Shed for my BX25

[Dusty2360]

I am going to build an addition on the side of my workshop to house my BX25. It will be 16 by 14 feet. I would like to put a wood floor in it but am wondering if the floor would support the weight. I was going to use 2x8 floor joists 12" on centre and board it over with 2x6. I would rather do this than pour concrete to save some time and effort. but am wondering if it would support the weight of the tractor with the FEL and BH attached. Has anyone here had any experience with this?

Thanks!

 

[timswi]

Personally, I'd go with at least 2x10 on 12" centers...You will have concentrated weight on that frame that really isn't distributed beyond the tires...Might be overkill, but the cost increase is minimal.

Also, are you going to put some kind of center support in? Assuming a 14' span, that's too much to be sure.

Disclosure---I tend to overbuild stuff like this...So just my 2 cents.

 

[AStanton]

Dusty,
I not a professional carpenter, although I have helped professionals to trim and frame some houses. I built a shed with a wooden floor: the floor joists are 2x6's 16" on center, the floor 3/4" plywood. I've been storing my 800-lb ATV on it with no problem. I think you can go with 2x6 floor joists 12" on center with bull nose planking and not have a problem. Just be sure the joists and planking are pressure treated. And leave 1/8" gap between the planks for drainage, if water or snow gets in there. I would also put a row of blocking down the middle of the floor to keep the joists from racking. Another thing to look at is the base. Before you put down a bed of gravel, it's a good idea to lay out some wire mesh under the gravel. This wil prevent critters from digging under your building. Posted is a pic of my gazebo which I built.
Good Luck

 

[94BULLITT]

I keep my bx in a building that has 2x8 or maybe even 2x10 floor joist and I have 4 6x6 runners under it. I keep my fuel cans in there a bunch of landscaping tools and other misc. stuff. It supports it fine. It is on 16" centers. The building is a 12x12. If I had a BX25 I would put it in there if I could get it to fit.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I just added a 16' WIDE x 26' LONG side garage on my 24'x26' garage. I used concrete for the floor which cost more than the entire rest of the project maybe by double because I hired people to do the concrete work. I had to get up a steep bank to the proper level and guess I needed concrete for that part and just went on with it.
My biggest question for your project is how far are you spanning? If you have a center beam running your length on the ground or if your building the wood floor over and on with direct contact to a gravel floor.
I have a 14' deck with 2"x8"s 12" on center spanning 14' with 2"x6" tongue and groove PT wood on top. It's solid but with it spanning 14' I'm not sure I'd put a 3000lb tractor on it. Well, I'm sure I wouldn't but it might would hold it. If I had a center beam running the length of it which would mean the span would only be 7' I would with no hesitation and would hope and believe it would hold.

 

[Dr Dave]

You will need a good base under wood or concrete. Treated lumder is not going to be cheap. Have you priced concrete vs wood? If you can do it yourself, concrete should be cheaper by far.

Dave

 

[Alan L.]

I'm not sure the wood floor will be either faster or cheaper than concrete, frankly.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

You will need a good base under wood or concrete. Treated lumder is not going to be cheap. Have you priced concrete vs wood? If you can do it yourself, concrete should be cheaper by far.

Dave

I'm almost sure this is true, if you can do the concrete yourself or find a concrete helper to help you do it. That's all dependant also on your spanning a distance that may require a bunch of fill or your already on the ground with your base.

 

[tshep]

Why joists at all?
Think about a garage, or old school shed - if it's really just for tractor storage, and clean footing to get to the tractor, why not just lay pavers, etc on sand or even leveled dirt?
Spans, joists, beams, footings, pressure treated, ect are a lot of work and costs for a marginal garage floor that you will have to ramp up to anyway....

 

[94BULLITT]

I forgot to mention that the floor in my building is 3/4" pressure treated plywood.

 

[radioman]

two things to consider here. I added on my garage just for the BX24 due to high rops. I installed a 9 foot high door but when I added the garage doors, I only have couple inches of clearance. I'd suggest a 10 foot tall door unless you plan to build a sliding door. I wanted a folding accordion door, but decided against it since neither folding or sliding door would work on my style of garage.

I used stone called crusher run for floor and havent really regretted. My only regret is I dont have a smooth floor for rolling the mowing deck when stored upright so I just useed my FEL to manhandle it. I do plan to add a concrete floor sometime down the road when money is right.

 

[gumshu]

Concrete is your best bet for the long haul... and no worries about loads.

 

[chim]

I went the "prefab" route and bought a 12 x 24 shed. It has a peak roof, man door and window on the side and a rollup door on the end. The rollup isn't high enough to have the ROPS up, but I have clearance problems elsewhere on the property, so that doesn't matter. Anyway, it is made with 4x4's running longways and 3/4 plywood for the floor. The floor and framing below are all pressure treated. It worked great for the B7500 and now the L3200.

It sits on a crushed stone pad. When it was delivered, it didn't sit on the stone without gaps at places. What I did was take an old 5/8"(?) cable and loop it around the shed and bring the two ends together. Grabbed the ends with the Jeep and pulled it so it passed under the shed. Two passes with the Amish cheese slicer and it sat much better.

 

[madmax12]

amish cheese slicer... very creative

 

[AceDeuce]

I built a 12 x 16 shed for my bx and all its implements (in retrospect, i should have gone with 16 x 20). The floor is 2x4's on 12" centers set across 4x4's on 4ft centers laying on a bed of compacted locking gravel mix with 3/4" tongue and grove plywood. Solid as a rock. Absolutely NO deflection.

 

[Dusty2360]

Thank-you for all of the replies and good ideas! I currently keep the tractor in a wood shed with a gravel floor but with winter on it's way I will be taking off the FEL & BH so I can install and use my front mount snowblower. The main reason I was thinking about a wooden floor is so I can use a dolly to store my BH out of the way. (Like a BXpanded)

A concrete floor would likely be the best bet, as several of you have pointed out, but I would have to put in quite a bit of fill as the area has a bit of a slope, then it would have to be well compacted or I would have to wait for it to settle for a bit before pouring the concrete floor. Now that I have read some of your posts I see this as an option, as I could build a pole type barn similar to my woodshed and make due with it this winter, which would give the gravel time to settle and compact, then add the floor next summer. Food for thought!!

 

[Danner]

If you span is 14 feet, I'd go with 2x12. If you can do a center support and reduce the span to 7 fee, then the 2x8 would be fine.

 

[Dusty2360]

If you span is 14 feet, I'd go with 2x12. If you can do a center support and reduce the span to 7 fee, then the 2x8 would be fine.

It would not be a problem to put in a center support. I am thinking I could put 6X6's in for joists under where the tractor would be sitting as well.