nathankim•2d agoMost Upvoted

Bought a ground-penetrating radar for $3,200 - found a 19th century well in my backyard

I dropped serious money on a ground-penetrating radar unit after watching too many YouTube videos. It was a used model from a guy in Ohio. I figured I'd never use it enough to justify the cost, but then I scanned my own property. Found a old well shaft about 8 feet down that wasn't on any of the county maps. Now I'm wondering if I should dig it out or just leave it. Has anyone else dealt with finding weird stuff under their house?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_martin402d ago

Eight feet down, that must have been a wild moment when it showed up on the screen.

charlies372d ago

Jump right into how weird it is that we're all walking around on top of hidden stuff every day. Like, you're driving down the road or mowing your lawn and there's probably old pipes, forgotten septic tanks, or even someone's trash from fifty years ago just sitting there underground. We just assume the ground is solid and empty, but it's really just a thin crust hiding all kinds of junk and history. That moment when the detector lights up is basically the ground calling you out on your ignorance. It's the same feeling when you find a weird lump in your wall and realize it's not a stud, it's an old vent someone just drywalled over. Makes you wonder what else is just below the surface we never notice until something pokes through.

jason_stone592d ago

Nah I gotta disagree though, @charlies37 - I think most of that stuff is probably better off left buried lol. If you dig it up you're just creating a headache with permits, drainage issues, and maybe finding out it's full of old sewage. Honestly my buddy's neighbor found a 1800s well and ended up filling it with concrete just to stop worrying about someone falling in down the line.