Sink hole

[Kitty]

In one of the locations where the sidewalk meets the parking lot, sink holes have developed in different areas. One on the end and one directly in front. A few years ago, they got real bad, very deep and crumbled the pavement into it. We contracted for cement and added around 2 yards of cement to these holes. This fixed the problem until a few weeks ago.....we could see the start of the same area sinking again, it has since sunk to be very deep again. I am calling for more concrete to be delivered but thought I'd ask if anyone has had any experiences with sink holes. Its bizarre!

[Anonymous]

A true sink hole could eat the entire building in a few minutes. You should probably have an engineer look at it, not just cover up the symptoms with some concrete.

[Coinwash]

Is this the Laundromat with the Well?

[Kitty]

No, no well at this locale. Engineer? What could be causing this??? This location was built ground up, 15years ago

[Anonymous]

It a geological issue. There are some huge sink holes at the magic kingdom parking lots at Disney in FL. These things start way down below ground and has nothing to do with building from the ground up. I've seen some news stories where they have swallowed entire buildings. Don't mess around, have it checked out. Just filling it with concrete is like putting coverup makeup over skin cancer.

[Anonymous]

And the real scare is, that if it's a *real* sink hole, there may not be anything that can be done about it. Not sure......

I agree with Kirby - get someone to look at it. Because, worse case, if it is a sink hole, you might want to contact your insurance carrier. I'm not an expert, but I would be concerned as to whether something like that was covered.

[Kitty]

Ok spoke with Dave, he is concerned. Then, of course he is concerned that there may be more of an issue than we really want to know.....coverup on skin cancer, sticking head in sand, comes to mind. Not being sure of anything right now, we do not want to alert anyone or anything that could close us up, or cause more problems than we care to deal with right now. What is the worst case scenario and who do we call???

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Worst case, as we talk the entire town in engulfed into the hole. Most likely case, there is a leaking pipe or an underground stream and it is only something minor. Best to checkout what it is. Your first approach of covering it up only worked for a while, now its back and time to find out what is causing it not just putting another bandaide on it.

[Lar Hylobates]

Better to just verify your coverages and make sure without alerting anyone that you are good.

If you're not you can always get another job after this guy gets burned.

Good luck.

[Kitty]

Dave opted for Cover Girl?

From what we could tell while clearing the area readying it for the concrete is that the sand is washing away. Ground water is washing what lies under neath this area. There is a layer of clay, then a layer of sand. We filled this in using concrete, whether it was wise or not use 2yds of concrete? Thats what happened. We'll see???

[Andy]

I agree with kirby, check it out. Most likely it is a leaky pipe as he said. I have witnessed entire parking lots crumble into a black hole. Start by locating your water line and waste pipe runs.

[Rondo]

One of my last jobs in constuction was a large Krogers and it had a sink hole in the parking lot and the general contractor dug real deep and poured about 5 truck loads of concrete in it (It was about 30' across)and 10 years later it's hasn't sunk any. As a matter of fact this was a 180,000 sq ft store that had a craw space under it, that was a first for me. You may need to get someone with a machine shovel or backo to dig deeper and pour more concrete to solve the problem. But of course call the 800 number to have your underground lines marked before digging.

[pete f]

for people not living in Florida you guys sure have a good handle on sink holes. I thought it was more of a FL thing.

Could be an underground spring, you may need to build a well..

Better bring in a some knowledgeable help.

[SudsMan]

Kitty, you mentioned this area was built up ground 15 years ago. I think that is a clue as to what might be happening. At best, built up ground is unstable, even when is was tamped down correctly, which often isn't the case.

If there is water underground, from a pipe or natural spring, the built up earth is a good, soft place for the water to collect in and to wash out and undermine the area.

GET A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER (PE) ON THE CASE NOW!!! Don't mess with any corrective actions until you know what you're into. Just imagine if the sink hole decided to expand just as the dump truck was unloading..... Get the picture?