Period Wine Cellar?

[mattice]

We're just about ( I hope) to be connected to the mains sewage which will leave a couple 3mx3mx2m chambers in the garden which I'll get pumped out :shock:

Any ideas what to do with them? Wine Cellar, landfill alternative, time capsule, rainwater storage? 10 things to do with an old septic tank?

Either way mrs matice would like to loose the manhole covers from the middle of the garden, I'm not quite sure how to go about capping them off :?

 

[Feltwell]

Hmm, not sure of any uses really!

If they are structurally ok then you could cap them off by removing the current manhole cover and surround, take a couple of courses of bricks off the access chambers if you can then mortar some precast concrete lintels across the hole. They are cheap and strong and won't rot. Don't do the old favourite of mortaring a paving slab over the hole, they're just not strong enough and can be dangerous.

I'd be tempted to fill them in though, especially if you've got any suitable rubble to get rid of!

 

[LadyArowana]

Any ideas what to do with them? Wine Cellar, landfill alternative, time capsule, rainwater storage? 10 things to do with an old septic tank?

Mysterious shell grotto? http://shellgrotto.co.uk/

 

[Feltwell]

Hmm, after many many years of it's previous contents soaking into the brickwork, grotty is perhaps more appropriate than grotto!

 

[Penners]

I would definitely fill them in and cap off the manhole entrances in the way described by Feltwell above. Any other solution might risk having to declare something potentially unattractive to future purchasers of the property.

 

[Feltwell]

Sorry if this is stating the blindingly obvious Mattice, but don't go down inside them, even when they have been fully pumped out. Lingering gases, that are heavier than air, can very quickly cause loss of consciousness.

I had a summer job helping wire control panels for sewage pumping stations when I was a student - glamorous job eh? I was always with an experienced team and we always had gas alarms - they would occasionally go off and we'd go outside quickly, but one time this happened when I was down inside the underground sump and by the time I'd got to the top of the ladder I was feeling very, very woozy. Scared the living daylights out of me!

If the hole left after the manhole cover & surround have been taken away is a bit big to cover completely with lintels, you can always put 2 or 3 down spaced slightly apart then mortar a paving slab over them - main thing is that the slab isn't covering the whole hole unsupported.

 

[Penners]

Lingering gases... can very quickly cause loss of consciousness.

Having had rather a rich lunch today, I can confirm that.

 

[Owain]

Any ideas what to do with them? Wine Cellar, landfill alternative, time capsule, rainwater storage? 10 things to do with an old septic tank?

Trout or tilapia farming possily in conjunction with hydroponic vehegatables?

http://ecolonomics.org/small-scale-trout-farming-home-based-fish-farms/

http://www.ecofilms.com.au/growing-trout-in-a-bathtub-system/

http://www.tilapiafarmingathome.com/Pages/default.aspx

 

[mattice]

LadyArowna, Owain, I'm lost for words! There's something appealing about leaving a (nice) surprise for a future owner

I don't think I'll be short of rubble next year, the porch and associated concrete biting the dust, so landfill it is. Feltwell, capping it off as you suggest looks tricky, I'll be able to see more once it's pumped out and I'll be sure not go exploring!