Garage Floor material

LBrown59 · Dec 31, 2004

(
Hi,
I'm going to build a garage behind my house which will
house my lawn tractor, a small CUT of some type and a
bench. Just a one car size, maybe 12X20. Anyway,
I can't get anything wider than 5 feet back to that area,
so if I used concrete it would take a lot of wheelborrow
trips (Perhaps 40 or so?) from the truck which would be
a hundred feet away.

What I'm wondering is, would it be nutz to use a very
strong wood floor instead of concrete? I'm thinking I can
set it on a 6" gravel base and let it float with the frost.
It would be cheaper and easier all around. Also lower
tax increase because concrete makes it a permenante
addition to the property and the tax goes up accordingly.

What would the drawbacks be for a wooden floor if I plan
to use it for a tractor? For the sake of argument assume
a JD4110 with FEL and BH. I have a feeling using wood
is just a bad idea, but I'm not exactly sure why.

Thanks,
Cliff

)

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Have you read the dirty cement thread?

Jaeger · Dec 31, 2004

I'm a BIG fan of concrete.

If your concerned about getting the matterial back there the rest of the folks have pretty much covered the bases on delivery of the product.

HOWEVER

I would not write off the wood floor. If you do it the right way the first time you should be OK.

I would have a real nice compacted gravel base, cover it with plastic, and use good support (min 6x6's) on 16" (min) apart. Cover them with 2 sheets of 3/4" marine grade plywood (placed in opposite directions to each other), and I'd park any CUT on top of it.

I like to over engineer things I'd use 8x8's, and put them on 12" centers, along with the 2 sheets of plywood.

Do Not Use any OSB type product for your floor.

Good Luck..................J

joes_427_vette · Dec 31, 2004

Cliff; A word of caution... don't finish the concrete too smooth. I did this and in the winter it gets like a skating rink. Now I am looking to cover it up with a rubber mat of some type, at least in the work area. The unheated section wouldn't make much difference. On a hot day an outside pour sets quickly so I was more concerned with getting it flat and smooth. Is this living with your mistakes or learning by mistakes ? I guess worse things could have happened. Good luck!

Cliff_Johns · Dec 31, 2004

Since the original post in this thread in March, I've built the garage (pictures are in the photo thread here and here_to ) and put down concrete. I guess I'm glad I did. Dollys don't roll very well on gravel, and having a flat hard floor is useful for many things. Next summer, I will probably build the double plywood floor discussed here under a small timber frame shed that will take my lawn tractor(much less weight) and some garden tools. This will make room for projet work in the concrete floored garage.

Thanks everyone for the discussion it was a good one.

Cliff

KiotiJohn · Dec 31, 2004

( Cliff; A word of caution... don't finish the concrete too smooth. I did this and in the winter it gets like a skating rink. )
Joe, you may consider etching your concrete floor with muriatic acid or some of the newer replacements for it. You can make the floor a little more "sandpapery" and it won't be so slick. Check out this article on etching with one of those products. John
Etching concrete ( )

jcp · Jan 1, 2005

Just thought I'd add this to give another perspective. I built a 16'x24' steel shed to house, among other things, the B7500. It has a gravel floor. I wanted to make just a section (6'x13') smooth to park the FEL when not in use. Having spent a 3 day weekend last year laying a block paver front entranceway, that seemed a viable option. So I visited Home Depot & Lowes. For unknown reasons, the 8"x16" pavers were less than half the price per square foot of their larger counterparts. The result was a smooth section for less than $75 and about four hours time. I used my hand tamper for this job but using a power tamper like on my entranceway produces a solid surface that would rival concrete. Just thought you might want an quick, inexpensive option. I have a paved garage for my cars but couldn't justify it to park the FEL.

pennwalk · Jan 1, 2005

The barn on my wifes familys place is over 100 yeas old and they store farm equipment in it. So a wood floor can last quite some time. When I was a kid my Grand father had a garage workshop with a wood floor and he parked his car in it. I like wood better it is softer, warmer and dryer. I know there are small sawmills around here that make oak flooring for barns. It is more than likely that concrete is cheaper but it works better if you do it right (vapor barriers and insulation etc).

Chris

LBrown59 · Jan 1, 2005

( ( Cliff; A word of caution... don't finish the concrete too smooth. I did this and in the winter it gets like a skating rink. )
Joe, you may consider etching your concrete floor with muriatic acid or some of the newer replacements for it. You can make the floor a little more "sandpapery" and it won't be so slick. Check out this article on etching with one of those products. John

 I prefer the cement floor being as smooth as possible.
Makes oil spills much easier to clean up.
 Etching concrete ( ) )

LBrown59 · Jan 1, 2005

My brother bought a house about 8 years ago.

When the house was originally built in the late 1950s they built the 2 car detached garage with a wood floor in it.

The floor has floor joist and is built the same way you build the floor for a house.