Well

[sunburyashes]

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Have just had some brick replacement work done as per previous threads in this forum and whilst carrying out the last corner the builder could not find any footing, His advice was to dig a metre down,lay footing and then complete the job, got him to start this and upon doing this we have discovered we have a 3 meter deep x 1 meter circumference well!
He is saying to fill it but I am not sure, his advice is to underpin the house across with steel and to fill the well.

I quite like the idea of keeping it but am unsure of what to do!

Any advice would be gratefully received...............

 

[^woody^]

Span some concrete lintels across and then a 50mm concrete paving slab or two. Add hot water ..... instant footing

 

[sunburyashes]

Add hot water?

With regards to having no footing on the corner my house, when we dig down the hole fills with water at 3ft as the well is only 4ft from the house. What would be the solution for that?

 

[^woody^]

What would be the solution for that?

Don't dig down?

I don't understand the probelm. You have a well which you did not know about, so what is the issue with this?

Is the water flooding the problem you were trying to cure, or is it flooding only because you are now digging to expose a well which was not a problem until you discovered it?

I'm confused

 

[sunburyashes]

Sorry mate

I was attempting to dig down to put a footing that didn't exist so that the blues that were being replaced would have something to go onto.

The problem now is that when I dig down the ground is so soft and wet at 3ft I'm not sure the footing would set properly and also whether 3ft would be enough to lay on. There is a 4ft gap from the edge of the well to the where I am trying to put a footing and the well is brick lined.

If I can I would like to keep the well but don't know how I can get around it and would I need a structural architect to work out what steel I would need.

I'm told that if I fill the well the soil will dry out and then I can lay a footing OK, but where will the water go to?

 

[^woody^]

Still confused

Your first post implies that the well is on the corner, and it was found when the builder dug the foundation trench? If so just bridge it with lintels

Your other post implies that you are digging next to the well into soft ground. If so you can't lay a foundation on soft ground so you have to go deeper, or devise some other solution - raft or pile.

Also depending on what load is on this corner, and the stability of the well, then you may need to fill it to stop it caving in. But otherwise, if building next to it, bridging it is irrelevent

Is this a house corner or just a wall?

If the ground is waterlogged then you may need to deal with this too

 

[sunburyashes]

It is a house corner...excuse my diagram but here goes!

.................
.................
.................
.................
................. Corner

xxxxxxxO

The well is where the O is and is about 3ft from the house and 2ft in from the corner.

That corner going along 3 bricks and coming around towards the well by 4 bricks there is no footing.

Hope that makes sense

 

[sunburyashes]

Just had a surveyor/engineer round and they said that a potential solution may be mini-piles with 3 needle beams - one across the corner diagonally and then one either side coming straight out from the house. - I'm told it isn't cheap?

Another alternative is to try and find solid ground either side of the well and site a steel beam across the span (6mtrs?), encase it in concrete and build up to the existing bricks form beneath it. - May be cheaper?

Which solution would be the best option for me?

Thanks so far for the advice!

 

[sunburyashes]

I am going to support the bottom course of bricks with 2 x 2 meter steel I beams (152x152) one for each skin.

I had an engineer out to look at mini-piling and he allowed for a total working load of 100kN and quoted me £2k to do the job.

My question is could the steel take that weight and is there somewhere I can find that out as this may be a cheaper alternative as the engineer said that it would do the job just as good.

Many thanks so far......nearly there!!