We will be building a home in eastern Tennessee.  The area is heating dependant on the Cumberland Plateau.  I would like to use a geothermal heat pump for heating and cooling needs.  However, our building lot has some significant limitations, the first being the depth to bedrock averages about 42” across the lot.  I do not believe that the ground freezes, so there is not a freeze line to worry about.   I have ask a couple of well drillers in the area about drilling bore holes and all have said that they had drilled boreholes in the past for geothermal systems, but would not give me any idea regarding prices for drilling bedrock.

 
While I know that there are a lot of variables involved in the construction, we are planning to use SIP’s for the walls and roof.  The topography may allow for a walk-out basement which will have 6” to 8” poured walls on an insulated slab. 

My questions are as follows:

1.         Is it feasible to drill through the bedrock?  I assume that I will need several holes for the vertical loop.

2.         Based on the approximate size of the home (approx 64,000 cf of conditioned area) and garage (18,000 cf of partially conditioned area) what number of bore holes would be needed?

3.         While I know that every job is different, what is the typical cost per foot of drilling the bore holes?

4.         Is the depth to a water table critical for geothermal, as I plan to use a closed loop system.