Building an inspection pit

[stewart.d.campbell]

Hi guys, i am going to be building an inspection pit in the garage and was wondering if anyone on here has done this.My main stumbling block is that the floor is about 6in thick an i am wondering how i am going to get through it as the still saws seem to only go to about 4in so i was thinking would it be better to buy a 9in grinder cut down as far as possible and then chisel down diagonaly then place the grinder down into the hole and cut further, has anyone tried this or got another way of doing it and also will it need bracing to stop the sides falling in with a car on top, thanks for any advice.

[grum]

only other way is to chain drill the holes 2 - 3" apart and sledge hammer a hole through

'breakers' are cheap to hire nowadays too

[LOUIE]

use the still saw for the marking out and 4inch cut, then break it out with a hydraulic breaker, use the chisel to break out the lines, no hassle to do

[steve1]

You could hire a floor saw from Speedy, Hewden, HSS or Gap Hire, some of which will cut the depth you require, giving a neat and straight cut.

What is the construction of the pit going to be?

[stewart.d.campbell]

Looked into hiring and would cost more than buying a second hand still saw.Thought i would pour concrete on to a waterproof menbrane and then build blocks on top.

[steve1]

Can i suggest if you cast the concrete base first, make it thicker at the edges where the brick / blocks will sit on top, this will act as a footing to the pit wall. Also suggest you have the wall coming upto the underside of the concrete slab. You could then grout between the top of the pit wall and the underside of the garage floor, this will provide some support to the garage floor, transferring any loads down the pit wall into the pit base.
Also make sure you prepare well, especially with waterproofing, if the water table is high in your area, you may end up with water seeping thru into the pit. This will also help to keep any damp out.

[Rallye]

Don't know much about building a pit, but make sure you have an easy means of escape, as they are notorious fire hazards.

[grum]

oh, and remember to build the top edge with a lip so scaffold boards can be laid across it when not in use - not just for your safety, but for other peoples too - nothing worse than the mother-in-law falling to her death LARK

[DazRS2K]

Don't know much about building a pit, but make sure you have an easy means of escape, as they are notorious fire hazards.

Yip, By law you have to have this, my Grandparent had an existing pit, when he wanted to make a double garage, and keep the pit they said to pass the plans the pit had to have a fire exit or fill it in.

[RS2000CUSTOM]

These will sort it for you !

http://www.inspectionpits.co.uk/index.php

[pushrod]

Looked into hiring and would cost more than buying a second hand still saw.Thought i would pour concrete on to a waterproof menbrane and then build blocks on top.

At least if you hire on you can get one big enough to cut 6" in one go.
The 4" cheapies aren't much catch if your doing a bit of building work.

I think if you costed the entire project you may well get a 2 post lift for the same money!

[stewart.d.campbell]

At least if you hire on you can get one big enough to cut 6" in one go.
The 4" cheapies aren't much catch if your doing a bit of building work.

I think if you costed the entire project you may well get a 2 post lift for the same money!

Only one i could hire that would cut right through was a ring saw and it was £87 a day to hire, i bought a 12in sthil saw for £40 second hand and a lift is a no no as the garage roof is too low and im at the top of scotland so getting one transported to here would be difficult and costly.

[Andyc]

hire a large cango hammer that will do the job and when digging the hole make sure its around 2o inches wider than you want it as the walls will have to be block on flat (9in) on both sides tank the sides before you lay any blocks and again after

[pushrod]

Only one i could hire that would cut right through was a ring saw and it was £87 a day to hire, i bought a 12in sthil saw for £40 second hand and a lift is a no no as the garage roof is too low and im at the top of scotland so getting one transported to here would be difficult and costly.

Fair enough.

I still would pay to get the right tool for the job.
Clean lines and no hammering for hours on end.
Been there, got the T shirt........................... and the fat fingers
Surprised at the floor being 6".
Who ever laid that must have been garaging a tank
When does project floor rip commmence?

[stewart.d.campbell]

Possibly this weekend if the saw arrives by then.