Measuring your well: five minutes, three dimensions

You do not need to be a surveyor: two diameters, the width of the stone, and the paper template does the rest. Here is the exact method the workshop uses.

The long diameter

Across the top of the coping, outside edge to outside edge, at its widest point. A tape measure and someone standing opposite is all it takes.

The perpendicular diameter

The same measurement at 90° to the first. If the two differ by more than 2 cm — which is common — your well is oval: move on to the template.

The width of the coping

The thickness of the stone at the top: that is the seating for the fixing lugs. 12 cm or more means standard anchoring; less than that, tell us and we adapt.

The paper template: the answer to an uneven coping

Old wells were built by hand, stone by stone: none of them is a true circle. Rather than ask you for ten measurements, we supply a template — by post, or as a PDF to print in strips — which you lay on the coping. You trace the real outline with a marker, mark the four possible fixing points, photograph it and send it back. The cover is then rolled to that real shape, and it will follow your stone as though it had always been there.

The three classic mistakes

Measuring the inside edge: the cover rests on the coping, so it is the outside edge that counts;
Measuring halfway up the coping: old copings splay outwards — always measure at the top;
Forgetting the headstock or the pump: if any original ironwork is still there, photograph it with a dimension — the cover will be notched around it, never against it.

For choosing the shape to suit your coping, see the four models; for the budget, the prices page gives every range by diameter.

Frequently asked

Measuring: your questions

My well is oval — is that a problem?

No, it is the norm: old copings are rarely round. Measure the long and the short diameter, then use the paper template for the exact shape — the cover is rolled to it.

Do I measure the inside or the outside edge of the coping?

The outside edge: the cover rests on the coping, it does not drop into the shaft. Note the width of the stone as well — that is the seating available for the fixing lugs.

What if I get the measurements wrong?

The workshop checks your figures for consistency before making anything and calls you at the slightest doubt. With the paper template an error is close to impossible — which is exactly why we supply it.

Do you work in inches?

Send your figures in whichever unit you have — inches, feet and inches, or centimetres. The workshop converts and confirms the metric dimensions back to you in writing before cutting anything.

Measurements taken? send them over

A photo plus your three dimensions in the form: exact pricing within 48 hours, template supplied if needed.

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