John C Daley wrote:Do you need to open the well up in the future, that's why I suggested the steel lid, its manageable.
I would *always* assume that you might need to open a well at some time! Things happen, even if not for a long time.
As discussed in the thread Anne linked to, there's the issue of keeping bugs and small stuff out, and the decision of if you want a building over it, and the concern for contamination from surface run-off.
My friend in Nova Scotia has had a concrete cap on hers and had no problem for at least 10 years. Yes, I expect you could make one if you followed the suggestions above, but I would make the "metal hooks" mentioned really strong and preferably stainless, although I'm biased by my wet climate that rusts everything.
The hinged metal has merit also, but again, in my climate, I'd probably want to add concrete to the top edge of the existing tiles to ensure that the metal lid was sloped so that rain would clearly flow off it. Our well had a flat-topped plywood box over it when we bought the
land and it turned into a vermi-culture within 5 years. If it had been made sloped and with a plan for where the water would go, I suspect it would have lasted decades longer. A stainless hinged lid would likely be big bucks, but it would last!