Foundation site prep

[Tscott9330]

I need to do a little site prep for my new steel building pad. I plan to use my box blade and FEL to scrape off the grass and level it as best I can. The site is basically flat and will not need any fill brought in. Any tips or tricks I need to know?

Tom

 

[JB4310]

I've found the box scraper very efficient at removing sod and leveling ground, unless you have to remove more than 4-6" of top soil, I wouldn't use the loader.
The box is much more forgiving, it may take longer with more passes, but it takes far less skill than the loader for leveling large areas. Use the rippers to cut more and no rippers to just dress up.

If you have to remove more than 6" then get the bulk of it with the loader and dress it up with the box, you will have a huge pile of dirt if you have to remove 6"+ from an area the size of even a small building.

You'll have to experiment with the angle of the box, and it will fill up with turf pretty quick, once it's full you can drag it out of the way, when it's full it doesn't dig anymore.
I've got a new hydraulic top link to adjust angle of box, have not tried it yet but I'm sure it would make box blading easier.

JB.

 

[rimshot]

I need to do a little site prep for my new steel building pad. I plan to use my box blade and FEL to scrape off the grass and level it as best I can. The site is basically flat and will not need any fill brought in. Any tips or tricks I need to know?

Tom

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Make sure you have some fall away from your building so you get no water running in from outside. better to be safe than sorry here. What type of soil are you working with? I take it you willl not be pouring a concrete floor. If not you may want to build your floor area up built using crushed gravel.

rimshot

 

[Tscott9330]

Yeah, we will be pouring a full pad for the building. The shop will be 36'x60' all totaled. The area is flat, sandy and compacts well. There should be no need to bring in fill according to 2 concrete guys so far, they say it will compact well and that they can set the pad up an inch or 2 above grade to keep water from flowing if there is any. The ground only has a 2 or 3 inch fall from one side to the other so we should only need to scrape down to get rid of any biological materials. Our property percs very well and we seldom see standing water. I will however slope the ground away from the building just to be sure.

Tom

 

[CurlyDave]

Even if you only scrape a little material from the top, you need to compact the site because there will be a compactible layer of disturbed dirt from the scraping.

 

[Tscott9330]

Even if you only scrape a little material from the top, you need to compact the site because there will be a compactible layer of disturbed dirt from the scraping.

Yep, I definitely agree. Compaction will be part of the job for the concrete crew. I am just doing some of the early work to save some money on the job. I have received a few quotes, and they were pretty high in my opinion. I will just keep doing stuff myself until I get a price i like and then I will let them take it from there.

Tom

 

[rimshot]

Yep, I definitely agree. Compaction will be part of the job for the concrete crew. I am just doing some of the early work to save some money on the job. I have received a few quotes, and they were pretty high in my opinion. I will just keep doing stuff myself until I get a price i like and then I will let them take it from there.

Tom

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In a perfect world, the best time to pour a pole barn floor is after the roof is sheeted and skirt boards are installed to use as a concrete form. In other words, the basic building is complete less the steel wallsheeting. It's just easier if the side panels are missing for the short time the concrete finishing crew needs to pour concrete with out splashing on steel side panels. In addition the cement finishers can jump in and out and their long handled bullfloats can be used in both directions. But there is even more advantage because not only are you protected from rain but you can do a pretty fair job of keeping the sun off the new floor as well because concrete fresh poured is best if it can cure slowly not just dry quickly.

rimshot

 

[EddieWalker]

I need to do a little site prep for my new steel building pad. I plan to use my box blade and FEL to scrape off the grass and level it as best I can. The site is basically flat and will not need any fill brought in. Any tips or tricks I need to know?

Tom

The steel building will require footings dug to a depth based on your area of the country, the size of the building and the type of soil that you have. Other then clearing the area, there's not allot that you can do yourself if your not going to dig the footings and create the forms.

Getting the area clear, having work areas, parking areas for the crew and storage areas for material will help move things along faster and more easily.

The concrete trucks will need a path to drive in and a place to wash out there tank.

Do you have a septic tank and leach fields? Mark them and make sure nobody drives over them with a cement truck!!!! Do you have anything else that you don't want crushed or destroyed? Mark it and don't be shy about putting a fence around it. Trim your low branches and if needed, wrap your tree trunks if they are in the way.

Good luck, remain flexible and let the experts do their thing without getting in the way.

Eddie

 

[Tscott9330]

Well, I went ahead and scraped the surface clean of all grass with the box blade and then used the loader to scrape a level pad. I say it is level, but I have not pulled a string on it yet but it is more level than it was. It took a few hours, but it was worth it. I got a quote today for the concrete of $8125.00 this is for 44 yds of 3000 PSI mud with fiber added. He is also going to set up the forms and dig the footers to the county specification. Along with 2 loops of #5 rebar continuous around the perimeter. This works out to about $185 a yard. Is this a good price? the first cost I got was $210 a yard which was high. I live in north Florida if that helps.

Tom

 

[EddieWalker]

Concrete work is based on the price per square foot. Prices are regional as each area has it's own conditions that affect what the final price will be. Some places require rebar. The bigger the rebar and the closer together it is, the more the job will cost. It will also make for a stronger slab. Other areas require deeper footings and extensive work on the base before you can even pour. I've done jobs where it cost more to get the dirt to pass inspection then it did to buy the concrete.

I can tell you that here in East Texas, for a basic pad, using #3 or 3/8 rebar on 24 inch centers and a footing around the perimeter, a 4 inch slab is going to run in the $3.50 a sq ft range.

Some people like and swear by fiber in the mix. I don't have any issues with it as an extra to rebar, but the only proven method for strong concrete is with rebar. Wire will work if it could ever be installed properly, but it's almost impossible to do that and I would never allow or use wire for any concrete work. I also wouldn't do a pad or foundation on anything that I wanted for myself or was hired to do for a client with just fiber. I know others have done so and they are happy with the results, but I'm not taking any chances with concrete. It's too important.

Good luck,
Eddie