Concrete floor for workshop questions

[gerard]

Re: Concrete floors ...revisited!

I think you have enough info on concrete but I didn't understand the one person's negative comment re a vapor barrier. In upstate NY good contractors put plastic sheeting down beofre the concrete is poured, not as a vapor barrier after the concrete cured but to ****** the curing process and prevent the moisture from leaching out as the concrete cures. For normal concrete (there are special mixes this doesn't apply to) the longer it takes to cure the harder it cures. The stronget concrete can be poured under water totally and will cure just fine) this is most important if you pour under hot dry conditions. in that case you want to water the concrete as it cures. I know one guy who poured his basement, plugged the drain and flooded it for a week as it cured! I know they used plastic sheeting under the floors at the Anheuser-Bush plant up here and those floors were 12 inches thick. I have to assume they know what they're doing!

 

[MarkV]

Re: Concrete floors ...revisited!

Roysallis, With a pole barn floors are poured after the barn is up or the poles have been set. No reason for put the slab in before the building because all the bearing will be on the poles you set in the ground. When you say living area and plumbing, the permit process becomes a whole differnt game in most areas. For us a pole barn does not require a permit but for a septic you have to have the health departments ok and the building inspector wants things way differnt than barn construction. Might want to check things in your area. Never fun when an inspector having a bad day stops by./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[W5FL]

Re: Concrete floors ...revisited!

Interesting to live in the rural area of Texas. Only wells and recently Septic Tanks require a permit. Only Septic Systems ever see an inspector. They don't care whether you live in it, wire it or plumb it. California has uniform building code everywhere, but is pretty lax in the outlying areas.

I really though only horses, cows, and goats lived in pole barns, though. Prefab steel barns are almost as cheap, you pour the foundation first and insulate pretty well. Good barn for living quarters, but lousy for horses, cows, and goats, though.

 

[roysallis]

Re: Concrete floors ...revisited!

My barn will not be used for any kind of animals. It will be used for my tractor and other equipment. I do not live on the property now but plan to build a house in the near future. My plan is to sell my house and live in the barn while I am building my house. A perk test and field line plan is required by the health department before I can put in a septic tank, even though the barn is not considered a living unit.

 

[TomG]

Re: Concrete floors ...revisited!

I don't think of myself as a knowledgeable builder, but I think that plumbing, electrical etc. is pretty much done in exterior walls after the slab is poured. Except in commercial buildings that often have utility troughs build into slab floors, there's no room to work under on in an on-grade slab.

It's probably easiest to plan the living space so utility connections can utilize exterior walls (with enough insulation on the outside of pipes to prevent freezing). Of course, the electrical can be run through the roof space and down interior walls. Plumbing through interior walls isn't so easy. It's a good idea for drainpipe to have drainage angles, and running drain through interior wall studs doesn't seem like a great idea. I have run drainpipe on the outside of walls, but it doesn't look great.

In terms of living space and permits: In Ontario, an occupancy permit is required for any principal residence. Building and health permits are required before an occupancy permit is issued. Recreational spaces do not require occupancy permits, and the codes are less stringent for recreational occupancy (usually defined as occupied less than 6 months a year). However, we still had to get a building and health permit to set up a construction trailer at our camp.

The codes were changed several years ago, and now the required septic system for the trailer is a full residential system (very expensive). As an alternative, we're using a composting toilet. However, we still were required to build a raised 6' x 12' x 3' gray water leeching pit.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a 40' x 64' foot pole barn, and had a slab poured last year. The 40' width with is broken down as 8', then a 12' sliding door, then the remaining 20'. I had the 8' and the 20' sections done, starting with a 4" base of pea gravel,a vapor barrier, used fiber concrete AND wire mesh poured 6" thick. The 12' width of the door was left dirt, from the front of the barn, all the way to the back. After everything cured, I added more dirt, so it came up to within 2" of the concrete floor. Filled that up with #57 limestone. The reason I did not have that section done, was that I have a 977 Cat, that weighs in the neighborhood of 44,000 pounds. If I ever get rid of the Cat, the last job will be to excavate that 12' section, and have it poured. I would NOT go only 4" if you have any heavy equipment.