Calculating lbs/sq ft.

[MikeD74T]

Blimey Mike - it's Newton's third law( Gospel since 1687) & you think it doesn't make sense!!!!!!! quote]

I'm not disputing Newton, I'm disputing whether orezok's response added any value to the question. Going to a ridiculous extreme even 1/4" luan plywood will hold up a tractor if the plywood is adequately supported. We're not discussing the compressive strength of a material but the tensile strength of a composite system.
If a 1" square post 4" tall were fastened to the floor & the tractor driven up onto it, provided it didn't puncture the tire, do you really believe it would only exert 30 lbs on the floor ???? Or that the tire pressure would suddenly spike to 2500 psi ???? MikeD74T

 

[raykos]

Hi all,

I guess I should have provided more information when I ask my question!

Probably some of the parameters to the question would be location, cost & ease of construction.

A concrete floor is probably the best way to go when talking about supporting weight. However, working with concrete presents a whole lot of variables particular to concrete; site preperation, possible problems of delivery path(thus, influincing location), cost of material, dependence on concrete suppliers schedule, wheather, and hard work for just one person.

To me, wood is a heck of a lot easier to work with than concrete and it doesn't have some of the restrictions concrete does, BUT, can it work as well as concrete in similar applications; supporting a tractor? If, as one member put it, I'm going to be "parking on a lumber pile", wood wouldn't work; but if a 12" or 16" O.C. wood floor using 2 x ?? could support the weight, I'd rather go with wood.

Hence, my question about lbs/sq ft., and I thought that would give me an idea of whether or not a wood floor would work; I do appreciate the responses and information with regard to this question.

Ray

 

[CurlyDave]

If you already have a dirt floor and and want to put something non-muddy on it, I have had good results with using the 16"x16"x2" pavers from Home Depot or Lowes.

Just put down enough sand to level them out and lay them down. I have parked a 30 foot motor home on these without breaking them, and if one ever does break, they are easy to replace.

 

[NuBota]

great thread! I have a similar situation. I have nothing but hills. Found an area with only a 10-15 degree slope and picked this for shed/barn site. I had first thought to build a heavy duty wood deck on concrete piers. I'm no engineer, but I figured if I went with the "woodpile" approach I would be fine.

I still worried about the weight distribution and decided to go concrete slab and started bringing in fill dirt. After four truck loads and only being about a third of what I need (need even more than that to make it look good), I am reconsidering again.....

 

[/pine]

I second the paver idea if it is applicable/acceptable....

I may have missed it if it's already been suggested...have you checked local saw mills to see if they could cut you some heavier timbers to build a substantial floor system...someone else has already mentioned bridges...a floor system to support a tractor would not need to be near as beefy as a bridge

 

[Egon]

A fellow could also use some engineered precast concrete slabs!

 

[carpenter383]

great thread! I have a similar situation. I have nothing but hills. Found an area with only a 10-15 degree slope and picked this for shed/barn site. I had first thought to build a heavy duty wood deck on concrete piers. I'm no engineer, but I figured if I went with the "woodpile" approach I would be fine.

I still worried about the weight distribution and decided to go concrete slab and started bringing in fill dirt. After four truck loads and only being about a third of what I need (need even more than that to make it look good), I am reconsidering again.....

I would be worried about pouring concrete on fill dirt, it would need to be compacted very well. #7 stone is the norm around here to use for fill. They claim 7's are self compacting, but if it's going to be very deep I'd compact it anyway. Also you need to have good water drainage

 

[NuBota]

I would be worried about pouring concrete on fill dirt, it would need to be compacted very well. #7 stone is the norm around here to use for fill. They claim 7's are self compacting, but if it's going to be very deep I'd compact it anyway. Also you need to have good water drainage

Your right - one of the reasons I'm waffling. If I stick with slab, then fill will go in - have to given the slope. Then I will proably do a pole barn with dirt floor and add the slab later - give dirt a couple of years to settle/compact. Have the drainage planned - no problem there.

Here is a quick sketch - not to scale - brown line is fill. I am layering, but know there will still be some settling. Going wood would be a much quicker solution in my case

 

[MikeD74T]

raykos, Wood is a very viable solution within some size ranges. If you want better answers you need to provide some dimensions. How big do you want your shed to be? Flat ground or slope? If slope, how much drop in the distance covered by the shed? On perimeter walls or posts? What else will you park in the shed? Will you park in one section only or do you want to be able to park anywhere? MikeD74T

 

[orezok]

Blimey Mike - it's Newton's third law( Gospel since 1687) & you think it doesn't make sense!!!!!!! quote]

I'm not disputing Newton, I'm disputing whether orezok's response added any value to the question. Going to a ridiculous extreme even 1/4" luan plywood will hold up a tractor if the plywood is adequately supported. We're not discussing the compressive strength of a material but the tensile strength of a composite system.
If a 1" square post 4" tall were fastened to the floor & the tractor driven up onto it, provided it didn't puncture the tire, do you really believe it would only exert 30 lbs on the floor ???? Or that the tire pressure would suddenly spike to 2500 psi ???? MikeD74T

Mike, perhaps you missed the part of my response that said "My response was not intended to take into consideration the dynamics of a semi-solid structure such as a tire. It was purely a law of physics response."