Floor Q for pole building

[CTyler]

Perhaps I need to ask more direct questions.

How dry does it need to be before adding the rock and pouring concrete?

Will the moist, not wet, dirt shrink when it dries causing problems if poured over? Like I said if feels spongy,like walking on playdough, but it wont pack either, just moves around. The dirt is dark topsoil that is kind of silty.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Shouldn't the topsoil be removed (organic mixture decays & settles) and a few inches of gravel be put down & packed?

--->Paul

 

[SteveBenson]

I agree w/ Paul, topsoil is not a stable base for a floor. It should be taken out and replaced w/ gravel.

 

[CTyler]

Hi, perhaps the term topsoil is misleading. My reference to topsoil is the black dirt that is about 15' deep on that part of the land vs the brown dirt below and grey clay(?) even farther down.

The dirt in the pad doesn't have any organics, bean straw, corn stalks etc... mixed in with it. We scraped off the first foot or so and used the dirt underneath to build the pad. The pad is built up about 2' in the front and about 4' in the back. It was all packed with a CAT 815 sheepfoot in layers.

 

[CTyler]

I will be putting down rock and packing the rock before pouring.