Well discovered in paving area! - What shall i do?

[Scallywag10]

Hi all,

First post, congrats on an excellent paving website. I am tackling a large DIY job where I am laying around 20m2 of block paving and was going to use the flexible method as it's more traditional and our property is listed.

The problem is we had to dig a significant amount of earth up to level the area and we have discovered a deep well! The advantage is that this provides a drainage route for rainwater however I am completely lost on how to cap it as we were planning on paving over that area. I am a little worried about running the plate compactor over any capping material I put down. Has anyone come across similar problems or could provide some advice.

I spoke to the council who said there are no regulations regarding dealing with wells but we should not fill it as. It is probably providing drainage. I was thinking of possibly getting a large piece of metal and covering it ?????

Thanks in advance

Laurence

[lutonlagerlout]

you could do that but metal rusts (steel anyway)
when we come across them we generally cap them with reinforced concrete
this may involve taking a few courses off so that your concrete is in the subgrade
be careful working around it and make sure it is fenced off at night, what goes in is unlikely to get out
LLL

[Scallywag10]

Many thanks. Sounds like a plan. I may use a few concrete lintels across it in the sub base which should do the job.

Cheers

Laurence

[lutonlagerlout]

you could use R15s but would work our expensive if its say 1200 wide you need 12 lintels
a bit of shuttering,rebar and concrete and your done
lintels would work though
LLL

[Injured]

Another option is to make a feature of it and put lights in and a glass plate over the top level with paving.

[lutonlagerlout]

that would be the *expensive* option
I have built a few decorative wishing wells and they are not cheap!
LLL

[Tony McC]

There *are* regulations regarding the capping of wells, but I think they may be the remit of the water board rather than the local council. The regulations are necessary to prevent eejits capping or partially filling wells with material that could potentially pollute or harm a potable water source.

The usual specification is to use something like Holorib, which is best thought of as a steel decking system. This acts as a support for a cap of reinforced concrete. The top of the well may need to be regulated with new masonry before placing the Holorib, and then the cap is usually required to be at least 200mm thick, depending on the span.

It's also common practice for the well to be logged onto local maps and other records so that future developments are aware of its existence. Contact the local water board for further advice.

[Scallywag10]

Many thanks all, some useful advice. We ended up capping it with reinforced concrete lintels with poured concrete over them to hold it all together. The slab is quite a bit bigger than the opening so should easily do the job considering the original capping (few hundred years old slabs) is also underneath.

Thanks one again. Can now focus on the landscaping and laying of setts. It's amazing how a 1 week job can turn into a much larger one.
:p