Metal building install- looking for ideas

[Root Cause]

Short version:
I am about to have a large, metal building put on the new property. Funds are not unlimited so thinking a dirt floor is fine for RV, tractor, etc.
Seems like gravel would just cost more and make it difficult to roll a chipper, tiller, or trailer around by hand.
Thoughts, ideas, or tips are appreciated.

Backstory:
I am on a 10° grade and have just cleared about 5500 sq. ft for a 30' x 40' metal building. The grader will cut into the lot so the earth will be hard-packed.
The primary purpose is to store an RV, tractor, and wood splitting tools to feed a water stove.
I will level the lot to include some workspace and a pathway for the tractor to run around it.

 

[WranglerX]

If you are really considering dirt floor, the you should invest in really good drainage around building other wise you may have indoor mud bog in rainy season.... If not concrete, I would consider compacted decomposed granite or same material as used for road base.....

 

[Citydude]

I had concrete poured in my 30x40 after the dirt floor turned into powder in a matter of months.

 

[bcp]

I've been some old shops, long ago, that had dirt floors hard as asphalt, but they've had oil spilled and sprayed on them for decades.

Bruce

 

[Root Cause]

Ok. Was it a lot more costly to add concrete after the build?

 

[Citydude]

I would think it cost more. They used a pump truck instead of wheel borrowing it to the back of the building.

 

[fried1765]

Ok. Was it a lot more costly to add concrete after the build?

Add the concrete after the build, when you feel that you can afford it.
Cost will be higher but not crazy higher.

 

[deezler]

Yeah it's not that much more cost to pour it later. However on a metal building, don't you typically want to fasten the building onto the slab? Otherwise, what is the foundation for the metal building? Just sitting on the ground, anchored into the earth (like a simple carport)?

Second what citydude said, the dirt (if you keep it dry with very good drainage around the building) will turn to powdery dust inside. If you can't afford the concrete, at least plan for it by keeping the floor elevation 4-6" lower to begin with, and lay a few inches of 21a or other small gravel with fines, and compact the hell out of it. Level and compact the dirt before you lay the gravel also.

 

[Zebrafive]

Ok. Was it a lot more costly to add concrete after the build?

After one year I had concrete floor put in my building. The only additional expense was they had to remove dirt equal to the thickness of the concrete. So there was hand work at the edges/posts. I don't remember the extra cost, it was 25+ years ago.
Concrete delivery was no problem the building had end and side doors, the truck had many chutes that were added. It was a front delivery truck.

 

[woody]

funny story about a dirt floor, about 40 years ago I replaced a starter on a slant 6 motor and it still would not crank over so I asked an older wiser guy next door what he thought and he says it has to be the starter and he has an old one in his shop so we go to get it after a while of looking we saw a part of the starter sticking out of the dirt floor under his work bench I got down there with a screw driver for a shovel and dug it up after some air and a wire brush we connected it up and the old starter was still on the car years later when I sold it.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Have you got any reject sand in you area? Reject sand is sand with too much dirt in it to be used for concrete. I find that it compacts very nicely when moist and stays hard. It actually makes a very nice floor that doesn't turn to dust. It's also a lot nicer to work on than gravel and moisture just runs through it, unlike concrete.

 

[EddieWalker]

First time that I built a shop, I was in a rush and didn't want to spend the time or money on concrete. I needed a roof over my stuff right away. I hated that shop almost from the day I got it closed in. Dirt creates dust, and dust covers everything. Its never flat and you can't roll anything on it. After a couple years, I sold that piece of land and vowed to never do that again. Then I built a leanto on the side of my current shop and left it dirt. Same issues, same regrets. I just spent the last three weeks pouring concrete for a new shed that I'm building. Since it's in a hard to get to spot for a cement truck, I did it in 3 sections of 10x10 1/2 with 60 pound sacks. It was horrible, exhausting and painful, but it's done now and I'll never regret having it.

If you cannot afford the concrete now, I would save until I had the money to have concrete. After a roof, concrete on the floor is the second most important part of a shop.

 

[jmc]

Although you didn't ask, Morton Builders said it doesn't cost much more to make a pole barn several feet taller so that a cement truck can drive inside. Probably works for steel buildings too.

Extra door height is nice if you have or ever get a backhoe too.

 

[Diggin It]

Gravel will never pack solid and I don't care about dust. Most of my floor is dirt and it'll stay that way. Part of it is crushed rock, not gravel. Crushed rock packs well and can be scuffed up later and repacked if you get a bad spot. You could mix dry cement in with it to help it become harder and smoother in some areas if you needed to.

Advantage is spills soak in rather than staining expensive concrete.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

If you absolutely have to go with the dirt floor, plan for a slab in the future. We have a couple of sheds and garages, where they built the building and then came in later to place a concrete floor. On a couple the idiots failed to adjust the garage door track before they placed the concrete and cast the bottoms of the track in the concrete. Which results in the top of the door not actually closing. They could have placed a 1-foot wide sill under the garage door when they first built the building, and placed it ramps upto it until they had money to do the floors.

 

[ruffdog]

My dad had a shed that was a dirt floor and I hated it. I now have 2 sheds that I put wood chips in and they have held up nicely. It is hard to push the log splitter by hand but that is minor compared to the pluses. If you drop a part it doesn't get gritty and it is nice to stand on, even in winter.

 

[deezler]

Have to chuckle a bit at the notion that petrochemicals and known carcinogens soaking permanently into the floor of your shop is an "advantage". I simply put two coats of acrylic sealer on my nice smooth concrete garage floor, and I can soak up any spills and dispose of them properly and easily.

 

[Root Cause]

Thanks everyone. Good thoughts and suggestions. I do have a 13' high door way x 10' wide. I agree that it would be nice to concrete it but there are other unknowns right now and I would rather have a dirt floor now than an unfinished house. I can plan for a floor later when I know I have the $. For now, I want the RV, tractor etc. out of the weather. I will investigate asphalt costs up here. Delivering anything on a mountain top is really expensive.

 

[fried1765]

Thanks everyone. Good thoughts and suggestions. I do have a 13' high door way x 10' wide. I agree that it would be nice to concrete it but there are other unknowns right now and I would rather have a dirt floor now than an unfinished house. I can plan for a floor later when I know I have the $. For now, I want the RV, tractor etc. out of the weather. I will investigate asphalt costs up here. Delivering anything on a mountain top is really expensive.

Asphalt is probably something you should avoid inside a shop building.
Solvents and gasoline will eat depressions in your asphalt.
It makes for an eventual very messy floor.

 

[Torvy]

Thanks everyone. Good thoughts and suggestions. I do have a 13' high door way x 10' wide. I agree that it would be nice to concrete it but there are other unknowns right now and I would rather have a dirt floor now than an unfinished house. I can plan for a floor later when I know I have the $. For now, I want the RV, tractor etc. out of the weather. I will investigate asphalt costs up here. Delivering anything on a mountain top is really expensive.

We are planning on something similar. 30x40, but part of it will be an apartment. Could you pour concrete on half now half later? You will want concrete footings anyway.