My house at one time had a water pump and well that was installed in a 5ft deep pit in the corner of the basement.
The house has a full basement, the ceiling clearance is 7.5ft, with a nicely done concrete floor that slopes to a central sump pump pit in the center below the steps.
The well pit is about 5ft square, and the well pipe protrudes about a foot out of the bare dirt around it. The sides of the hole are bricked up about half way down.
For years its been just covered up with a platform made up of a bunch of 1x4 planks that span the hole.
Getting to the water meter, breaker box, or the water shutoff requires walking on the springy old wood platform.
It seemed to be a bit softer than usual a few years ago so I threw a piece of 3/4" plywood over it as well.
I really don't want to lose the ability to use the old well, not for drinking but for emergency purposes I guess. (I did run a hose down the well pipe and was able to fill a 30 gallon bucket with fresh clean water rather quickly using just a drill driven pump, so it likely still a viable well even though its not been used in 60 or so years.
I've considered two things, one is to just extend the pipe to the current floor level, fill the hole in, and cement over it, or, brick up the walls of the pit, pour a cement floor in the pit, and build a better cover for the pit, maybe using steel or aluminum.
The pit is dry, and the bottom of the pit is a good 12ft below the surface level of the surrounding ground.
I assumed that the pit was left unpaved when it was in use years ago for drainage, and the depth of the pit may also have assisted the ability of an older style pump bringing water to the surface from what appears to be a 40+ft deep hole. (When I checked to see if there was still water down there I ran a 50ft garden hose down the pipe, there was about 6ft out of the hole when I started getting clear water. There's water in the bottom 10ft or so of the pipe.
I sent a sample of the water I pumped out of the hole out to be tested and it came back really good despite being told that everyone stopped using their wells around here due to contamination back in the 60's. The issue then was supposedly fecal waste and nitrates from nearby farms. There's not been a nearby farm here in 40 years or more.
I believe they were required to show proof back in the day that the well was disabled when they connected to city water, when i bought the place I was given a copy of a document from 1963 guaranteeing that the former well had been removed and disabled and it was stamped by some city inspector back then.
None of the other houses around here have their wells still in place, all have either filled in the pit and completely repaved the basement, or they never had a well pit like this.
I'm not looking to drink water from the well, I just figure it won't hurt to have access to another source of water if I need it one day.
I just don't like having a shaky old platform over a hole too deep to easily climb out of with a pipe sticking up down below. Not to mention the dirt bottom to the pit inside the house like that.
The house has a full basement, the ceiling clearance is 7.5ft, with a nicely done concrete floor that slopes to a central sump pump pit in the center below the steps.
The well pit is about 5ft square, and the well pipe protrudes about a foot out of the bare dirt around it. The sides of the hole are bricked up about half way down.
For years its been just covered up with a platform made up of a bunch of 1x4 planks that span the hole.
Getting to the water meter, breaker box, or the water shutoff requires walking on the springy old wood platform.
It seemed to be a bit softer than usual a few years ago so I threw a piece of 3/4" plywood over it as well.
I really don't want to lose the ability to use the old well, not for drinking but for emergency purposes I guess. (I did run a hose down the well pipe and was able to fill a 30 gallon bucket with fresh clean water rather quickly using just a drill driven pump, so it likely still a viable well even though its not been used in 60 or so years.
I've considered two things, one is to just extend the pipe to the current floor level, fill the hole in, and cement over it, or, brick up the walls of the pit, pour a cement floor in the pit, and build a better cover for the pit, maybe using steel or aluminum.
The pit is dry, and the bottom of the pit is a good 12ft below the surface level of the surrounding ground.
I assumed that the pit was left unpaved when it was in use years ago for drainage, and the depth of the pit may also have assisted the ability of an older style pump bringing water to the surface from what appears to be a 40+ft deep hole. (When I checked to see if there was still water down there I ran a 50ft garden hose down the pipe, there was about 6ft out of the hole when I started getting clear water. There's water in the bottom 10ft or so of the pipe.
I sent a sample of the water I pumped out of the hole out to be tested and it came back really good despite being told that everyone stopped using their wells around here due to contamination back in the 60's. The issue then was supposedly fecal waste and nitrates from nearby farms. There's not been a nearby farm here in 40 years or more.
I believe they were required to show proof back in the day that the well was disabled when they connected to city water, when i bought the place I was given a copy of a document from 1963 guaranteeing that the former well had been removed and disabled and it was stamped by some city inspector back then.
None of the other houses around here have their wells still in place, all have either filled in the pit and completely repaved the basement, or they never had a well pit like this.
I'm not looking to drink water from the well, I just figure it won't hurt to have access to another source of water if I need it one day.
I just don't like having a shaky old platform over a hole too deep to easily climb out of with a pipe sticking up down below. Not to mention the dirt bottom to the pit inside the house like that.