Because the grass wouldn't grow very well in a part of my back lawn (and area which looked like a rather ugly 'hump'), I decided to excavate. Having found concrete about 10cm under the turf I eventually found a concealed manhole cover.

On investigation I seem to have found a disused cesspit made of concrete, with iron supports inside, measuring about 5 metres long, 3 metres wide and 3+ metres deep. It seems to be totally empty albeit there is 30cm or so of water at the bottom. I do know that my house was connected to mains sewage about 15 years ago, and I had assumed the cess tank would have been filled in or removed. I can not see any outlets, which has led me to conclude this is not a septic tank. There is one inlet pipe which is not connected to anything as far as I can tell, I suspect the water seeps in through this pipe from the garden above.

Does anyone have any advice as to what to do with this, and who can do it without spending £000s? It looks horribly dangerous as well as being an eyesore over which grass will not grow properly.

The options seem to be:

1. Fill it in, which would take many, many tons of rubble, and would not solve the eyesore/grass problem;
2. Remove it, which would probably be very expensive and would still leave an enormous hole needing to be filled in anyway;
3. Knock it in on itself and then bring it up to ground level with more rubble as needed, then cover the final 30cm or so in ballast/topsoil. Trouble is, that looks incredibly dangerous and difficult to achieve.

Thanks in advance for any advice

"Graham99" wrote in message
...

Because the grass wouldn't grow very well in a part of my back lawn (and
area which looked like a rather ugly 'hump'), I decided to excavate.
Having found concrete about 10cm under the turf I eventually found a
concealed manhole cover.

On investigation I seem to have found a disused cesspit made of
concrete, with iron supports inside, measuring about 5 metres long, 3
metres wide and 3+ metres deep. It seems to be totally empty albeit
there is 30cm or so of water at the bottom. I do know that my house was
connected to mains sewage about 15 years ago, and I had assumed the cess
tank would have been filled in or removed. I can not see any outlets,
which has led me to conclude this is not a septic tank. There is one
inlet pipe which is not connected to anything as far as I can tell, I
suspect the water seeps in through this pipe from the garden above.

Does anyone have any advice as to what to do with this, and who can do
it without spending £000s? It looks horribly dangerous as well as being
an eyesore over which grass will not grow properly.

The options seem to be:

1. Fill it in, which would take many, many tons of rubble, and would
not solve the eyesore/grass problem;
2. Remove it, which would probably be very expensive and would still
leave an enormous hole needing to be filled in anyway;
3. Knock it in on itself and then bring it up to ground level with more
rubble as needed, then cover the final 30cm or so in ballast/topsoil.
Trouble is, that looks incredibly dangerous and difficult to achieve.

Thanks in advance for any advice




--
Graham99

Make a 'Feature Well' on top of it.

Direct the house rainwater into it.

Install an electric submersible pump

Use the water

You will need to allow the water to flow into it for a long time and
overflow to wash the remaining water out.

And as you see, you will need an overflow.

I have one of these just outside the back of the house. As yet done nothing
with it because of its awkward position where an extension was built onto
the house in the 1970's

Mike


--
www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.

Install an electric submersible pump

Use the water



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-35463.../dp/B0001K9TDI


Mike

--
www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.

In article ,
says...

Because the grass wouldn't grow very well in a part of my back lawn (and
area which looked like a rather ugly 'hump'), I decided to excavate.
Having found concrete about 10cm under the turf I eventually found a
concealed manhole cover.

On investigation I seem to have found a disused cesspit made of
concrete, with iron supports inside, measuring about 5 metres long, 3
metres wide and 3+ metres deep. It seems to be totally empty albeit
there is 30cm or so of water at the bottom. I do know that my house was
connected to mains sewage about 15 years ago, and I had assumed the cess
tank would have been filled in or removed. I can not see any outlets,
which has led me to conclude this is not a septic tank. There is one
inlet pipe which is not connected to anything as far as I can tell, I
suspect the water seeps in through this pipe from the garden above.

Does anyone have any advice as to what to do with this, and who can do
it without spending £000s? It looks horribly dangerous as well as being
an eyesore over which grass will not grow properly.

The options seem to be:

1. Fill it in, which would take many, many tons of rubble, and would
not solve the eyesore/grass problem;
2. Remove it, which would probably be very expensive and would still
leave an enormous hole needing to be filled in anyway;
3. Knock it in on itself and then bring it up to ground level with more
rubble as needed, then cover the final 30cm or so in ballast/topsoil.
Trouble is, that looks incredibly dangerous and difficult to achieve.

Thanks in advance for any advice





As Mike says use it, or take the top off and turn it into a pond (line it
don't rely on the concrete)
See the thread on grass not growing and you will see its not a good idea
to fill it with rubble as the grass will never grow properly
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:16:13 +0100, Graham99
wrote:


Thanks in advance for any advice

Trying to fill it in or re-use it in some way are both
labour-intensive.
If you are not prepared for that much work, two suggestions that would
be much easier:
1. Build a rockery over it.
2. Get four gravel boards or railway sleepers (depending on the size),
and make a raised bed.

wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:16:13 +0100, Graham99
wrote:

Thanks in advance for any advice

Trying to fill it in or re-use it in some way are both
labour-intensive.
If you are not prepared for that much work, two suggestions that would
be much easier:
1. Build a rockery over it.
2. Get four gravel boards or railway sleepers (depending on the size),
and make a raised bed.
Pity Blaster Bates is no longer with us, he would solve it, in a flash,
with a bang!

"Broadback" wrote in message
...
wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:16:13 +0100, Graham99
wrote:

Thanks in advance for any advice

Trying to fill it in or re-use it in some way are both
labour-intensive.
If you are not prepared for that much work, two suggestions that would
be much easier:
1. Build a rockery over it.
2. Get four gravel boards or railway sleepers (depending on the size),
and make a raised bed.
Pity Blaster Bates is no longer with us, he would solve it, in a flash,
with a bang!


Only when they are full and solid and all the neighbours get a share!!

I heard that story when we were at our old house out in the country and
could see him doing it there!!

Mike


--
www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.

"'Mike'" wrote ...
"Graham99" wrote in message

Because the grass wouldn't grow very well in a part of my back lawn (and
area which looked like a rather ugly 'hump'), I decided to excavate.
Having found concrete about 10cm under the turf I eventually found a
concealed manhole cover.

On investigation I seem to have found a disused cesspit made of
concrete, with iron supports inside, measuring about 5 metres long, 3
metres wide and 3+ metres deep. It seems to be totally empty albeit
there is 30cm or so of water at the bottom. I do know that my house was
connected to mains sewage about 15 years ago, and I had assumed the cess
tank would have been filled in or removed. I can not see any outlets,
which has led me to conclude this is not a septic tank. There is one
inlet pipe which is not connected to anything as far as I can tell, I
suspect the water seeps in through this pipe from the garden above.


I agree with Mike, use it to store rainwater for the garden by directing
your gutter downpipes into it. You will need to get down into it to paint
the sides and bottom (if you can empty it) with a waterproof paint but then
you will have your own garden water supply. It can be planted over with
alpines or similar that don't need a good depth of soil.

Alternatively turn it into a swimming pool or garden pond, the depth would
be excellent for Koi but without a bottom drain I wouldn't go down either of
those routes.

Didn't one of the Garden TV shows some years ago do something with a similar
structure and turn it into a sunken garden room complete with TV etc? It was
a large Air Raid Shelter and they took off the top and made a raised one out
of glass with steps leading down.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Cess Pits are basically water tight tanks that store your waste material, from all sources, until emptied. The tanks can be constructed from many materials including bricks and mortar, plastic and metal. Whilst the waste is in the tank, no treatment takes place and it is forbidden to filter/drain off the liquid. For domestic use, the Cess Pit is a dying breed as the new rules and regulations favour the Fosse Septique. Obviously in situations where there is insufficient land for a Fosse Septique, and its filter system, and no mains drainage, a Cess Pit will probably be the only choice left. Its main drawback is that it needs emptying on a regular basis

Many of these replies seem very gung-ho to me. A 3 metre deep koi carp pond? I don't think so. I'd go for the shallow-rooted plants, e.g. alpines, as the line of least resistance, not to mention the cheapest and least labour-intensive.

Cess Pits are basically water tight tanks that store your waste material, from all sources, until emptied. The tanks can be constructed from many materials including bricks and mortar, plastic and metal. Whilst the waste is in the tank, no treatment takes place and it is forbidden to filter/drain off the liquid. For domestic use, the Cess Pit is a dying breed as the new rules and regulations favour the Fosse Septique. Obviously in situations where there is insufficient land for a Fosse Septique, and its filter system, and no mains drainage, a Cess Pit will probably be the only choice left. Its main drawback is that it needs emptying on a regular basis.