Abandoning an old sump

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pnwjeff

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I purchased a home from the early 1900s and it has an old sump in the crawlspace made out of bricks. It goes down roughly 15' and is no longer needed. The bricks have started to come apart and it lets ground water into it that has to be pumped out because it is sealed at the bottom.

I would like to fill in the hole, would I be ok to fill it with gravel and seal it with concrete at the top assuming the ground water would seep into it and then eventually equalize pressure at some point and stop filling it. We have installed another sump and a perimeter drain system for our basement making this old system unnecessary.
 

Reach4

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15 feet or 15 inches?
I would cover it, and not fill it in. That way you could put a pump down there if you need to deal with the crawl space flooding in the future.

But yes, you could use gravel, sand, and maybe something cheaper. If 15 ft, you would want something cheaper.;)

I am not a pro.
 

pnwjeff

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15 feet or 15 inches?
I would cover it, and not fill it in. That way you could put a pump down there if you need to deal with the crawl space flooding in the future.

But yes, you could use gravel, sand, and maybe something cheaper. If 15 ft, you would want something cheaper.;)

I am not a pro.
The reason I want to seal it off is we live on the bottom of a hill and the water that gets into it is a little funky smelling after a while and I don't want to deal with pumping it out weekly only to have it fill up again. The crawl space itself does not flood. It is just the ground water seeping in. After you factor in the basement is 10' under ground and then the sump is another 15' below that its to be expected.
 

Tuttles Revenge

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I would fill it to a point and install a pump with a float that would automatically pump it if needed.. That sump was there for a reason and you haven't experienced that reason yet.
 

Reach4

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At 15 ft deep, I think that was maybe a dug well.
 

Tuttles Revenge

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How well it was dug we don't know.. But I too would leave it at least partially accessible.. install a dewatering sump and pump.. Its cheap insurance.
 

pnwjeff

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I would fill it to a point and install a pump with a float that would automatically pump it if needed.. That sump was there for a reason and you haven't experienced that reason yet.
It was installed originally to remove water from the basement that never should have been installed. We have since installed a foundation perimeter drain that goes into a new sump and removes the water before it gets into the basement. Making this sump unnecessary and the only water that gets into it is from ground water leaking in through the sides.
 

Reach4

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It was installed originally to remove water from the basement that never should have been installed.
I really doubt that a 15 ft (180", 180 inch) deep sump would have been put in to remove water from a basement.
 

Terry

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It's not the failing bricks letting water in, the water is there already. With a sump and pump, the basin does have holes to let water in the lower part so that the pump can remove it. A ten foot hole in your crawlspace though? I don't even know how anyone would want to work on that. What happens if you unplug the pump? Maybe like you mention, the ground water may never get that high again.
 

pnwjeff

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It's not the failing bricks letting water in, the water is there already. With a sump and pump, the basin does have holes to let water in the lower part so that the pump can remove it. A ten foot hole in your crawlspace though? I don't even know how anyone would want to work on that. What happens if you unplug the pump? Maybe like you mention, the ground water may never get that high again.

Its hard to explain without a picture but imagine the original house has a crawlspace. A basement was dug in after the fact in part of the house.The sump was installed in the crawlspace so now it has to go down the height of the basement plus be lower then the basement floor to allow for water to fill the sump. There was a drain installed from the basement floor into the sump that has since been capped off with the installation of the new system to remove water from the basement.

The only thing feeding this sump was the basement drain and so I can physically see the water coming through the brick foundation of the sump and filling it with water. I want to cap it off not only so I don't have to deal with pumping it out every few weeks but also its a huge safety hazard if anyone was to fall into it they would have a hard time getting out. I am just trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this without making my problem worse. Thanks for the ideas.
 

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I am just trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this without making my problem worse

Since it serves no purpose with the new drainage system I would think any fill material would work. Pea gravel would make it completely compact.. larger drainage rock might work as well.. Even just dirt up to near the top, tho that would take more effort to compact at every 1ft.

Capping it could be as simple as a 2" layer of mortar over the top to encapsulate it.

If there were any chance of it becoming excavated and or built over in the future, I think I'd go with a more compactable solution so it doesn't become a sinkhole.

Make sure to bury some big bones near the top of it too.. for future homeowners to find.
 

Terry

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I built a home on Hilltop in Bellevue, when I cut for the foundation I hit a spring. Because it was on a hill side, I put a 4" drain out of the crawlspace on the downhill side and let it drain down to the street.

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