Digging an inspection pit

[bashbarnard]

So ive been trawling around online looking into doing this when i move later this summer so i can have a functioning workshop at home. got a big double garage that i can fit it in. Is there any thing I should know? was planning on putting some cutouts in the side for tool holding and some sort of runners for a four post jack to fit in and slide back and forth.

[Toms306]

Not sure if you know 'Dan!' that used to be on here? Him and his Dad dug a pit in their garage so should know about it.

[WiNgNuTz]

Not sure if you know 'Dan!' that used to be on here?  Him and his Dad dug a pit in their garage so should know about it.

I knew someone had done it, could not for the life of me think who it was!

Of course, our very own Mr Lobb might be able to offer some advice as well, though I can't be sure he dug his own pit...

[bashbarnard]

Well any advice is welcome. I dug a hole once years ago and swore never to do it again as i hated every last moment of it. however now im getting what i class as a permanent home for the first time ever that i dont intend on leaving nows the time to crack out the shovels and beg my little brother to come dig it for me lol

[Toms306]

Rent a digger for a weekend!

[bashbarnard]

Rent a digger for a weekend!

i will its called my brother

[Toms306]

Lol.

[tigerstyle]

I'd be wanting a lot of concrete and blocks+rebar in the thing, more like a concrete pad set into the ground, and for that effort, I'd try and just get a 2 post lift in the workshop, even if it means lifting the existing roof by a metre+

[WiNgNuTz]

In fact, didn't Dan! have a thread on here where he detailed his progress? Or was that on facebook...

*goes to check*

---

I can only find 2 pics on facebook, and no thread on here, I'm sure I remember reading about it and seeing more than 2 pics though!

[Redordead89]

Rent a digger for a weekend!

Rent a digger for at least a day, little trailer job with a jib with a 12-18" scoop, have everything else ready, to build a frame in the hole with boards and tools,jacks and battons
Dig out round the reinforced boarded frame and pour!
dig a 4 ft testhole elsewhere 5-10 foot away to check base material!

[Dum-Dum]

Having been in dans it was pretty narrow but you wouldn't have wanted it wider. Get decent bit of railway sleeper cut to length to make the cover and yeah, use concrete blocks turned on their sides to build the walls up and plenty of concrete everywhere with as much reinforcing as you can find. I'd probably build a block peir or 2 along each side but with the pier outwards rather than inwards to strengthen the walls.


If you want a hand digging your grave inspection pit, I might be available for beer and pizza

[bashbarnard]

I joke about my brother doing the digfing but he will with my uncle mini digger lol. So you reckon dig pit wider, put up frame work pour concrete round to reinforce it

[Danny Wideboy]

Water is your enemy with any hole in the ground.
Use plenty of waterproof membrane under the concrete Base and round the walls.
One peice with no joins would be best.
Ring me if you want, I have built plenty of basements, in fact I'm doing one currently.
Still got my number haven't you?

[daniel909]

Dig a few foot deeper than you need you to then back fill it with rubble so your making a small soak away should help with any water problem you might get

[bashbarnard]

Yeah danny ive got your number man, wont be for another 12 or so weeks before i move so itll be a while. Ill bare that in mind. As for the soakaway we already knew we may need something unsure what yet

[darrenjlobb]

Dug the one in my workshop by hand many years ago...built up with block and then backfilled with concrete and put concrete base in before i started...Make sure you put a bit of pipe in to take power in for lights and socket, very useful in pit, worth having a sump area also!

[toseland]

I have one in our garage downstairs, problem is it's not sealed at the moment and gets about a foot of water in in winter.

Other problem is I can't get the car in the garage lol, cause Tue threshold is a pain

---

I joke about my brother doing the digfing but he will with my uncle mini digger lol. So you reckon dig pit wider, put up frame work pour concrete round to reinforce it

That's the basic idea,  if you dig wider at the top and closer at the bottom too, it'll serve as a self supporting structure..    digging out latterally from the sides of the pit for reinforcing pins is sometimes a good idea too depending on the composition of the soil,  like a spiders legs for ties nearer the top of the pit and then out into the garage floor.

The pit I have has a lip and some thick planks (they are thicker than scaffold boards) over the top of it so you can still use the whole garage.

[bashbarnard]

So a year or so after this thread was started me and my brother have decided to go ahead with this. now researching online again about what we need to do. seems like i need a lot of monies worth of stuff. also considering other options, home ramps etc. any input would be appriciated

[welshpug]

if you've got the height I would get an used 2 poster in tbh, you will need a decent slab down to bolt it to but that would be much cheaper than a pit.

[bashbarnard]

if you've got the height I would get an used 2 poster in tbh, you will need a decent slab down to bolt it to but that would be much cheaper than a pit.

defo sont have that amount of height if not i would save and go down that route

[Doseph]

Couldn't you raise the roof on the workshop?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bashbarnard]

Couldn't you raise the roof on the workshop?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

yes. but cost of rasing the roof and planning implications along with various other issues as in the floor is i dont know how thick. means significant costs. also the one wire thats running into the workshop would need to be sorted as well. Its just a can of worms

[welshpug]

its a can of worms I'd much prefer over a pit tbh, I've only found them useful for big commercial vehicles.

how close to any other foundation is it?

[Doseph]

im with Welshpug on this one
and the workshop building is a bit of a lash up as it is so you might have to open the can of worms regardless

I have a few contacts in building services / planning if you wanted to look into it m9

[bashbarnard]

its not anywhere near my house foundations. Its a seperate building. The building is a tad lashed up ill admit but trying to get it higher and a ramp in there is still going to cost significantly more than a pit. Also as for commercials i wont even entertain anything remotly like that at home i hate working on them at work enough.

[bashbarnard]

just had a message from brother. Says cut concrete. Dig hole. fit shuttering, pour concrete. wait a week. you have a pit.

[Dum-Dum]

Raising the roof won't cost much, only some 2x4s, ply and felt. Gotta be cheaper than digging an 8ft deep hole and filling it with a few cubic meters of concrete plus reinforcing.

What is the sub soil like by you and how deep is the top soil?
Have you considered the cost of removing all this soil? For a decent pit you can stand in and work on both ends of a car your looking at at least 10 cubic meters of dirt.

You can get a 2 post ramp brand new for under £1200 delivered http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-POST-LIFT-CA...Swqu9U2ie4
Second hand they are much less.

[daddyfixit]

also check online... I remember there being a company selling pre-moulded fibreglass pits that you dropped into a hole you dig out ?? waterproof and had sides/steps moulded in...

[bashbarnard]

Raising the roof won't cost much, only some 2x4s, ply and felt. Gotta be cheaper than digging an 8ft deep hole and filling it with a few cubic meters of concrete plus reinforcing.

What is the sub soil like by you and how deep is the top soil?
Have you considered the cost of removing all this soil? For a decent pit you can stand in and work on both ends of a car your looking at at least 10 cubic meters of dirt.

You can get a 2 post ramp brand new for under £1200 delivered http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-POST-LIFT-CA...Swqu9U2ie4
Second hand they are much less.

Erm the hole digging etc will be free. As in i have a digger to do it and fit in the garage. well not me personally but my brother does. who is also doing the digging As i cant due to my back. The top soil is very thin round here its almost straight to clay. annoying as hell. The current workshop is actually made out of old sleepers from a house that burnt down by the old owner and im not sure on planning. Its something i may be able to discuss with brother again as his in the know. The ramp cost is a lot though. £1200 vs a few hundred on blocking reinforcing etc. But then again i dont KNOW the cost. it is currently being costed for me. again this is not my forte when it comes to doing ill just do what im told and learn.  

also check online... I remember there being a company selling pre-moulded fibreglass pits that you dropped into a hole you dig out ??    waterproof and had sides/steps moulded in...

Yeah there are a few of these. I have actually looked at them. I dont like the idea though of not building for what i want though and having someone else do it. Again im a sucker for punishment and i like learning new skills etc which this will teach me one way or another. you never know i might end doing a pit for someone else one day at which point ill know how to do it and where i f*cked up. which will happen.