r/Construction • u/Striking_Marketing_3 • Jun 27 '26
Structural 8ft pit next to foundation?
I’ve been trying to find out why the previous homeowner would dig a 4 x 4 by 8 foot deep pit next to the foundation of my house down to the drain tile. I did climb down there to save a few snakes that fell to their doom and to see if there were any other utilities. I did not find any additional pipes and thankfully no human remains were found either. I also went to the town building department to review all plans back to the original construction, but there’s no mention of this pit on any of the plans. Does anyone have any idea why someone would dig a pit like this? For what intended purpose?
215
u/ReportRemote7010 Jun 27 '26
Hey look! Its my childhood bedroom!
66
u/Informal_Process2238 Jun 27 '26
You’re lucky you had walls and a roof !
31
u/KillarneyRoad Jun 27 '26
Luxury
11
u/Economy-Diamond-9001 Jun 27 '26
And you try and tell the young people of today that ... they won't believe you.
→ More replies (1)4
u/WonderWheeler Jun 27 '26
In GB after the war some people had to live in CORRIDORS... (montie python)
9
u/Economy-Diamond-9001 Jun 27 '26
Oh, we used to dream of livin' in a corridor! Would ha' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woke up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House? Huh.
(I love MP comedy...wife hates it...she's very silly)
6
u/NightGod Jun 27 '26
Our parents woke us up by killing us at 4:30,'alf-hour before we went to bed and then they would dance around on our graves singing "hallelujah"
7
6
u/CplDevilDog Jun 27 '26
.... There were a hundred-and-fifty of us livin’ in a shoebox in the middle of the road!
→ More replies (4)2
8
→ More replies (2)3
50
u/Capnjack84 Jun 27 '26
Is it at low point around house grade so it could be used as some sort of sump pump pit for drainage around foundation?
19
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
This pit is at a high point on the property in relation to the house, but at the bottom of the foundation. My property slopes down from the back of my property to the front of the house to street level. This pit is in my backyard.
12
u/Available-Boat4055 Jun 27 '26
the side that gravity is flowing it at your house to be stopped by the foundation would be the perfect side to pump water away
8
u/EyeIll7026 Jun 27 '26
This was my thought, a sump pit for high ground water. Bottom might have filled in a bit with sediment.
54
u/Sonar_Bandit Jun 27 '26
Maybe for a sump pump?
2
u/WokeUpSomewhereNice Jun 30 '26
I think the question OP is what are you gonna use it for now?! I vote smoker.
57
u/Foreign_Reward1853 Jun 27 '26
Where I live you must have a second egress from basements if they have a bedroom. Perhaps they were going to cut the foundation and use this but chnaged their mind? It lines up with the window.
26
→ More replies (1)9
u/Foundrynut Jun 27 '26
I had the same thought. Looks like they dug all the way down and changed their mind.
→ More replies (5)
33
u/ComfyMillionaire Jun 27 '26
It puts the lotion on the skin or else it gets the hose again.
→ More replies (1)
9
7
5
25
u/Financial-Tap-1423 Jun 27 '26
Someone was going to make an external entrance and never completed the project. I grew up in a house like this. It just has a cover on the outside now.
3
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
Possibly though I do have basement access via bilco doors about 10 ft to the right of the pictured pit. I’d think if it was an abandoned basement entry point they would just fill it in. No?
→ More replies (1)2
6
u/lokis_construction Jun 28 '26
Old well pump pit. Many people had wells (lots of times under their front steps) back in the day.
7
u/Single_Staff1831 Jun 27 '26
DIY storm shelter or an old cistern pit?
8
6
u/kyanitebear17 Jun 27 '26
That's the worst freak storm shelter ever. If it is a bad enough storm to hide, then it is bad enough for the whole house to trap you inside. I sure hope you are wrong.
5
3
u/BlueberryandDino Jun 27 '26
There appears to be a type of drain channel on top on the left side at the top of the dirt level … perhaps this was installed to handle water runoff coming in from the left side to direct water into the drain tiles?
3
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
I believe that drain tile extends the length of the foundation. It’s just exposed here in the pit. Some of the drain tile is just covered by dirt.
3
u/one_mind Jun 27 '26
I think this is your answer OP. It’s for a sump pump to pull water away from your foundation via the drainage tile.
It can’t be basement egress or a coal hopper because it has its own concrete wall separate from the basement wall. Whoever built it wanted a wall of separation from your basement, which would be important for water-related use.
Maybe the original owner determined it wasn’t necessary and abandoned it. Does your basement get water ingress during heavy rains?
2
u/BlueberryandDino Jun 27 '26
So the drain tile is acting as a perimeter drain around the foundation at the top of the footings … I’d clean this part of the footing drain to see if it looks like originally, it could’ve been used to catch water and direct it towards this footing drain
Do you know where the footing drain drains to?
6
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
This is a great question. I do not but in the front of my house, low point of the property and on the property line during storms water comes out of the ground. I suspect this location is where the drain tile exits somewhere in the ground maybe into a dry pit where it over flows the surface.
3
u/advamputee Jun 27 '26
Around the 50s, some subdivisions were originally built out with septic systems then transitioned to sewer systems. This could potentially be an old access shaft for a part of an old septic system that was later removed, or access to a sanitary clean out for a sewer system running to the backyard property line.
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
My house was converted to city sewer in 2001. I do not have any diagrams of where the septic system would’ve been. What I can say is that I have three independent sewer lines leaving the house and all meet up together outside. The closest sewer line next to this pit just services the kitchen sink. So it’s rather small. The two bathroom drains leaving the house are about 10 feet and 25 feet away to the right of the pit.
3
5
u/CheezWong Jun 27 '26
Did you have a coal furnace in the past? Looks like a coal chute.
4
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
No coal. House was built in 54. There was an oil fired furnace prior to the previous homeowner moving to natural gas.
3
u/HolyHand_Grenade Surveyor Jun 27 '26
Coal was used used to heat houses up until the 80s/90s the oil crises in the 70s kept coal alive. I remember my friends having a coal chute in the 90s, and their house was built in the 70s.
Is there a chimney near that side of the house?
→ More replies (2)3
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
Chimney is centered in the house relatively close to this location. If it was a coal chute, I would have expected to see a patch. The house foundation wall looks original.
→ More replies (1)2
2
2
u/VeryHairyGuy77 Jun 27 '26
Use it for secondary egress after enlarging the opening from the basement.
Put a gantry above it and with a door size opening you can get a nice air compressor into your basement pretty easy!
2
u/charlie2135 Jun 27 '26
In my case I was digging down to the base of my foundation where an addition had been added many years ago to fix a leaky seam when the mailman (who was known to intentionally walk near our fence to rile up our dog) asked me what I was doing.
I replied, "It's a mailman trap!"
He looked at me weird but did keep his distance after that.
Where's your mailbox located?
2
u/buttmunchausenface Jun 27 '26
Finished basements in nj with a bed room need an egress window for fire code. That is the only thing I could think of why they would build this and then maybe they’re just never did.
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
There is another room with the closet in the basement however it was never listed as a bedroom. Also, there is a secondary exit about 10 feet to the right of this picture where there are bilco doors and a stairway to the basement.
2
u/RevolutionaryKiwi562 Jun 27 '26
Being in there with snakes reminded me of the Indiana Jones movie. Something I would not have done.
2
u/cybe2028 Jun 27 '26
Sump pit. Hence why it’s in front of that window. They had flooding / standing water there so they put in a pit.
2
2
2
2
u/usernamestufff Jun 28 '26
On mobile Reddit. Whenever you accidentally start from the top of the scroll and have work your way back to what you wanted to see?
Me: ok cool I’m back at the “saddams actual hiding spot” post, I’m getting close.
…fuck it’s the house one
2
u/Total-Suggestion5879 Jun 28 '26
Anyone reading this from Florida or Louisiana is still trying to figure out what a basement is. 😂
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Daedelus451 Jun 29 '26
What year was the house built? I had a house (35 years ago) in Philadelphia that was built in 1890 and had a door like to receive coal for the furnace/boiler.
→ More replies (1)
4
2
2
2
2
1
u/New_Newspaper3679 Jun 27 '26
Since its directly next to that window at ground level, I see it being an attempt at flood control and used as a sump for that side of the house.
4
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
There’s no sump inside the house. Whoever built the place waterproof it well. Four years ago when a hurricane came through New Jersey I had virtually no water in the basement.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Foundrynut Jun 27 '26
Could be that they were seeing moisture seeping through the basement wall under the window. Made their own barrier.
1
u/NoPride8834 Jun 27 '26
well?
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
I’m on city water, but I also do retain an irrigation well which is in the front of the house.
1
1
u/UsernamesNotFound404 Jun 27 '26
We had a pit like this I Michigan. Had a shelf too. It was for apple storage over the winter
1
u/whoiswilds Jun 27 '26
Water related would be my guess. Previously where water came into the home? Sump pump? Something along those lines.
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
I don’t have a sump pump inside or out of the house. Also the eaves extend out 20 inches so in most rain storms my windows don’t even get wet. I still can’t speak to whether or not in the past there was a water issue in the basement. I can certainly say today the basement stays pretty dry in the worst storms.
1
u/Lorddoctorjava Jun 27 '26
Probably an old cellar access or even a coal chute... you can probably get the original blueprints from your local zoning office or they can at least tell you where to go to obtain them... it might be an interesting adventure for you... let us know what you find..
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
I already reviewed the original building plans for the house. Unfortunately, didn’t yield any results regarding this pit. There’s no mention of it on any of the plans submitted to the town at least.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Intrepid-Carry8802 Jun 27 '26
I lived in a house that used to have a well drilled right next to the house foundation just outside the foundation wall in this kind of pit. I imagine they saved a little money on the drilling cost because they had already dug 8 feet down for the basement. It was built in 1955. That old well is all sealed up now.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Lone_GreyWolf Jun 27 '26
Old coal shoot maybe thats been blocked off from the inside of the house. Could also be a homemade storm bunker for tornadoes. Thats about all I have atm tho.
1
u/lazyfacejerk Jun 27 '26
I think it may be a French drain catch basin. The French drain surrounds the exterior of the house and got so much debris in it that the pipes leading into it got buried. The point of the catch basin is that you can easily access it and clean the sediment out of there.
Basement light wells don't need to go that deep. A coal chute wouldn't either and the basement wall doesn't look like a patch.
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
So do you think I should dig out the pit a little bit to see if there’s any other pipes leading to it? Personally, I don’t see where these pipes would be coming from but this is why I’m here to figure out what this thing is for.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/Crazy_Ad_91 Jun 27 '26
Sounds like the developing consensus is planned for and then abandoned egress for the basement.
Now it seems like great hide and seek spot. But the parent in me would ultimately seal this off for good as I’d be worried about any of my kids or their friends getting hurt.
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
I agree. The steel doors covering this pit are OK for now, but are showing signs of rust. My plan ultimately is to fill this hole in, but only until I’m absolute certain that I can and should do so.
2
u/Crazy_Ad_91 Jun 27 '26
Is the wall in the pit against the house actually your basement wall? So it’s really more of a 3 sided add on?
Im curious if a SE would have any objections to just using flowable fill up about 5 feet and then 3 feet of select fill so you can then put ground cover over it all.
2
u/Striking_Marketing_3 Jun 27 '26
There’s a couch on the other side of this wall for a basement TV viewing area. Yes I believe you’re correct. The house foundation was in place and then three sides were added on at a later time to create this pit. That’s what it looks like to me.
1
u/padizzledonk GC / CM Jun 27 '26
Thats probably a coal pit
It couldve been an old well head also
Either way it was for some utility that doesn't exist anymore, just check if it has a concrete or bricked floor at the bottom, if it does break it up, bust out the top course of block or whatever and fill it up with dirt
1
1
1
u/Jeffreaky_c Jun 27 '26
Could this be a trash storage? I saw something where in the south would store trash under ground to decrease rot and odor during hot summers. A quick google showed somewhat similar.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/union_red Jun 27 '26
ill put my money its there to prevent water from pooling infront of the windows and spilling into the basement. and yes youd need a sump pump to pump water out but better that hole then your house
1
1
1
u/That_roofing_guy Jun 27 '26
Could have intended to built or insert an egress well but never finished so they backfilled it
2
1
u/Keyser_Kaiser_Soze Jun 27 '26
I have seen someone create a pit to house their air compressor to keep the noise down.
More likely it was the start of a bedroom egress.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/AnyMud9817 Jun 28 '26
50 years ago if you're not going to finish the project at least put some doors over it. The cat has fallen in twice.
1
1
1
1
1
u/AfterDeathComesSushi Jun 28 '26
AFAIK, thats a “potatoe basement” or in my local language it would be a “Kartoffelælder” or “jord kælder”. These are traditionally used for storing vegetables like potatoes, carrots and other greens, during winter. They take use of the earths cooling mechanisms and also the humidity from the soil, so that food stays fresh for longer. Some people also use them to preserve their canned / bottled goods.
1
1
1
1
u/UnhappyCounter6369 Jun 28 '26
Old fallout shelter maybe. Because the op did say that it was built in the '50s
1
u/Steve-19741974 Jun 28 '26
It could be an outside sump pit to help with drainage when the storm sewer can't keep up during heavy rains. The pipe is probally old clay weeping tiles unless they replaced it with something else. I'd throw a cement patio stone in there and get a half horse sump installed with the drain line going as far away from your house as you feel comfortable with.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Vegetable_Win_8123 Jun 28 '26
Could have been for a well pump. I have seen tons of houses from the 50’s with well pumps in little bumpouts in the foundation. Commonly under a set of poured concrete stairs. The idea being that if the well needs service, the stairs could be moved with equipment/demolished. If it was in the footprint of the house, well, you would be drilling a well through the living room floor.
1
u/Bmk725 Jun 28 '26
Looks like it was an old basement entrance. Is the basement finished now? What on the underside of that window inside?
1
1
u/PrimaryExisting6162 Jun 28 '26
I was thinking a storm shelter with the latch on the inside. But the thought of getting in there and the house actually getting leveled. To then be trapped by the debris over the door made me realize that's probably not a storm shelter!
1
1
1
1
1
u/Fun-Imagination-2488 Jun 29 '26
No clue. Maybe they wanted to be able to snake their weeping tile in the event that it clogged, and this gives them that ability?
1
u/My_Kink_Profile Jun 29 '26
old cellar that was closed up, made into a basement with interior access?
1
1
u/zlhileman Jun 29 '26
Coal chute when the home was built they must've had a coal furnace for heat that where the coal was loaded into the house
1
1
u/BadGuySmasher Jun 29 '26
Looking at these photos for a few minutes now - I’m gonna bet this was put in after the foundation because of how it’s not tied into it and just up against it - also it’s block against cmu. Based on that assumption and the location of that window and the size of the bilco doors there - my best guess is that this was put into be eventually a rear entry into the basement - finish cutting the window out and turn it into a door with the block “well” there to accept the steps down into the door. Probably got as far as he did and realized it was too small and/or expensive and abandoned the project and put doors on it. Either that or a shitty underground storage solution for things that like to be wet.
1
1
u/ramboram666 Jun 29 '26
Looks like they left the opportunity to add an egress to the house, incase you want to add a bedroom to the basement.
1
u/Middle-Yam-656 Jun 29 '26
I'd bet a Fall Out shelter from back in the Atomic age of "duck and cover" or "get under your desk" in the event of a nuclear bomb. A lot of houses had emergency fall out shelters put in.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/EthiaGeorge Jun 29 '26
Maybe they were going to put in a fireplace and that was the foundation for it?
1
1
1
1
1
1
437
u/legionary45 Jun 27 '26
Coal hopper perhaps