Sinkhole in backyard

My neighbor a few doors down has had a hole in his backyard for quite some time. It didn’t worry him too much because he thought raccoons were the culprits. He would just cover the hole. Now that the snow has melted, the hole is a lot bigger and quite deep. The ground is just collapsing and part of his cement walkway broke and is falling into the hole. Of course, all the neighbors are quite concerned. Who do we call? Can anyone refer an engineer who could take a look at it before it gets worse?

newinhh

in Front and Backyards 10 years and 7 months ago

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newinhh | 10 years and 6 months ago

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Thank you for all the links. Very interesting. To be more clear, the door we found is on the back wall next to the fence. Once you exit, the drain is 8 to 10 feet from the door, near the fence. So the back wall has two exit doors one foot away from each other, which makes no sense unless one of these doors led to a room and not to the outdoors. I know we have streams in the area. A neighbor two doors down (the same neighbor who has the sinkhole. Oh God…) says she has a light stream going through her cellar. It goes from north to south (the street is on a slope) which means that it flows under my house before going to hers. I thought having a privy was good news but now I am not so sure that’s all it is. The dob says the house is from 1901 but I have found online records mentioning a wedding happening in the house in 1894\. All the houses on our side of the street have 10 feet high ceilings in the cellar and the neighbors across the street do not have cellars at all. I thought we were the lucky ones, until now.

ps158 | 10 years and 7 months ago

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My gut was saying it was a man-made structure, so we had our contractor dig. Here are some photos: https://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/forums/topic/cistern-outhouse/ I can’t visualize what you are describing – the door leading to the drain…When you open the door, is there a path underground to the drain? Is the drain a “modern” system or is it original to the house? How old is the house? Basically, you would only have a privy if the house was built before it was hooked up to the public sewer system. I have to tell you since you’re in HH, that area has underground streams. I can’t find it now but when I was doing my research, I saw a picture (or video?) of an incredible gush of water in the basement of a building in or around Columbia U. A couple things for you to read: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/nyregion/05leak.html?_r=0 http://www.scoutingny.com/underground-river-in-morningside-heights/ And try to find that underground stream map that is referenced in the NY Times article to see if your property is near a stream.

newinhh | 10 years and 7 months ago

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We are in Hamilton Heights and the hole is 8 to 10 feet from the house near the fence. What you are saying makes a lot of sense. At the same spot in my yard, I have a drain that feeds into a storm drain going through the cellar to the front of the house and during the renovation we discovered a hidden door in the back wall of the house that would lead straight to that spot where the drain is. It’s good news in the sense that the hole will not become humongous and swallow the whole block… However my neighbor (between me and the yard in question) also has a hole but in a different spot, much farther from her house. How did you know for sure it was a privy? It just looks like a hole.

ps158 | 10 years and 7 months ago

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Sounds like my backyard. I was going nuts trying to figure our what was causing it. Ours turned out to be a privy, we discovered it a few months ago. I was kind of psyched actually to discover it. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the cause. What neighborhood are you in? What is the lot size, and where in the yard is it? And guess what, if it is a privy or cistern, chances are, if your house and all the neighbors’ houses are the same, you guys will likely have them in your yard too!