Hi -
Has anybody any experience of digging an inspection pit? I'm looking at throwing up a garage, and would need to grade the ground a bit - kind of kills two birds with one stone!
What are the pit-falls? (groan!) Is it worth the expense and hassle?
Still very much in the planning stages - I don't even own the land yet lol.
Cheers, Paul
Paul Coleman tried to scribble ...
Providing the ground is basically 'sound' there ought to be few problems. Make sure you dig out way beyond the size actually required, then line with well-laid bricks, or as a mate did, those rather nice concrete fence posts and concrete kickboards .. then backfill, but lay a decent depth of hardcore to the base and at the top and use paving slabs around the edge. My mate (a builder) also laid kerb stones to an inch above the parapet so when a vehicle wasn't in the garage, and it was dark, he could walk in and still 'feel' where the edge of the pit is before stumbling into it.
A friend of mine had the same idea but the building inspector wouldn't allow it because it was close to the house. Foundations and all that.....
I've dug two pit's with my Dad, they make great wells!
If your serious look at getting one lined with fibreglass which isn't as hard as it sounds.
Also you need to consider trapped petrol vapours and the risk of explosion so some means of ventilation is cool.
Get some heavy steel plates which you can drop into a lip so that your garage can be used in normal mode for the other 350 days of the year the pits not being used.
If your parking a landie over it also consider getting a pump that will pump the oil out ;-)
In my experience any supposed waterproff sheeting placed between the ground and brickwork always leaks, hence the fiberglass suggestion..hey if it works on boats!!
Here are a couple of links for fiberglassing I recently found....
-- Project Percy - Jaguar 4.2 and Auto in to Series IIa 88 see it @
alt.fan.landrover hall of fame -
I recall looking at an inspection pit 'kit' last year - it was made of moulded GRP - you dug the hole, dropped it in and poured some concrete round it. It was totally waterproof and had built in lights and pump to suck out vapour and oil etc.
I think Frost auto restoration sold it but I can't find it on their website - may be you'll have better luck:
One of the advantages of my series 3 is that I can get underneath it without the need to put it on ramps.
I hate pits. Get a 4 post lift and build your garage around it.
Steve. Suffolk. remove 'knujon' to e-mail
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