Restoring a well - advice please

[Sahara]

We were recently quite excited to discover a well in the back garden of our property, although it is slightly unfortunate that we were in the process of putting a conservatory above that part of the ground. We decided to try to restore the well and have had it pumped out in order that we can cap it with a clear cover and turn it into a feature. We have hit a bit of a sticking point with doing this as our conservatory builders are now trying to duck out of this and are trying to get us to fill it in. We do not really know what we are doing and the builders are trying to convince us that the well is not stable and that it is likely to cave in when the foundations are dug. I have googled for advice but am drawing blanks (the word 'well' is really not a helpful search term!) and we wondered if anyone here can either help advise us, or point us in the direction of a professional that can, as we really do need independent help on whether we can 'save' our well or not.

The well walls are brick but seem to have a concrete base. The well is about 175cm deep. I am hoping that a picture will appear when I post this! Please excuse the sewer pipe that someone seems to have thought it sensible to install using the well side as a support - that will be moved.

If anyone with more knowledge than us could offer some sensible suggestions or point me towards a professional that can do so (we are in West Berks if that helps) we really would appreciate it. Many thanks.

 

[DJH]

I agree with you that your well will make a nice feature doing as you say with a clear cover. There was a discussion on here not long ago about wells but I can't remember what the topic was titled. It could have been about anything and drifted off course to discuss wells as is prone to happen on here. I think you would be well (sorry) advised to shore up the walls with say scaffold boards and use some short acrow props across to hold the walls in position while the footings are being dug for your conservatory.

Have you found any pipes at all?

Doug

 

[Sahara]

Thanks Doug, that sounds like a good plan. I think I've just found the thread you mentioned and we've not found any pipes relating to the well. We have definitely reached the bottom of the well as we have double checked so I presume we are unlikely to find anything else. Thanks.

 

[tobydog]

Sahara - I have limited experience of wells but I have a horrible feeling that this might not turn into the feature you are hoping for. The fact that you had to pump it out in the first place suggests that you have water ingress from the surrounding ground. How do you plan to stop this recurring without rebuilding and sealing the brickwork? You need to remember that an old well was never designed to be watertight at the top because all the water was much lower down most of the time where the ground was saturated. Even if the old soft bricks were mortered in, moisture could still get through them and your nice new clear top is likely to turn into a steamy affair pretty quickly given that the space above is going to be a nice warm conservatory. The walls may soon follow with a lovely shade of green.

We were very lucky when we had our kitchen extension built. The old well turned up just inside the foundations and had already been filled with soil and allsorts years ago. The builders were happy to lay the reinforced concrete floor directly over it, however, it saw the light of day at the precise time the building control officer turned up. He insisted on even further reinforcement which, although simple, cost us another £600.

I would definitely take professional advice (but I don't know anyone), otherwise, fill it in.

 

[DJH]

Valid points tobydog. I suggest if you wish to keep the well Sahara that you ventilate it to outside somewhere with some pipes (rainwater pipes maybe?) lid under the floor with each pipe exiting at a different elevation preferably one of them towards the prevailing wind direction. These pipes should terminate with a grill to prevent vermin entering and should allow enough air to circulate in the well to help disperse any build up of moisture (condense) under your glass. You will of course get some sort of vegetation growing in the well but I think that's quite attractive and if or when it grows too much for you then take the cover off and remove any vegetation. I'm assuming that the cover will be easily removable for maintenance.

It is a shame to back fill old wells and we've lost so many over the years quite unnecessarily over the years...

Doug

 

[tobydog]

It is a shame to back fill old wells and we've lost so many over the years quite unnecessarily over the years... Doug

Doug - I generally agree but, with the exception of the 1.75m that Sahara is left with here, this well is pretty much backfilled already. To make this a feature in a new room you would also need to build it up a fair way and it doesn't look as though there is much to build on right now. I can understand the builders concern of a collapse when they start digging the footings. When it was full of water it was probably like a swimming pool where the water pressure helps hold the walls up.

 

[skier-hughes]

No experience myself as haven't done anything at all with my well, but my neighboour way up on the hill has his in his lounge. It's about 175' deep, has water at the bottom, he put lighting in so you can see all the way down and has a really thick glass top.
It's been done about 15 years and is still as clear as a bell, not sure what if any ventilation he has. He didn't mention any, and he did speak a lot of all the work he had to do to reinstate it as such a fine feature. Maybe the 173 feet of air stops the misting up and moss growing!!

 

[Sahara]

Thank you tobydog and Doug. We have been in touch with a structural engineer and a company that design well covers today and they have offered some further advice, indicating that they think the well should be structurally sound, however, we do need to get some proper advice still and are looking at the structural engineer coming to assess the situation.

The well was filled in when we found it so it is the mud that we have pumped out as opposed to water - I'm not sure if this affects the points made by tobydog? In fact, I have a photo of the original find so will post that below.

Doug, thank you for the suggestion of ventilation, I shall look into this idea as it sounds like it may be a necessity.

Thank you again both of you for your help, it is much appreciated by a couple of amateurs trying to save a tiny piece of history!

 

[Zebra]

So whereabouts is the well in relation to the foundations for the conservatory? Will it be fully inside, fully outside, or right where the foundations are supposed to be?
I had a well too, right against the wall of the house, although in the end I think it wasn't very old, and it got filled in.