Septic & well
Well Installation Cost Calculator
Prices everything between a finished borehole and water at the tap, which is a separate job from drilling.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Labour, materials and the call-out for the pump system rather than the hole. That means the pump and drop pipe, the pitless adapter through the casing, the wire and any control box, the buried supply line to the building, the pressure tank and switch, and the electrical connection. The reason this is priced separately from drilling is that the two are often done by different trades on different days, and a drilling quote that stops at a completed borehole leaves a substantial second job the owner may not have budgeted for.
What moves the number
- Distance from the wellhead to the building, since that is trenching and pipe at a depth below frost.
- Electrical supply to the wellhead, which may mean a new circuit, a disconnect and a trench of its own.
- Pressure tank sizing, because an undersized tank makes the pump cycle and shortens its life.
- Frost depth locally, which sets how deep the supply line and pitless adapter have to be.
Where this one goes wrong
The gap between a drilling quote and a working tap is the thing that surprises owners. Drilling produces a hole with casing; it does not produce water in the house. Pump, tank, trenching, pipe, electrical and the connection are all additional, and on a well far from the building the trenching alone can be significant. Be explicit about which side of that line your quote sits on. On the technical side, pressure tank sizing deserves more attention than it usually gets: too small and the pump starts and stops constantly, which is the main cause of premature pump failure, and the tank is far cheaper than the pump it protects.
Before you quote
- Say clearly whether the quote includes drilling or starts from a completed well.
- Size the pressure tank to limit pump cycling rather than to the minimum that works.
- Confirm local frost depth for the supply line and pitless adapter.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
Does a well drilling quote include getting water to the house?
Frequently not. Drilling delivers a cased borehole. The pump, drop pipe, pitless adapter, buried supply line, pressure tank, switch and electrical connection are a separate scope and a meaningful additional cost. Establish which one a quote covers before comparing two of them.
What size pressure tank do I need?
Large enough that the pump is not starting and stopping constantly, because short cycling is the main cause of early pump failure. Sizing follows the pump's flow rate and the pressure switch settings. A larger tank costs little relative to the pump it protects, which makes underspending here a poor trade.
How deep does the water line from the well need to be?
Below the local frost line, which varies a great deal by region, and the pitless adapter has to sit accordingly. Getting this wrong produces a frozen line in the first hard winter, and repairing it means digging up the run you already paid for.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 2.5 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $155.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $120.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 2.5 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $155 |
| Parts and materials | $120 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $602.50 |
| Labour | $387.50 |
| Before tax | $602.50 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $602.50: $387.50 of labour, $120 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $78 | $410 |
| $116 | $505 |
| $155 example above | $602.50 |
| $233 | $797.50 |
| $310 | $990 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 2.5 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $155.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $120.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.