So, I just dug out a huge agapanthus from the end of my drive and underneath I found a layer of broken up concrete. The agapanthus was suspiciously easy to dig out - the roots were all above ground on top of the concrete. I pulled a couple of bits of the concrete out and found a blooming great hole (I backed away rather rapidly so can't tell how deep exactly). Looking at an old drainage plan from when the house was built (1970) it might be a sump hole (the plan is rather approximate). Questions: 1. How deep would a sump usually be? 2. How wide is it likely to be? Should I be worried about falling through my lawn?
pauldw,
Aug 2, 6:46am
A soak pit would normally be filled with rocks or broken concrete ñot be just an unsupported hole in the ground. I would be wondering where the soil went. Is there any other pipe line nearby that could be taking water and soil through a broken joint?
panicky,
Aug 2, 6:52am
could be a bunker
tweake,
Aug 2, 6:58am
how big is it? old septic tank?
shakespeare6,
Aug 2, 7:06am
I have 3 soak holes for storm water which are covered with a concrete lid about 300 mm under the lawn in various places in my property. They are 1 metre wide and 2 .5 metre deep. - you don't want to fall down those
stevo2,
Aug 2, 7:10am
Soak holes on the homes we built back in the 70's. We would get a truck in to drill a hole 900mm diameter and up to 6mt deep (or until it hits the water table) and then fit a 1.200 diameter lid on top. We would never fill it in with broken concrete or rubble. Never seen a "proper" one subside.
shakespeare6,
Aug 2, 8:08am
Yep that's how mine are just not that deep. My house was built in 75. I lifted the lid on one and was quite amazed how good condition it was in .
bugalugs,
Aug 2, 8:20am
Thanks heaps peeps. It's oddly situated right next to a boundary (almost under the hedge) and it seems odd that the agapanthus was planted on top (no other plants around it). It seems too shallow, was only about 10cm down. I might have another poke around tomorrow to see if I can get a better sense of the dimensions. Gave me a bit of a fright when I found it!
mikee6,
Aug 2, 10:17am
I'm guessing it's actually a portal to an alternative agapanthus based dimension, and by killing the guardian you are about to be invaded.
les6,
Aug 2, 9:26pm
there are heaps of old defunct septic tanks all over Auckland from when they all went on to a sewerage system.I know of one at least that contains an old Vauxhall 6 engine?
ebygum1,
Nov 6, 2:07pm
If it's at the road end of your drive it may be a surge tank for the stormwater.
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