Pole Barn Floor Leveling

[wedge40]

Wow.. I feel for your dilemma, but looks like you have gotten some great suggestions from the TBN'ers here. It seem like it would be worth renting or for that matter purchasing a transit or laser level to make sure before you have a level pad before the people come in to build.
I have a Dewalt laser level with a detector.(DW073KD,DW0734, DW0736 approx $450) I'm 8" off from the high point and want to get down to 1" or so for the whole area. I did luck out in that I working an area that is already the high point and everything else slopes down from there. It's just a matter of leveling the peak.
I really need the barn, but I'm taking my time as I work through these details.

Wedge

 

[Dargo]

I plan to install gutters just as soon as I can find someone to come out and do an estimate.

Too bad you're not closer. I just didn't think and the gutter guy I hired does good work but isn't too bright and he put regular 4" gutters on my 80X120 barn. All it took was an average rain and water was pouring over the gutters everywhere. I was amazed at how fast it cut a surprisingly deep trench down each side of my barn.

He offered to put the proper 6" ones on at no additional charge, but I felt partly responsible, so I split the cost with him. I used about 100' of the "old" 4" gutters on a rent house, but the rest is just sitting behind my barn for now. You can easily get by with 4". I suppose the gray color of my gutters wouldn't look too good on your barn though.

With that larger barn, I screwed 2X8 treated lumber on the outside of the posts below the metal then back-filled the outside with dirt and the inside with many truckloads of #11 gravel. I had Graber Post Buildings Leaders in Post Building Manufacturing | Graber Post Buildings, Inc. (a large Amish company build that barn. They have over 150 employees now. Anyway, after building literally thousands of barns, that's what they recommended. They highly discouraged using dirt (even my very high clay content dirt) for fill.

Since I put in all sorts of plumbing runs under the 8" concrete floor, I didn't want any problems, so I took their advice. As to keep it from looking like the barn was on a bubble, I back filled a gradual grade that, in places, extends 15' to 20' from the barn. I used plate compactors, a medium sheep foot roller and lots of driving over it with tractors and dozers. Still, about 3 years after it was built, I can see where that outside fill has dropped almost 6". That would cause a big problem if it were inside!

It definitely cost me more to buy all that #11 gravel and have it compacted inside, but all is well. Sometimes it just costs more to do things the right way. You know, the 'pay me now or pay me later' thing. Good luck to you!!

 

[bp fick]

Progress! Good to see.

In the one progress photo, you have a railroad tie holding aggregate back against the building. What you could do now, for appearances sake, would be to scrounge up free dirt from around your place. Use a box blade or middle buster to scrape up soil. Scrape up a pile with FEL and move it to provide a taper up to that railroad tie. Once that has all settled and compacted, you could do this again and again. You could even pin another tie on top of the existing one. Taper back from that height. Long taper, say, 15'. You could even get a ground cover plant to sink roots on top of it.

In other words, your grading up to the building does not have to be abrupt.
Over the coming months, just improve it a little, bit by bit. Looking good.