Pushing the budget..
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EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I'm going to say the roof. The floor gets used in areas, some for storage, others areas for walking on, and a lot of it just collects dust. But the roof is used 24/7 protecting the building, keeping the sun or rain off of everything inside my building. It is the most important part of my buildings!!!
Citydude
Super Member
I knew you would get it "Mr Logic".
Ha! Well, that does make a lot of sense. I'm getting quotes for a shop and through the process of getting the costs down to my budget, the floor hasn't come into play yet. I need to consider the cost of quality into the floor as well. I'd much rather have a durable strong floor than a couple of extra Windows or other aesthetic options that are nice however not needed. Thanks!
Citydude
Super Member
Aw, please say it's the floor, just this once...I can't go another sleepless night refiguring my quotes.
ovrszd
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Eddie, today is a beautiful day up here in God's Country. Sunshine, no wind. I could remove the roof from my shop and my house today and still use them. Try that with your floor.
Tonight when it gets cold all that changes. But today the only part of my building that's still working is the floor. Try working in a shop with a dirt floor or gravel floor after having good concrete.
truckdiagnostics
Platinum Member
It is not so much the thickness of the concrete but what is under it. Here we go down 12-18 with compacted stone before we pour. The soil is mostly clay and expands big time. You go 15 miles east where it is sand you compact the soil and pour. Around here the difference between 4 and 5 will make no difference for cracking and heaving if what underneath is not correct! Where we put our pole barn we had to go down 36" to get rid of the top soil, before we could get to the clay for a base, then we filled with stone. Don't want to pop your bubble but 5" concrete won't stop the cracking if you do not have a good base and if the ground freezes where you are the material that is compacted is going to matter.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
... Try working in a shop with a dirt floor or gravel floor after having good concrete.
My first workshop had a dirt floor. I added rock and that really didn't make it any better. I could still use it, I just hated crawling under anything with gravel, or trying to roll anything on wheels around with it. Now I have concrete and I feel it's worth the cost. But not having concrete didn't make my shop not a shop. While I realize this is all in jest, I can't imagine not having a roof on a building.
newbury
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from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building
A concrete floor without a roof is a pad. Many TBN'ers have pole barns without a concrete floor.
ovrszd
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I said nothing about convenience or improved or crude or anything else. I simply said the floor is the most used part of a shop. I'll stand by that. I'm in my shop right now. The only part of it I'm using is the floor.
Newbury, you are correct, many people have a pole barn without a concrete floor. And it's just what you said, a Pole Barn.
Newbury, you are correct, many people have a pole barn without a concrete floor. And it's just what you said, a Pole Barn.
bigtiller
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potato - pototto
tomato = tomott o
he said - she said
This is a good thread, find something else to argue about.
tomato = tomott o
he said - she said
This is a good thread, find something else to argue about.
bspeedy
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Hey, OP. Haven't checked this thread in a while. If you haven't built yours yet, I'll be more than happy to share my contractor's info with you. Also, since we're neighbors, I will be happy to let you see my shop and share lessons learned during construction. I had mine built as a shell with doors and then did the floor the following year and the power the summer after. Spread the cost out a bit and allowed me to plan the layout as I went.
My floor is 4" with no rebar or wire. Earth was compacted prior to the build. Gravel floor put in after build and equipment, camper, truck parked a drove on it for about a year. Area was leveled and floor was poured and finished. Control joints were cut the next day. No stray cracks, no movement in the floor. If I had done this in Ohio where I grew up, my floor would probably be a mess. Our sandy clay soil and our lack of freezing weather are very forgiving to things like driveways and foundations.
My floor is 4" with no rebar or wire. Earth was compacted prior to the build. Gravel floor put in after build and equipment, camper, truck parked a drove on it for about a year. Area was leveled and floor was poured and finished. Control joints were cut the next day. No stray cracks, no movement in the floor. If I had done this in Ohio where I grew up, my floor would probably be a mess. Our sandy clay soil and our lack of freezing weather are very forgiving to things like driveways and foundations.
bspeedy
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Duplicate - sorry.
bspeedy
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By the way, I had the concrete pour done separately from the shop build. And did the electrical myself with help from a knowledgeable friend.
truckdiagnostics
Platinum Member
round here, Wisconsin, if you were going to have a concrete floor for sure the slab would be poured first, then the building would be built off the monolithic slab. That way the slab and building float together. Pouring the slab inside the building you need to make sure that the slab can not grab onto any part of the building as they are not going to move together. Freezing may not be as much of an issue where you are as the clay/ground getting wet and expanding, so soil drainage and compaction would be what I would be concerned about. Once again 4" of 5" is not going to make any difference if the base is correct!
truckdiagnostics
Platinum Member
round here, Wisconsin, if you were going to have a concrete floor for sure the slab would be poured first, then the building would be built off the monolithic slab. That way the slab and building float together. Pouring the slab inside the building you need to make sure that the slab can not grab onto any part of the building as they are not going to move together. Freezing may not be as much of an issue where you are as the clay/ground getting wet and expanding, so soil drainage and compaction would be what I would be concerned about. Once again 4" of 5" is not going to make any difference if the base is correct!
Cord
Veteran Member
Micro fiber only controls shrinkage cracks. These are fine cracks that often take on a alligator skin appearance: http://www.overlandconcrete.com/images/asr.jpg The cause is from the concrete surface drying out too fast, usually from the sun or wind. The problem will also show up as "slab curl" where the edges are higher than the center. In addition to the fiber, other ways to prevent this from happening is to use a curing compound or to cover the slab with burlap and keep it wet for a couple of days.
If you see large lighting bolt type cracks running across the floor; those are cause by settlement from a bad subgrade. Micro fiber is unable to control those cracks.
If you see large lighting bolt type cracks running across the floor; those are cause by settlement from a bad subgrade. Micro fiber is unable to control those cracks.
wmonroe
Elite Member
I didn't read all the replies but when I built mine I went with thicker concrete to support a future lift and any possible heavy equipment (like you mentioned). I went with 16' walls for two reasons, first I wanted a 14' door so I could get anything inside and second I wanted to add a mezzanine. The mezzanine add so much storage and allows for much better use of the "ground" floor.
What I would do differently is go with wider doors, at times it is difficult backing my trailer in if I want it off to the side instead of in the center. You could save a little cost by not getting the taller doors right away, it's much easier in a pole building to increase the door height opposed to the width (I would have to move posts to increase my door width).
Like someone else mentioned doing the upgrades now is painful as far as the extra cost but down the road worth every penny.
What I would do differently is go with wider doors, at times it is difficult backing my trailer in if I want it off to the side instead of in the center. You could save a little cost by not getting the taller doors right away, it's much easier in a pole building to increase the door height opposed to the width (I would have to move posts to increase my door width).
Like someone else mentioned doing the upgrades now is painful as far as the extra cost but down the road worth every penny.
fidowanttobe
Platinum Member
The climate is very different in your location but in ND if you don't use 4" of class #5 compacted under a 4" slab with rebar, you're gonna be sorry. The prep is critical here and will not be skimped on by reputables. Sand is not a replacement although not a code violation. Do NOT skimp on concrete as there is no repair and in 5 years when it still looks like new you will agree that thee money was well spent.
