one "hole" of a project

banditbooker · Jul 16, 2011

hi guys, i usually hang out on the "build it yourself" thread but right now im in the middle of digging around my house to put in some mulch. a little background on my place, its an old house, over 100 years old and i always had this square pad outside and was told by some family that it was an old cistern under there. well, as i was digging my border for mulch and with my new side walk plans i needed to get rid of this concrete slab. not knowing what i'd find when i removed it, assuming it would be like a septic tank except for water, i decided to take a look. well, what i found happened to be 28 feet deep, hand dug and lined with stones. unfortunately it doesn't hold water, at least its dry right now. anyhow, i was looking for some ideas on what i could do with this new found hole. at first i was gonna get a couple load of 2b stone and fill it in and still be able to run my spouting drain into it but the more i thought about it i'd like to retain some what of a hole there to hold water but make it much safer than it is, because i still want to put my walk way over it. my idea was to fill it part way with stone and get some 24 to 36 inch ads culvert pipe about 10 or 15 feet long and put in the hole and then pour a little bit of concrete in and around the bottom so it seals good and will hold water. then fill around it with more 2b stone. i could make a lid for it and drop a pump in it to get the water out. i would run the spouting into it and if it ever over flowed it would just run down through the stone all the way to the bottom. what do you think, any ideas of your own or just to comment on mine. all are welcome!

bcp · Jul 16, 2011

I would cut it into smaller pieces and sell them as post holes.

Bruce

crash325 · Jul 16, 2011

I'm somewhat of a "preserver" and were it my "hole", Id make it look like and old well, as that is what it was.

Put a buried inlet for your drain & pump. Pour enough cement in the bottom to seal it. Should not take too much if put a lot of rock down first.

Below is a link to some fun old wells.

Old water well - Google Search

RippySkippy · Jul 17, 2011

Be careful when putting water back into a well as it will have a direct impact on the ground water in the area. When a well has no useful service life, it's recommended to fill and plug. Here's a good link for our state that has practical application regardless of location, you may want to research your own before doing anything.

2458n · Jul 17, 2011

Becareful if you enter this confined space. The air at the bottom of the 28 ft. hole may be be "bad". A cistern on a farm almost got my dad when he was working to reline it.

dfkrug · Jul 17, 2011

What an interesting old well....and well-made, too.

Old wells often become trash dumps, or a treasure trove for
archaeologists. There may be some very interesting artifacts down
there, depending on how old it is. It is interesting that it is dry.

Runner · Jul 17, 2011

It would be neat to drop a camera down there and see what is on the bottom.

banditbooker · Jul 17, 2011

thanks for all the replies. lots of helpful ideas. i didn't know states had regulations on old wells like that. i would like to preserve it, the thing is its in a bad location for what i want to do. but you got me thinking a little more about it, and if i can make something work and still make it look alright, maybe thats what i'll do. maybe dig down a little bit to pour a slab all around it so far, to keep it from caving in at the top and then take some landscape blocks and build it up around it and put some type of plexy glass cover over it. make kind of an outdoor table out of it.

jdfire · Jul 17, 2011

bcp said:
I would cut it into smaller pieces and sell them as post holes.

Bruce

Now THAT'S funny!!

houstonscott · Jul 17, 2011

That is in a perfect spot to do rain water collection tank. You can use water to water lawns or plumb into toilets in house so you don't use good well water to flush.
You could also use it for a geothermal heat pump.

HS