1860s Hotel privy !! paving the lot

[heavy]

there is a parking lot in a nearby town that has outhouse pits to an 1860s 3 story hotel. This is where the good bottles are........

I am thinking about offering to repave the parking lot in order to tear up the parking lot and dig.

anyone have any ideas on how much it would cost to repave an area about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide ???

thanks

 

[cb0023]

hi heavy, i dont know what part of the country youre from but around here, the philadelphia area, it would be at least 2000.00 to dig up and repave, and that is just a very cheap black top. concrete would be considerably more. also you might have to consider building permits, disposal fees(of the old lot) and so on.
if you are in a situation where you would be able to rent a back hoe/ bulldozer and rip out the old parking lot that would save a few dollars. also instead of repaving maybe look into using gravel. its quicker and should be cheaper. if the lot is going to be used a lot i would imagine the owners would like it to be either cement or at least black top but if it is just for minimal use i would try for the gravel idea. they might be thinking about repaving it and would be willing to split the cost with you??

if you can somehow pin point the privies just cut out the needed area in the lot. it wont be too bad to replace.
good luck keep us informed on any finds..

 

[heavy]

well....I could just offer to just fix all the pot holes in the parking lot after we dig. How good of a job does that do it your self aphalt patch that you can buy at hardware stores work ?? Or maybe there are other ways to replace the areas we will dig.

 

[slimdigger]

Some advice on the parking lot dig. We usually try to punch a small hole in the sinking spots in the parking lot and then probe them to make sure that they are indeed a privy and worth digging. Then we cut the pavement to the size of the hole and excavate the privy. After digging the hole we fill the hole in , compact the dirt and fill to grade with gravel. We wait for a good rain to help settle the hole before using asphalt patch. If you were to use the patch right away the hole will settle and you will have to add more patch. It works alot better with the gravel method. Regular ashalt patch in the bags works well when temperatures are above freezing. Slimdigger

 

[crozet86]

Hi,
I am in the process of something similar myself in i am digging a trash pit that is under a paved driveway.Very good idea slimdigger ,i think that will be my best option.

 

[heavy]

I have seen a picture of this hotel and it was huge......the first 3 story building in the county !!! It has potential to be an amazing dig.

My partner called the owner of the property once and made an offer to patch up any potholes in the parking lot in return for letting us dig. He said it was not a good time because he was in the process of buying his partner out of his half of the business or something. Either way he could have said "NO, I dont want anything like that done" so I beleive there is a chance we can get permission. We will offer to make a little display case with the finds and display it inside the store.

Any other ideas that might coax the owner in letting us dig a privy or two in his parking lot (which is in fair to poor condition) ??

Thanks

 

[cb0023]

hey heavy, i used to be in sales and that is basicly what your doing here with this owner, sell him the permission of letting you dig. try to make it sound as though what you are doing is the most exciting thing in the world and that he should be a part of it. tell him he may be part of a potentially $$ rewarding dig and as the owner he is entitled to a part of the find. i find that once people realize they mgiht get money or treasure they will agree to anything. remember people dont like to be bothered with things they dont know about like old bottles but mention treasure and monetary value and their ears perk up.
also i always try to avoid the word dig. "youre going to dig a big hole in my yard, no thanks" say something like explore for privies.lol
just make sure you got your (*&* together when you do get permission. dont go in taking forever and looking confused(i have done this many times). they will get frustrated and ask you to leave. this will leave a bad taste in his mouth and word speads through the neighborhood hurting further digs. anyway thats my 2 cents im sure the more experienced guys have better approaches but you learn as you go. good luck

 

[heavy]

well.......it being a hotel outhouse, we will be digging.....ALOT !!! No way to get around that one here. Maybe I could tell him I am doing a project for the university. Also the first time I approached him about doing this, he stated that digging might disturb any utilites that may be underground out by the alley.

I need to figure out where the utilites are and then show him that we will not disturb them. I am guess that the pits will be out on the backline right up against the alley (the map hole on the 90's Sanborn is there).

 

[Bluebelle]

What exciting projects. Since it looks like it might be a little while before you can dig the first hole, maybe you could do some more research on the hotel - more pictures especially - would be great if you could find old pictures that actually showed the rear view and where the privies actually were. Newspaper archives, historical society, university, local museums etc. Also, most utility companies will assist anyone who wants to dig anywhere, even if its just their back yard, by pinpointing underground pipes, wires, etc. You might want to consider preparing some releases and consent forms for the owner to sign before the dig starts. Any lawyer friends? Good luck

 

[heavy]

preparing a map of where the utilities are is a great idea. As far as the newspaper, probably not a good idea.