the same elevation. I finally drilled my own well to get off the community one but did keep the inerconnect in case of need.

 

[Pettrix]

You can "t" off the line coming from the well at any point in the run, AS LONG AS THERE IS NO CHECKVALVE between the guest house and well. The check valve in the well will prevent back flow.

Static pressure in they system will be the same (assuming identical elevation) at every point in the system.

I was on a similar system, Pressure switch was at the well house at one residence, my house about 1,000 ft away and at the same elevation. I finally drilled my own well to get off the community one but did keep the inerconnect in case of need.

So you are saying I can "T" off near the well and run one line to the guest house and one to the future house and still just have the controller sit in the guest house?

If you turn on the water at the main house, how will the pump know that it needs to turn on?

 

[robstaples]

The water will back flow from the quest pressure tank to the house. I have this set up and put a pressure tank at each location to satisfy the short term demand and it increases the overall storage ( pump start stop fewer times). The static pressure will balance across the system .
I ran a separate line between locations so I'd have the water softener at one location to serve both house and guest house ( shop in my case)

 

[robstaples]

Are there two locations at the same elevation? My basement gauge and controller in house is 10 feet below my shop gauge and reads 5 psi more than shop. It is 15 psi per 33 feet of water altitude change due to static water pressure. The static pressure in pipes is like skin diving in lake, one atmosphere ( approx 15 psi) per 33 feet of depth.

I get maximum 60 psi in house while only 55 psi in shop. I first thought it was gauge error. Any body need a calibrated electronic readout pressure gauge? ☺