Lay gravel drive over existing cesspit ?? - needed urgently Post your questions and get answers regarding all areas of drives, pathways and patios

[Liz Hall]

Need to lay a gravel driveway from road through my garden to garage that s on the property. (Old driveway of the same was laid on soil with no drainage and ok although now lost this plot of land now hence below ......

Question is - New driveway now has to be re routed and half of it will go directly over an existing cesspit, old but functional and quite large.
Cesspit has large (railway sleeper type) engineerig bricks over the top of it and had been driving over it to the garage for the last 3mths

Will i need to consider drainage over the cesspit ref water not being able to escape (boggy at the moment) and about 500 - 800cm from surface or would digging down to the cesspit and then laying the scalpings, then decorative stone on top allow it to drain ok?

Need to get this done ASAP as car got stuck in mud and had to be towed out last week - hence car on road now and cant get to garage!

Please Help :cry:

Liz[/b]

[Perry525]

Are you sure you have a cess pit?
A cess pit requires a road with suitable access for lorries every few weeks to empty it!
Perhaps you have a septic tank?
A septic will only require to be emptied every 20 or 30 years (if used properly)
But in any event building regs require easy access for a heavy vehicle.

[Liz Hall]

Hi Perry,

Definately a cesspit and been there since the 1940's serving 2 cottages, that ive been living in for the last 23yrs and my Grandparents also from 1940 to 2008. Very rarely needs emptying professionally and with a flush through every year looks after itself really, theres 2 tanks one being the holding tank - nice to have a ceptic tank but very expensive and this still works ok anyway. been driving over the cesspit for a long time but yes wouldnt want to put a heavy lorry on it! but ok as access for one car to driver over to the garage on the property.

However my question is on drainage of putting a layer of gravel over it to make a drive and the possibility of waterlogging due to the water not escaping ref the solid mass thats the cesspit underneath, car got stuck in mud there recently and had to be towed out...