pouring concrete in pole building

[mopower440]

at this point, im going to try to find one guy that has experience in this and try to hire him out for that day to help and give direction so things will be right, i plan on getting the gravel in here this week and getting the wire mesh laid out and the gravel tamped, now, just finding someone that is experienced and willing, this sound better?

 

[Junkman]

Don't forget that there are the tools of the trade that are needed and those are a lot of tools, not just a float. I had a garage floor poured that is 20 x 40. It took 6 guys almost 8 hours from start to finish to get it done. That is tamping the gravel, laying the wire, setting the re-rod, putting down the plastic, putting down the concrete, screeding the concrete, checking the level with the laser level, and polishing the floor with the power trowel to a smooth finish. My floor is 4000 # mix with fiber glass mixed in and is 6" thick. 2 years later no cracks, no problems. I don't remember the yardage, but it was 2 trucks, that I do remember.

 

[NIXON]

this sound better? )</font>
You bet ! I got my experience working concrete while I was working for a general contractor . He put me with the concrete crew for a summer pouring slabs for new houses .
Concrete is funny stuff . If you try to "work "it before it's ready it leaves you with a poorly finished job . If you try to "work" it After it's ready , well .... your Done for .
There's really no way to explain how to do it . It's more of an art form than science . as each job and load of concrete is different . Get at least one person that does it !
It may cost abit more now . But it'll cost you more if the job get's botched . John
EDIT .. Rambler and Junkman pretty much covered the tools and ground prep work . If you don't get the ground work done right , a pretty finish won't stay that way long . And to get a good finish You'll need more than a Bull float and a good Eye .

 

[bebster]

I agree with the points and approach that rambler makes, especially anchoring the posts to the bedrock. If you try to use the slab to anchor the posts, you are assuming that the slab won't break under a heavy wind load lifting on corner or side. This might be false security, as the slab could easily crack under that kind of load. Once it cracks there is even less weight to hold it down, and of course you have a busted floor. Seems to me that a good anchoring to the bedrock now, with a tamped gravel floor for the time being, and then save up for a good concrete floor later will give you a building you'll be happy with over the long haul.

 

[mopower440]

i wont even try to mess with anchoring it to the rock, most of the places the poles are on the rock were crazy, the rock would be wedge shaped, so the pole would be sitting on a ^, so i had to pour concrete in the hole to fill in the void between the point ^ and the soil, so if i drilled, it would be into just a few inches of quickrete, if there was just some other dang way to anchor that one side down, i would be ok, but i have the metal roofing coming in this week and have absolutely no place to store it except out in the yard and i cant afford to have it stolen, so i want to get it on the roof sunday, but without the building being anchored, im afraid of getting one of those spring Tennessee storms and high winds getting up under the roof and picking it up like an umbrella, ive heard too many stories on this board about barns being blown out into the street and stuff...i do have a 8x10 porch i built that has a roof and is freestanding and not connected to the house that has never moved, even through storms, but the house probably blocks a lot of that wind, so..at this point, i wouldnt mind taking the trusses off and taking the whole thing apart and selling the lumber..lol..things went from going good to hopeless in about 2 days, between this concrete/anchoring thing and the gable overhang.

 

[Inspector507]

Don't give up now......stow the metal in the "barn" for now and figure out a way to anchor the posts.........then worry about the roof and the floor. Do it right, as right as you can with the posts setting on rock.

 

[mopower440]

dont have a barn to store the metal in..lol..its just a frame at the moment, and i was told to get the metal up as soon as possible as the trusses will go down hill quick if not covered and they have been exposed to the weather for 2 months now, and like said, dont want the metal roofing to come up missing..gotta be another way to anchor this stupid thing..honestly, how much would it take to pick it up and ruin it? My dad was thinking that it would take a lot and that if it was that bad a storm it would probably destroy the house too, but i dont know, with only a lightweight metal roof, it just seems that it wouldnt take much to pick it up..now, the other posts are 4' in the ground, its just mainly that one side..5 of them that are anywhere from 6"-2'in..

 

[NIXON]

Mopower
I can't believe you intend to surrender ! You've gone this far, don't back out now . A lot of folks believe that they can build something relatively cheaply , only to find out the true cost of building . You're well on the way to being done with your building . See it through . You won't get much from selling the material you have on hand . And You'll still need a garage in the long run . Chalk up your set backs to experience . But don't give in to them . John

 

[Junkman]

Call your insurance agent and put insurance on the barn. If a strong wind takes it away, then the insurance company will build you another one and you can sit back and watch someone else erect it the next time and tell them how to do it. After all, by then, you will be the experienced one! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Put the roof on and the start to save your pennies for having the floor done properly. We will all say a prayer for you that the winds will stay away from your barn. You are too far along to turn back now. You are like Columbus in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.... half way to the new world and half way from Spain.... do you go forward or backward.... the choice is yours.... The crew is saying to sail to the New World.

 

[bebster]

Junkman's right -- sail on! I know the feeling of being overwhelmed by a project when it seems to be controlling you, but if you can just get the next step done, you'll feel better about it. If you've got 3 sides in the ground it's not that likely that the structure will lift from one side only, and if you have insurance you'll be fine if it does. Try to minimize the overhangs where wind can get under the roof or if you have to have it, drill a few holes like they do some road signs to equalize the wind pressure above and below.

But you need to focus on how to get a couple of anchors into the bedrock. Even if you can drill into it 3 to 6 inches you can epoxy in an expansion bolt that will give you lots of hold down power.
Here's a link that describes this (see pg 11)
Focus your energies on that, and put the roof on and some gravel for a floor and it will be land-ho!