Hi
I removed the old planks of wood the previous tenants had used as decking, to find a sewage man hole entrance. It is not level with the rest of the slabs around it under the wooden frame and is raised up in old concrete. These buildings being really old, originally part of a farm.
I have ordered some railway sleepers to use for edging as we want to make a gravel seating area or slate chipping with a certain feel to it. I am trying to work around the man hole.
Can anyone help me? I have ordered enough sleepers to go all the way around the edge, and don't mind raising the height and just building a step to get into the seating area.
Questions are - Can I just build up the low areas under the frame, which is between where the sleepers will be fitted, with hard core, or more slabs on top of the slabs already in place? So I don't have one area really deep with gravel and the other, near the man hole not as deep where it is high? Or should I just use more gravel in the deeper area?
Also, what should I place over the man hole, 1 to ensure if access is ever needed it can be gained (not needed in 5 years I have been here) and 2 to ensure it is safe to be walked over? Maybe a frame around it with few decking tiles over it for a feature area, like a nice plant, or can I just fit something under the gravel over the man hole cover, like boarding or something?
The picture attached is from today when I removed the planks across the top.
Hope this is clear, it has been on my mind all day and I want to make sure it is safe and done correctly.
*Sorry, the picture is on my profile, not sure if it is showing on here*
Thanks in advance.
