Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Lawn over old concrete bunker!? Help

mikejames2011mikejames2011 Posts: 39
in Problem solving
So I started what looked like an easy job of removing a pond in our garden and a concrete path and this is what we have uncovered! A huge old concrete bunker or cesspit of some sort underneath the pond. It was covered by reinforced concrete which we have been breaking out with a breaker. My question is if we backfill the hole with the broken concrete we are taking out but fill the last 12 inches with soil are we ok to turf over it? The concrete is all broken up so it will be free draining.

Any advice would be appreciated 

thanks 


«1

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited March 2020
    Flamin’ ‘eck’!!! 😨

    I think your next step depends very much on what resources you have ... both physical and financial. 

    Whilst chucking the rubble back in, attempting to consolidate it and then making a lawn on top sounds simplest I’m afraid it may be fraught with problems. No matter how well the rubble is tamped down I would worry that soil will wash down between the rubble and there will be a lot of sinkage resulting in a very lumpy bumpy lawn. 

    My adventurous streak says ‘what a fabulous opportunity to make an architectural feature such as a sunken garden’. 😀 
    But you may not be interested in that idea. 

    I wonder what @glasgowdan would suggest? 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Dovefromabove said:

    My adventurous streak says ‘what a fabulous opportunity to make an architectural feature such as a sunken garden’. 😀 
    But you may not be interested in that idea.
    My architectural streak says what an opportunity missed for an adventurous potting shed or greenhouse. I know gardeners who'd love to have the structure to work with for all kinds of purposes. It seems a shame to rip it out for a boring bit of grass but I guess it's too late now. :/
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Use to install for a rainwater storage system?

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Fire said:
    Use to install for a rainwater storage system?

    Amazing  :o   A ground-insulated, solar heated rain water tank underneath a greenhouse. 

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • mikejames2011mikejames2011 Posts: 39
    edited March 2020
    wild edges said:
    Dovefromabove said:

    My adventurous streak says ‘what a fabulous opportunity to make an architectural feature such as a sunken garden’. 😀 
    But you may not be interested in that idea.
    My architectural streak says what an opportunity missed for an adventurous potting shed or greenhouse. I know gardeners who'd love to have the structure to work with for all kinds of purposes. It seems a shame to rip it out for a boring bit of grass but I guess it's too late now. :/
    Would be nice but I definitely wouldn’t want anything sunken with a 2 year old running around as it’s not practical enough. The garden was so unsafe before with different levels, broken grass, chicken coup with nails sticking out of it etc. We planted to level the mid section and turf over the pond area for a larger area for play.

     I had an idea like the plan below but now I’m feeling a bit deflated to be honest. It’s been such a hard slog already and the garden looks like a war zone! 

    We wouldn’t want anything in that section due to the view we have and not wanting to block it. 


  • mikejames2011mikejames2011 Posts: 39
    My rough sketch of the proposed layout 
  • mikejames2011mikejames2011 Posts: 39

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    .... greenhouse could be good though
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    A hotbed for melons 🍉 😃 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Dovefromabove said:
    A hotbed for melons 🍉 😃 
    isn't that Parliament?
    Devon.
Sign In or Register to comment.