Garage Floor material

[ICGREEN]

The easiest way (and probably the cheapest) to move the concrete is to rent a skid steer. The buckets are big enough to move alot of concrete at one time and they're fun to drive. If you dig a 12" trench to the frost line then you can just form it up and poor. In areas where there is alot of frost I've noticed that buildings set on top the ground start to shift after a few years and the siding can pop off. Not to mention they don't look so great sitting out of level. Good luck with the building.

 

[RobertN]

Pump it! Others have mentioned this too. In the Sacramento area, pumps run about $250-300 for the time it would take to pumpa full concrete truck(7 or so yards). You're looking at 7 or so yards for footings and floor(just guestimating...).

I have wheelbarrowed 5 yards before, by myself. Builds character! And takes a long time... It was about 60' from the truck.

The drawbacks to a JD 4110 or so CUT is it is probably too big for 5'. Have you measured the tractor and checked for ROPS clearance? A backhoe and a loader will make the tractor harder to manuever due to the extra length...
For cutting the pad and prepping for the concrete, you could get a small Bobcat or comparable skid steer back there. I have used the 36" wide Bobcat 463. I had a 36-1/2" gat to pass through. I squeaked through by about 1/4" on either side. That little guy dug and graded really well for a small machine! It cost me $150/day to rent direct from Bobcat.

 

[rambler]

What's wrong with just the gravel base? Most of my machine sheds on the farm here are just the dirt that was there - poured foundation for the wall, dry undisurbed dirt for the floor. Gravel would be a little nicer. Sounds like only storage, you're not heating it or with only 5' access you can't work on your car in there with a creeper etc., so just drop the gravel down call it a floor.

Wood is flamable if you spill fluids on it they soak in & make it real flamable. It does rot. A heavy axle load will be hard on it. Turning tires can seperate simple plywood over time... I'd want concrete or gravel, just don't like wood for wheel traffic. Gravel is cheap. Perhaps you can pour the floor some other year if you decide the gravel isn't good enough.

--->Paul

 

[BigAl]

Cliff,
One more thing to think about . If you use a wheelbarrow ,that concrete truck is sitting there charging you "stand by" the hour ! Around here it runs about $75 per hour for a concrete truck !!!Most Concrete Ready Mix Companys will allow you 5 min per yard to dump . After that it is "Stand By" charged !
If your using one or two wheel barrows to place 5 plus yards ,you will use up a lot of time . I think you will save money by using a small concrete pump over wheeling it in place and you will get a much more consistant finish on the slab .
By the way , The concrete pump will come with a operator so you don't need to worry about cleaning it up after use . Thats their job !
Again Good Luck,
Big Al

 

[Cliff_Johns]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What's wrong with just the gravel base? )</font>

I was thinking about just using gravel, but I worried about
losing things. If I'm taking apart some intricate thing on
the tractor and the spring goes boing, how would I ever
find it on a gravel floor? Or even a lost nut. Also I was
thinking a smooth surface would make other repairs easier
especially if I had to kneel or lay down to do them. Am
I thinking inside the box again? Are there better solutions
to this sort of problem?

Cliff

 

[Cliff_Johns]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Pump it! Others have mentioned this too. In the Sacramento area, pumps run about $250-300 for the time it would take to pumpa full concrete truck(7 or so yards). )</font>

That price sounds well worth it. I have to wait until
tomorrow to call around for prices around here, but anything
under $500 seems cheap to avoid all the possible problems
that can result from using wheelbarrows. I can't imagine
how one cleans up a tip-over ov a couple feet of concrete
on your lawn.

Thanks,

 

[frank_f15]

i think concret or just plain gravel, is your best bet!

 

[Cliff_Johns]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
The drawbacks to a JD 4110 or so CUT is it is probably too big for 5'. Have you measured the tractor and checked for ROPS clearance? A backhoe and a loader will make the tractor harder to manuever due to the extra length...
)</font>

The 4110 is about 4' wide. I have a straight shot through the
five foot narrow section. I figured to get the smaller bucket
so I think I would have plenty of clearence. There is no
height restriction (well, 20 feet to the lowest branches, but
I'm not interested in that big of a tractor anyway /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Cliff

 

[RobertN]

The pump works pretty well.

If you whell barrow, it is best to put down plywood over the area where you will whellbarrow. Other wise, you will wind up with ruts in the grass. We rip old plywood to 2' wide sections.

If you dump a wheel barrow, shovel it up with a flat shovel right away. Then wash down the grassy spot right away. It won't hurt the grass.

 

[PineRidge]

This concrete power buggy has a hydro transmission, stand on design, foam filled tires, dual front tires, power dump, 16 cubic foot bucket (thats a bit over 1/2 yard of concrete per trip) It can be rented at most major tool rentals.