Potato cellar - floor slab - construction

You guys are jokers
I want to close the hole, please, I need help.

No, you need help against your foolish thought of wanting to close the hole. Better just make an island floor slab under the workbench.

A floor that touches the ground has no business in the cellar.

A little tip from Auric Goldfinger: when gilding a person, a spot on the back must be left uncovered – apply this concept accordingly to the potato cellar.

In the past, an area in the basement was always made without a floor slab. First, these were entire rooms, later half rooms, and in the 70s to the 80s only 2 to 3 m2 of a room. Carrots, potatoes, apples, etc. did not dry out as a result. A family from our circle of acquaintances wanted to get rid of the ground soil just like you. An old mason advised them not to use concrete, but to lay wooden beams 1m apart on the earth surface and cover them crosswise with thick wooden boards up to the height of the rest of the screed. Tiny longitudinal joints for air exchange were to remain. They did it that way 10 years ago and are very satisfied. Allegedly, the wood should last 30 years or more without problems.

Once, heavy rain pushed water through for me, causing a big puddle in the potato cellar, which I naturally want to avoid in the future. Assuming I close the hole, is that something for the structural engineer?

I would remove the soil up to the underside of the floor slab, lay a gravel layer, pull up the bituminous membrane/sealing (like a kind of tub) and then fill with concrete/screed up to the top edge of the floor slab.

Once, during heavy rain, water was pushed through, so there was a big puddle in the potato cellar, which I obviously want to avoid in the future. Assuming I close the hole, is that something for a structural engineer?

Does a structural engineer help against stubbornness? - well, what do you think happens to pressure when you seal off a balancing valve - let’s just imagine we’re really dumb ...

- let's just pretend we're really stupid for a moment ...

Mmmmhhhh. I'll give it a try... a) Maybe it finds another way into the house if the potato cellar is hermetically sealed? b) Or does it flow around the house, because water is smart and knows it can no longer get into the potato cellar? c) Can the OP simply drive a pipe with a faucet directly into the ground next to the house wall and then the water just springs out there?

Mmmmhhhh. I'll give it a try... a) Maybe it finds another way into the house if the potato cellar is hermetically sealed? b) Or does it flow around the house, since water is clever and knows it can no longer get into the potato cellar? c) Can the OP just ram a pipe with a tap directly into the ground next to the house wall and then the water will just bubble out there?

ok, you have no idea, just say so.