Privy questions for the experts!

[Bumpa66]

Since the weather has prevented me from digging, I have been doing a lot of searching at the older cellar holes I have access to. All of them are out in the woods, so the privy's have been difficult to find. I am still looking forward to digging my first privy. I have found two different cellar holes where I believe I have found the privy. My 5 ft probe goes all the way down to the handle. The first one I started digging out and the first foot was loaded with coal. Is this normal? I couldn't go any deeper due to the water table. I am having difficulty finding the side walls of the privy with my probe. How far down did the walls usually start? Just under the surface or a few feet down? I probe at an angle and can't feel any sides. Would the probe go through a wood lined privy? Once the weather breaks and the water table goes down, I will definately dig these two spots. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Kevin

 

[MedBottle1]

in my opinion, coal could mean one of two things. Coal could mean that the family just dug a deep pit and threw coal in it, or it could mean that was their outhouse area and they threw trash and coal into it as well. The privy could go down to 10-15 feet. It is hard to say how far. If you can find info on the water table dating to the time you suspect the privy was built, you can get a better idea as to how far it goes. Chances are if you hit water and the water table hasn't changed, that would be as far as it goes.

 

[Bumpa66]

Staticx32, thanks for the info. I should have been more specific. The water level was just a foot under the soil, due to the rain and melting snow. Later in the spring, I'm sure it will go way down so I can dig this out. I thought about this hole being a coal pit too. This hole is about 30 ft from the cellar hole. I guess only time will tell as to if its a privy or not. The side walls are what's puzzling me. At this location and the other location, I haven't hit any side walls with the probe. I'm not sure how far down the walls usually started. Would the probe go through the wood liners? I actually thought I would get more advice with all the people who dig privys on here. Oh well, I'll keep everyone posted from the dig. Thanks.

 

[buzzkutt033]

if you probe on a 45 degree angle from the spot your probe went down, you should hit a wall on one of the four sides. or probe straight down till you find a corner. the walls will form a corner if the privy is square or rectangular. regardless, till you find a corner or hit the wall in three consecutive spots, you cannot be sure you are in a privy. good luck. jim

 

[Bumpa66]

Jim, thanks for the reply and info. I have tried to probe at a 45 degree angle. If the walls don't start until 3 ft under, maybe I'm probing over them. That's why I am curious how far down the walls usually start? Or if the probe would go right through a rotted woodliner? When I get back there, I will continue to probe, and then did it out when the weather gets better.

 

[cowseatmaize]

I'll state first that I'm not an expert, I've never dug on in my life.There are a couple things I'm wondering about though.1) how far in the woods. A farm plot may not have ever lined them, they may have just dug a new hole. especially if the water table is high. True?2) would the wood rot and the probe to right through in wet seasonal whether?OK a few things.3) could the coal have been dumped there since a conversion to oil heat?Just wondering, I'm trying to learn something.

 

[Bumpa66]

Erik, thanks for the reply. These homesites are way out in the woods. I don't know enough about privy's to know if ALL privy's were lined with brick, stone, or wood. I'm not sure what the purpose was, other than to provide structure. to the hole. I'm not sure if they would do this or not do this way out in the woods. I would think they would. All the cisterns and wells are all rock lined. I also don't know much about where they would dump their coal from the fire. With 100's of acres of woods, I wouldn't think they would dump the coal 30 ft from the house and well. But who knows. I still am trying to figure out how far down the brick/rock lining would start. From the videos I have watched, they look like they are 2-3 ft under the surface. I would think that someone on here could provide their experience as to the depth of most brick/rock/wood linings.

 

[zecritr]

good question Ericwas wondering on that one myself.not sure what kind of probe you have does it pull stuff out at the end? just wondering because if it did go through a wet and rotted sidewall wouldn't it bring a bit of pulp with it?

 

[andy volkerts]

Hello Kevin. Maybe this info will help. Most privies that I have dug here in the west have had stone or wood liners that started within two feet of the original surface, which may not be the same now as then. I would think that you should hit a liner within three or four feet at most. A probe could go thru a rotten wood liner very easily since your water table is so high during part of the year, I bet the wood liner is rotted quite badly. If you are using a six foot or less length probe and you include the angle and a four foot depth, you may be going over the top of a liner. I would try an eight foot probe on the 45 degree angle for sure. The only time I have found a privy with no liner was up in the hills where the ground was stony and the hole was only six or seven feet deep. Coal may have been dumped in the hole along with ash and other garbage when the privy was no longer used. The only waay to know for sure will be to dig it out when the water level is down......best of luck..........Andy

 

[Bumpa66]

Andy, thank you very much for the info. I was wondering the same thing about probing over a wall that could be 3 ft down. The only way I'm going to know is to dig this out. Probing this location has really given me the experience as to what the "feel" should feel like. When I probe all the way down to the handle, I can feel that lack of resistance and the feeling of at least coal ash. When I go back, I will pay attention to what comes up on the tip. I have about a dozen home sites that I have found. Some with cellar holes, and some with just foundation stones. Out of all these spots, I have found just a couple possible privy's from probing. One turned out to be a small narrow well. The other one is this one. I could definitely tell I found something when the probe went all the way down with no resistance. Eventually I will find a privy and dig my first one out.