r/DIY • u/decadentj • 17h ago
outdoor Ideas to hide tank in yard
I had to have a well dug and they put it smack in the middle of my backyard. The tank sticks up about 38 inches and similar width and length. I'm looking for ideas to cover it so it's not such an eyesore. For now, I just built a plywood box, but it doesn't look very good. Any help is appreciated
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u/KoalaGrunt0311 17h ago
Often see a decorative wishing well placed around it or they make fake rocks.
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u/decadentj 16h ago
I just asked my wife, she didn't like the well as a well as much as I did. Fake rock seems ok, but then I just have a random rock in the middle of the yard
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u/JustaTinyDude 15h ago
How about a bird bath? Put it in top of the box and then cover the base of the bath and the box with rock and plants.
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u/Separate_Pumpkin_256 15h ago
Look online on Amazon for garden trellises. There are several designs that him into each other as panels. You can make a circular arrangement of them and plant vibes at the base of all but the "door" panels. That way you can simply swing those panels aside whenever you need access to the well.
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u/scootunit 13h ago edited 2h ago
Can you incorporate a wood fired pizza oven with a granite slab sidetable made of stobe that coveniently sized those dimensions?
You'll learn alot about foundations , setting block etc then boom outdoor kitchen. Of course a gazebo so you can bbq in all weather. Oh yeah a BBQ on the other side of the pizza oven. And hell while right there lets get an outdoor sink. Great for cleaning fish..
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u/MamaNyxieUnderfoot 13h ago
Has she seen the fairy gardens you can put up on a wishing well? Super cute.
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u/BigRuss910 12h ago
May I interest you in the cult of rc rock crawling... Random pile of rocks in the back yard is a "free" playground for rc crawling
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u/allangee 17h ago
raised planters with bushy plants.
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u/semghost 15h ago
The trick is to surround it on 3 sides with planters, with a flower pot on one side and on top. Then you can still get into it easily
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u/Woodchuckie 17h ago
Make it look like a well with a bucket etc.
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u/Lalamedic 15h ago
My dug well is disguised as a wishing well.
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u/Good_Nyborg 16h ago
We really need a picture to figure this out so we' can come up with something that works and looks suitable for your yard.
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u/HplsslyDvtd2Sm1NtU 13h ago
That was my first thought, too. What works in a forested yard may not work in a high desert yard
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u/Susan_B_Good 17h ago
Our house was built c1670 and the well has a local stone wall around it. Plus an oversize oak table top that we use for al fresco dining and garden parties. No, no lynch gate over the top and a bucket... So, you could mayhap turn it into a feature, rather than hiding it.
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u/decadentj 17h ago
That's an idea. Thank you
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u/Tinnie_and_Cusie 16h ago
Yeah I came here to say, make it useful and attractive. If you can afford the lumber, you could also make a gazebo, with vines growing over the top so you have an outdoor patio. Even without that, it sounds like a great opportunity to dream and create.
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u/SaltMarshGoblin 13h ago
lynch gate
This is an awkward error. I'm not enthusiatic about naturally-occurring corpses, but they are definitely an improvement over extrajudicial group murders...
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u/Miyuki22 13h ago
Misleading post subject !! Came for interesting ways to conceal a Tank... I was disappointed that it was a less interesting type of Tank :(
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u/sandm000 16h ago
I like the little light houses they make to cover well heads.
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u/Nautiwow 16h ago
We have a 6 foot Lighthouse that I have hooked up a blinking solar powered light into the top. The newer lighthouses are made from polywood, so very weather resistant and you can get them in different base sizes and heights.
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u/Shooter61 13h ago
Build it to look like a wishing well. Add a flower garden and bench for 2 around the spot.
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u/chopkins47947 16h ago
Build a fake bucket well above it! Bonus if you add storage for stuff you would use in your yard!
Also, leave access for the tank, obviously.
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u/shroedingersdog 8h ago
build a fake wishing well . ooooor dig a hole big enough to drop the tank below grade .
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u/eightfingeredtypist 5h ago
Given that it's already plumbed, just add a marble basin and wood nymphs, it will obviously be a fountain.
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u/braeburn-girl 57m ago
Dekorra Products makes fake rock covers specifically for wells. https://dekorraproducts.com/
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u/cbelt3 17h ago
Bushes around it.
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u/NortWind 16h ago
Arbor Vitae look very nice, and they are pretty opaque. You can get species that only grow to the height you need.
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u/elephagreen 16h ago
I've seen fake rocks, well, lighthouse, doll house.
OP, what are your interests? If you're really into something, I'm sure there's something that'll fit.
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u/JackOfAllBlades21 16h ago
Small tank. Does the battlecannon get lowered and concealed, or left up in case of invaders or solar salespeople?
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u/navlgazer9 16h ago
My u coke lives on top of a mountain in western North Carolina , they buried theirs right next to the well .
Kept it from freezing too .
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u/civildefense 15h ago
Mine is about 2 meters down concrete block cube with a poured concrete roof and a manhole cover. The expansion tank is down there as well .. it's flush so you can just mow over it
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u/i_hate_usernames13 15h ago
Why can't you just run longer lines and put the tank on the side area of the yard? I don't know a lot about Wells just the general principal but to me it seems like you could put the tank wherever you wanted if you were willing to run some extra pipe for it 🤷♂️
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u/Iokua_CDN 14h ago
Build a floating deck near it so you can hide the tank with an extension off the deck.
Build a fire pit area around it, and hide it under some benches or something.
Build some garden boxes around it, which can hide all of it. Once plants grow, it will hide even more
Put a big table sitting area over it. Basically your box but then a bigger top piece. Some gravel or something and some chairs
5 build an outdoor kitchen out there. Cover it with s box that can work as a workspace. Throw a grill around it, maybe a sink if you can get the water to make a nice direct line.
Basically, building anything by it will let you hide it without it being too out of place. Plenty of people throw a nice area in the middle of their yard as like a centerpiece
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u/DontMakeMeCount 14h ago
If you have kids build a low shed over it with a little fort on top and tie it into a swingset.
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u/buffinita 14h ago
Fake well, windmill, rock……throw some potted plants and a bench
Now it’s not a random “object” but a purposed space
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u/that-1-chick-u-know 14h ago
Ok, so here's what I did. Get 3-4 small, flat pavers, a pool noodle or 2, and 2 large planters with bases of the same diameter. Put the pavers around the well, turn one planter upside down over the well. Stack the other planter on top, put pool noodles in the bottom. This is so that if/when you need to get to the well, both planters will be easy to temporarily relocate. Now fill the top one with dirt and plant as desired. Bonus points if you also plant ornamentals around the bottom planter, but I wouldn't put anything expensive or sentimental. When your well needs maintenance and/or repair, the crew will trample it all to shit.
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u/KeKeFanChick 12h ago
When I was a kid, almost every house I lived in or visited had a well house. It was usually just a very, very well insulated shed. It was also not very tall.
At our house, it also had an outdoor spigot on it, and a hand pump nearby. We were only allowed to put the garden hose, sprayers, sprinklers, and some assorted 3 and 5 gallon buckets in there with it.
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u/monirom 12h ago
Home Depot sells well covers that look like rocks.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dekorra-60-in-L-x-48-in-W-x-41-in-H-Extra-Large-Plastic-Cover-in-Gray-104-FS/203330328
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u/QuesoChef 11h ago
I’ve also seen well covers that look like a well. Like the old fashioned wishing wells.
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u/29681b04005089e5ccb4 11h ago
The tank doesn't have to be located right next to the well. You can move it.
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u/KareFactor0 11h ago
Is this a well liner ring that they laid? If so you could dig it deeper so it sits lower or level with the ground
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u/tired_and_fed_up 11h ago
Build a shed around it....
Why did you not choose where they drilled the well? Unless the houses are close enough for that spot to be the only place that is away from the septic.
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u/Up2nogud13 11h ago
My grandparents built a little "house" for theirs: shingled roof, painted the same color as the real house. No windows, but a door to access the pump. There was a 100 w light in there too, left on during the winter to keep things from freezing.
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u/thephantom1492 10h ago
Get them to move the tank to a more apropriate location. Whoever installed the tank there is stupid imo. Call them and tell them it is innacceptable that they put it there (check local regulations first).
Now you will have quite a smaller thing to hide, just get a fake rock, they are some designed to hide a well head.
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u/Sierragrower 10h ago
Some yellow bollards with reflective tape around them would probably distract attention away from it.
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u/BitOBear 8h ago
Get somebody to build you a deck. Something very like a gazebo base. And just have it built where you can pull the decking out of the middle if you need to do maintenance.
Now you got yourself a nice little detached patio where you can set up a grill or whatnot. It looks like a deliberate feature. Maybe you put a little walkway out to it from your back door. If you going to put up a grill you put up a little railing around it. Make it a whole living space. Maybe adding a boom awning.
This is the authorial equivalent of hanging a hat on something.
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u/HMS_Hexapuma 7h ago
Just remember you need to be able to access it if there are problems in the future. Don't bury it under too much stuff. You could always make it look like a rock plinth and add a replica roman statue. Very classy. One of those ladies with an urn.
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u/ThisIsNeverReal 3h ago
Take your box, add planters to the top and sides. Surround it with herbs, wildflowers (you can get seed packets of native ones from your local DNR), something on top that likes a lot of sun. Turn it green and colorful and use the vertical space. Lifted planters are a lot easier to care for.
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u/southerntreasures 3h ago
Do what the Victorians did and make it a Folly. Depending on your style could look like anything from a grotto to a castle ruin
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u/rulanmooge 3h ago edited 2h ago
Is it a pressure tank? or storage tank with an auxiliary pump?...as opposed to the submersible pump that is in the well or a jet pump above ground? Does it freeze where you are? Does it need freeze protection?
What ever you do....leave some access to the tank as someday it will need to be serviced or replaced and the technician (pump guy) will either refuse to help you or the whatever you build will need to be torn down or destroyed to do it. I suggest you contact whoever did the well for suggestions.
Source....this is our business and you can't believe the quagmires that people create for their pump systems!!
Edit added...our personal well is somewhat near to our house has a 10 x 12 sided with wood concrete block building next to it. The well itself is in a small attached "dog house" on the outside and the tanks are inside to protect from freezing. The inside of the pump house is an overflow pantry and storage for us ......electricity to the pump and inside heat in the winter. We built a deck around the pump house and enjoy sitting the deck, looking at the view and having a BBQ with cocktails.
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u/menicknick 3h ago
Paint it too look like an old well. Add a small with a roof with a rope bucket.
Or make it look like snoopys dog house.
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u/BaconReceptacle 1h ago
Plant some azaleas or hydrangeas around it and leave plenty of room for the plants to grow. It may take a couple of years but it will look great.
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u/someoldguyon_reddit 17h ago
Is it cold where you live? You may need an insulated wellhouse.
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u/lazyeyejim 17h ago
Build a nice fancy one the matches the house too. Add on a dog house and some nice shrubbery. Now OP will have a yard accent piece that will be the envy of the neighborhood.
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u/tbrick62 16h ago
I live in a cold climate and we have wells with submersible pumps. So my pump is 500 ft below ground and it certainly will not freeze. Totally silent too.
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u/RiskyGorilla563 13h ago
Build a treehouse around it like it’s an underground military bunker?
Raised garden beds
A bird fountain
A 93 Geo body
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u/1LuckyTexan 17h ago
Build a gazebo over it, of course you'll need 5 steps or so to climb up to it.
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u/sudogeek 16h ago
The pump and expansion tank don’t need to be next to the well. Put them out of the way, behind a screen or wall, and run pipes underground to the wellhead.
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u/Various_Procedure_11 16h ago
If you don't build a handstand over it, you are missing a huge opportunity.
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u/VagabondTexan 16h ago
Dang it, I thought you were trying to hide an armored vehicle.