Based in Glenmoore, Pa., B.L. Myers Bros. does it all – residential, geothermal, monitoring, recovery, production, irrigation and de-watering, as well as soil borings and probably any other type of well or hole you can think of. Its fleet, capable of auger, air rotary, mud, coring and direct-push technologies, includes everything from small all-terrain rigs to the most current Atlas Copco T4W.
A recent visit to observe an afternoon of drilling with B.L. Myers’ driller, Ron Barrage, and helper, Jason Good, found them doing two straightforward holes – a residential water well and a geothermal well. The customers they are working for, on the other hand, have very different philosophies of home construction.
The first site was a very beautiful – and huge – house for Bentley Homes. This home is under construction in a million-dollar sub-division in Malvern, Pa., near Philadelphia. The once rolling hills and horse pastures have no rural water system, hence each home will require its own well.
Barrage likes the double carrousel of the T4W because it gives him 400 feet of well depth on board. In this part of the country, 400 feet will let him drill a good percentage of the wells required, and their water truck carries more pipe, if necessary.
The new Bentley site’s well reached a total depth of 375 feet, with a flow of 20 gallons per minute (gpm), which is average for this neighborhood. The well just across the street puts out 30 gpm at the 400 foot depth. Barrage says he likes to see at least 5 gpm to 10 gpm for a residence.
For a residential location, B.L. Myers sets 8-inch surface casing to bedrock, which in this case is 32 feet. From there, the crew will continue to air drill with a 6-inch bit to total depth.
Quite different in comparison to the Bentley home, Gerald and Siri Hurst are building their retirement home. Jokingly, Siri calls it their “green AARP-friendly” home. After living in a two-story Tudor style home for years, the Hursts spent significant time researching their dream home. They wanted to go as green as possible, “without being silly,” says Gerald.
The home they found to remodel fit their lifestyle and budget, but 95 percent of the home that exists today was built from scratch. Other than a few external walls and a fireplace, the home is very modern and cozy. The Hursts found that remodeling allowed for easier permitting, as opposed to totally knocking down the old structure.
From recycled-bottle carpeting and bamboo and bio-resin materials for flooring, to a modern geothermal heating and cooling system, the home incorporates as many green-friendly features as reasonable. “We looked at a roofing system made of rubber, too, but the payback wasn’t there,” notes Gerald.
Originally, the Hursts thought geothermal would be too expensive, but after working out the numbers, they saw the payback was possible. Gerald likes the fact that he could realize a return on the geothermal system in six to eight years, “That is, if oil prices stay where they are today,” he explains.
Gerald wants to talk about building green to anyone who will listen. “We really are committed to this,” he insists. He thinks geothermal systems are the way of the future.
The engineer who designed their system specified two 600-foot wells, but B.L. Myers came back with the suggestion for three 400-foot wells. The home sits along a creek, and with the high water level and potential backpressure, the deeper holes might have caused the wells to be more expensive to drill. “I like that the driller came back with the change. It shows their expertise,” says Gerald.
And expertise is what makes B.L. Myers the successful business that it is. With all the capabilities for drilling and using the right equipment, they will be in business for many years to come.
ND
A recent visit to observe an afternoon of drilling with B.L. Myers’ driller, Ron Barrage, and helper, Jason Good, found them doing two straightforward holes – a residential water well and a geothermal well. The customers they are working for, on the other hand, have very different philosophies of home construction.
The first site was a very beautiful – and huge – house for Bentley Homes. This home is under construction in a million-dollar sub-division in Malvern, Pa., near Philadelphia. The once rolling hills and horse pastures have no rural water system, hence each home will require its own well.
Barrage likes the double carrousel of the T4W because it gives him 400 feet of well depth on board. In this part of the country, 400 feet will let him drill a good percentage of the wells required, and their water truck carries more pipe, if necessary.
The new Bentley site’s well reached a total depth of 375 feet, with a flow of 20 gallons per minute (gpm), which is average for this neighborhood. The well just across the street puts out 30 gpm at the 400 foot depth. Barrage says he likes to see at least 5 gpm to 10 gpm for a residence.
For a residential location, B.L. Myers sets 8-inch surface casing to bedrock, which in this case is 32 feet. From there, the crew will continue to air drill with a 6-inch bit to total depth.
Quite different in comparison to the Bentley home, Gerald and Siri Hurst are building their retirement home. Jokingly, Siri calls it their “green AARP-friendly” home. After living in a two-story Tudor style home for years, the Hursts spent significant time researching their dream home. They wanted to go as green as possible, “without being silly,” says Gerald.
The home they found to remodel fit their lifestyle and budget, but 95 percent of the home that exists today was built from scratch. Other than a few external walls and a fireplace, the home is very modern and cozy. The Hursts found that remodeling allowed for easier permitting, as opposed to totally knocking down the old structure.
From recycled-bottle carpeting and bamboo and bio-resin materials for flooring, to a modern geothermal heating and cooling system, the home incorporates as many green-friendly features as reasonable. “We looked at a roofing system made of rubber, too, but the payback wasn’t there,” notes Gerald.
Originally, the Hursts thought geothermal would be too expensive, but after working out the numbers, they saw the payback was possible. Gerald likes the fact that he could realize a return on the geothermal system in six to eight years, “That is, if oil prices stay where they are today,” he explains.
Gerald wants to talk about building green to anyone who will listen. “We really are committed to this,” he insists. He thinks geothermal systems are the way of the future.
The engineer who designed their system specified two 600-foot wells, but B.L. Myers came back with the suggestion for three 400-foot wells. The home sits along a creek, and with the high water level and potential backpressure, the deeper holes might have caused the wells to be more expensive to drill. “I like that the driller came back with the change. It shows their expertise,” says Gerald.
And expertise is what makes B.L. Myers the successful business that it is. With all the capabilities for drilling and using the right equipment, they will be in business for many years to come.
ND
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