Floor Q for pole building

[CTyler]

Hello, I have a 50x64 pole building that will have a cement floor. It will probably be 6 months or so. For now I would like to have some rock vs having a dirt floor. What should I use...3/4...1 1/2? Does it matter if it has limestone in it?

I'm going to need multiple loads of 1 1/2 for my drive anyway. Already have 3 in base rock. If I can use it in the building so much the better.

In 6 months when I'm ready for crete will I need to put sand over the rock? Or just make sure its all packed in real good and pour.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Hoeman00]

I'd go for the 3/4" or 57 gravel for floor.
It is easier to move around to level before pouring on.
don't use sand, too much compaction time, use like #9 gravel or grit this is very easy to rake and level w/ minimum compaction needed.
The gravel or limestone will let the water move under floor so if it is wet I'd put in drain tile lines under floor to keep base dry.

 

[chim]

You may want to consider roughing in for floor drains before getting everything levelled off and compacted................chim

 

[CTyler]

To recap to make sure I have it right. Use 3/4(#57) for now and 3/8(#9) when I'm ready for the crete.

Floor drains, water, sewer, electric and RV hook ups just outside are in the plan.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Anonymous Poster]

We poured a 6" slab inside of our new 40x50 pole barn and it came out really nice. I've got some pics, but don't have the home computer up and running since we just moved out to the new place. Guess we will live out of boxes for a while /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Some suggestions:
- Lay down 6 mil plastic as a vapor barrier to keep moisture from coming up through the finished slab. A couple of inches of sand over the base you've already done will help to put a final level on everything, plus it acts as a cushion to avoid rocks tearing into the plastic.
- Use rebar, not mesh. Mesh gets trampled and winds up at the bottom of the slab. I used #4 rebar at 16" each way, all intersections tied. The rebar was placed on plastic chairs to keep it 3" up from the bottom of the slab. For a 6" slab, this kept the steel right in the center of the slab.
- Dig a little perimeter trench as the outside edge of the slab. If the slab is 6", then make the trench an additional 6"-8" deep, maybe 6" wide at the bottom tapered to about 8"-12" at the top and run some rebar inside of it. The trench rebar should be tied to the main steel rebar. I placed some 1/2" plywood forms straight down from the outside bottom of the building exterior walls (hope I explained that OK), then pulled the forms out from the outside after the concrete was done. What this does is give the building a nice finished concrete edge when seen from the exterior, plus it keeps soil from washing out from the edge of the slab.
- Add an extra piece of rebar and widen the perimeter trench to about 12" at the bottom at all overhead door openings. These take more stress as you drive tractors, trucks, cars, etc onto the slab.
- In my case, the finished top of concrete was even with the top of the lower 2x6 that framed the walls. This made it easy to set a slab level and also placed the slab right at the sill of the standard size walk door in the side. Concrete was machine troweled to a smooth dense finish - not like slick glass when it gets wet, but smooth enough to easily roll stuff.
- I installed area floor drains, water lines, and plumbing for a full bathroom/shower plus workbench hand sink before the slab was done and I'm sure glad I did. Electrical stub-up was also done.
Hope this helps - sorry if it was bit long-winded /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[CTyler]

Thanks for the info, sounds like you have a nice shop.
I hope to get there before to long.

 

[5030]

Be sure you check with the building inspector before doing the gravel. You will probably need a "rat wall" around the perimeter and it would be a real pain to dig a rat wall in gravel.

Daryl
Forage Services, L.P.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Ok, I'll bite. What's a rat wall?

GregM

 

[5030]

A "rat wall" is like a foundation on a house. here in our local area, the "rat wall" has to be 48" below grade. Different localaties have different zoning and building ordinances, so yours is probably different from mine. I believe the term "rat wall" came from a time when you had to keep burrowing animals out of your grain buildings. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Daryl
Forage Services, L.P.

 

[CTyler]

We decided to go ahead and put the floor in the building now vs waiting until later. I may have a bit of a problem though. There is an area that was a bit low and had an inch of water standing in it. The water stood there not evaporating or percing into the ground. After a week or so I took the FEL and drug off the water and little mud.

The trouble is this, it has been three weeks and that area is still not dry and doesnt seem to pack either. When grabbing a handfull of dirt and squeezing it makes a nice ball. It feels kinda like playdough, not wet or sticky. When walking on it the dirt feels like walking on a sponge. I ran over the area with the tractor to see if it would pack. The tractor makes perfect tire depressions in the dirt but it appears to just move it around vs packing it down.

The building pad was initially built with a CAT 613 and packed with a CAT 815 sheepfoot.