Hey, I’ve got a cold room in my place that is concrete on all sides, I’m going to be framing it in and insulating and I don’t really need any help there unless there’s anything cold room specific I should know, however.

As you can see I have a floor that appears to be a stepped concrete pit, filled with quite a lot of dirt, and what I believe is probably a tie in to the sewage drain.

Can I just get rid of the dirt? The whole room spells like petrichor because of it.

Assuming the pit continues to step down, can I just build the floor over it regardless, and do I need to support the pipe in some way if the dirt is removed?

Or, if I’m completely off base please let me know what I should be doing.

Thanks

      • Schwim Dandy@piefed.zipEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        It’s a septic or sewer clean out. Code requires them at certain distances of the drain system to allow for access to clear any blockages. You can use that access to run a snake.

            • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
              1·
              3 days ago

              Just be careful opening it. If there’s a blockage downstream of this clean out, you’ll see symptoms of the blockage somewhere else, and the pipe will therefore be full from the blockage right to the symptomatic drain. Hopefully it’s a floor drain, but it could be a lot of water with some possible pressure behind it so really think the situation through before cracking it open, and have a plan.