Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel

   / Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel #1  

Tim13

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
27
Location
Indiana
Tractor
JD 3320 w/ 300CX FEL
My great-grandfather built or had built this barn in the 50's or 60's. The building is solid and FBi put a new roof and gutters on last week. Now, I want to replace the old dirt floor. After reading many good posts, I am thinking of using a box scraper to remove four inches of dirt and filling it with gravel. I'll also be removing the old horse stalls. There is no border around the exterior and just grass leading to both entrances. I plan to add gravel before both doors and as a border around the exterior. I'll be using the barn to store equipment and tools. Barn is 40x60.

Does this sound like the right path? Any ideas, concerns?

Thanks
 

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   / Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel #2  
Google "soil cement". Rototill up the dirt, spray on the liquid polymer, rototill again, level it up and then roll it flat. Touch up leveling, then spray on more on top. Let it dry. Hard as concrete and can be repaired easily if damaged.
 
   / Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel #3  
crushed limestone in the size of 1/4-minus or "chat" can be spread in about a 3-4" layer. watered and compacted it takes on the look and feel of concrete, although can be re-graded and re-compacted to fix areas.

Consider a concrete pad in the center area were most work/use will occure and leaving the gravel to the edges. This gives the feel and work ablity of concrete with a faction of the cost of doing the entire building.
 
   / Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel #4  
I'll be using the barn to store equipment and tools.

If you're using it to store equipment is there any reason you've chosen gravel? Everytime I have to work on a piece of equipment in my crushed limestone I hate it. It also tracks out on your tires, so if you drive on asphalt it leaves tracks. I know it's a big pill to swallow, but if you can afford concrete I'd do that. If on the other hand you're going to keep livestock, then limestone is hard to beat.
 
   / Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel #5  
Unless the barn floor gets wet, a whole problem in itself, why change? Gravel is terrible for shop work and I would save the money for concrete. Nice barn by the way.

MarkV
 
   / Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel #6  
A not perfect concrete job beats gravel every time.
Maybe do just half out of concrete, then the other half when you need it or can afford it.
 
   / Replacing Barn Dirt Floor with Gravel
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thanks for all of the input. My neighbor just put up a new barn, I'll ask him who did the concrete work and compare that cost with gravel. It would be nice having a level surface for storage shelves and work benches.
 
 
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