Removable roof hatch over water well

[jwreels]

Is there such thing as a removable skylight or hatch that is reasonably priced for a small building that covers a well. I have a 10x10 concrete slab with well and pressure tank. I really need to rebuild the building.

The well pump is fairly old and I have hard pipe ( pvc, not flexible ) in the well. So when the time comes to pull it I need some type of roof access. I have looked at some basic skylights but I can't tell if they are easily removable or not. Has anyone used a skylight for this?

 

[67drake]

Most of the time people would just pull the pipe, and cut it off as they pulled it out of the well.
Couldn’t you put a vent or chimney cap with a removable cap? Would seem easier /cheaper than a skylight.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Switch the well pipe to black plastic line for it's bendability,.....

 

[Rusty Wrench]

I've got some details for a weather proof boat hatches. They're from Glen-L book Boatbuilding in Plywood.

Let me know if interested and I'll take some pictures.

 

[larry_g]

My pump house is build with endwalls that are fixed in place a a ridge beam between them. The side walls are ~4' tall are keyed to the foundation and held up with latches to the sidewalls. The roof sections are hinged to the ridge beam and lift up. So lift the roof section, remove the sidewall and all is accessible. If I have to pull the pump then remove the hinge pins and lift the roof section off and all is open. I have a rubber membrane that covers the ridge to prevent leaks and allow the flexibility to open the roof.


Pump house on the left of the picture, sorry but the only picture I have.
lg
no neat sig line

 

[Firebrick43]

A hatch and combing like Rusty wrench mentioned would be what I would do. Some 1/2 ACX ply, some epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth and some paint and you have a weatherproof hatch for under ~$125.

 

[manwithtools]

Awesome solution @larry_g

 

[The Cobbler]

1) change the pipe now
2) build your building and not worry about it until the time comes to replace it. then cut the pipe off in sections as you pull it up, or, cut a hole in the roof over the pipe and install a vent to patch the hole
3) install a roof vent over the pipe when building and keep a spare so you can reinstall it when the time comes

 

[no704]

Not weather tight but dumpster lids are surprisingly cheap.

 

[30-30remchester]

I worked on wells for 50 plus years and detest wells inside a building. They are actually outlawed in Colorado without special provisions. Horrible to work on and labor intensive and unsanitary. Put all your controls inside any building but leave the well outside and far enough away for a drill rig or pump rig to have access to the well head. Doesn't help in this situation and there has to be some way to fabricate a removable skylight. Even with a removable skylight, it will still be a pain to work on compared to a well in an open field.

 

[TurnipTruck]

I have completely remodeled a relatively old house (for Alaska, anyway) that had an indoor well. After removing part of the roof to change out the pump, I added a 4” ABS “flue” with caps to shove the black poly downhole.

during reconstruction, wellhead is lower right:


outside view, before burial:

 

[30-30remchester]

Better than most TURNIPTRUCK, but if a drill rig needs to ever service the well, the building will have to come down. Pulling the pump using the poly pipe you have should make removing the pump easier than rigid pvc pipe.

 

[TurnipTruck]

There is nothing a drill rig can do to an existing casing but drill another near it, so in my case, a rig would punch down outside and a pitless adapter installed. A pump truck would admittedly be unable to reach the hole, but since it’s only 60 feet deep, it will be manually pulled again when necessary.

But I won’t have to pull the roof next time:

 

[30-30remchester]

We often had to go into an old well for one reason or another. The "stuff" we have found down people's water supply would often gag a maggot. One wall of our shop was a showcase of items removed from wells. I wish I had started earlier collecting and photographing. I once bailed out a drowned bat from the hand dug well of Barbra Walters. Seems fitting. It is good to see you had not cut the casing off at ground level like so many I have seen.

 

[mike93lx]

With how infrequently a well pump needs to be changed, I'd cut a hole in the roof when the time comes. Piece of plywood and a bundle of shingles, vs the cost of a skylight that may likely leak in that time anyway.

Even easier if you use something removable, like metal panels

 

[Zeke]

Curb mount skylights are cheap. 2 x 6 for the curbs with 4 x 4 L flashing. I have 2 x 4 and 2 x 2 skylights on my flat roof just for top access. It's a ***** crawling a 2 foot attic.

These skylights aren't for light. They are just something cheap to cover a hole. I put an attic fan in one during the summer. A sheet metal shop can bend you a curb mount if you don't care about light. At the time, skylights were just as cheap with no wait.

However, I like the idea of putting up a latched together cube.

 

[Fav Onefour]

We had all kinds of curbed hatch openings on old barns and granaries.
The style @Zeke mentions isn't familiar but it sounds like the same concept.
Most of our hatch covers were wood frames topped with roof material to match the rest of the building. They were not the lightest thing in the world and usually bolted down of hooked from underneath.

If you are going fancy, just do a roof hatch. I think those buggers are on every big flat top with HVAC units.

 

[Zeke]

We had all kinds of curbed hatch openings on old barns and granaries.
The style @Zeke mentions isn't familiar but it sounds like the same concept.
Most of our hatch covers were wood frames topped with roof material to match the rest of the building. They were not the lightest thing in the world and usually bolted down of hooked from underneath.

If you are going fancy, just do a roof hatch. I think those buggers are on every big flat top with HVAC units.

Roof hatches are way more money. They can easily run a grand.

 

[Bert_]

Roof hatches are way more money. They can easily run a grand.

So build one. They can be really simple.

A roof hatch over a curb is the best way in my opinion

 

[Norcal]

I have a skylight over one well, & a roof hatch over the other that I found at a scrapyard, got to see how well it worked when the pump had issues about 3-4 years ago when had pump troubles, the skylight well has been out of service for a while.

 

[jblnut]

I can post pics when I get home but I framed a 2’x2’ hole through my ceiling and roof sheathing when I built the roof. Inside I have a 32”x32” piece of 1/2” plywood that I screw up to cover the hole. I stuff a big chunk of fiberglass insulation in there first. On the outside roof part I have sheet steel on the roof and installed it so the piece covering the hole is on top of both ribs for the pieces next to it. In 10 minutes or less I can have the holes open and they truck can back right in.

My pump went out this summer and I had to pull it out and it all worked flawlessly. The well pump guys even commented that it was one of the nicest access systems they’ve seen in a while.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

I was thinking of placing a window in the wall close to the well head, I used polyethylene pipe that is easy to arc and stick out a window. The well originally had white pvc pipe with the well head under a lean-to roof. We were barely able to arc the pvc enough to remove 90 feet of pipe.

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[ratflinger]

I built a shed around my well, self supporting walls only. Then I built the roof section to fit on the walls. Lowered it down with my tractor and screwed it together. When that kind of access is needed I just reverse the procedure and remove the roof panel.