To add or remove soil for barn location

[rogerius]

Now because the winter is already around us and is a good time for planning I'm working to layout the future placement of the pole barn (32'x56'), so I will appreciate any input here.
The location is on the highest spot on our property; my kids are saying "top of the hill". That spot is "quite" flat and large enough for what I want. I say quite because has around a drop of 27" on 56ft, so here is my dilemma: to remove or add soil on the spot were the barn will be located? To remove is quite easy but, my question is, if I wish to add, can I add soil or have to be only gravel which is quite a lot? I'm not planning to lay down the concrete slab in the barn and I'll use the barn just for attachments/tractors and other toys. Here is a sketch with the options which I'm thinking:

Thank you.

 

[gwiley]

I built mine on a hillside so I removed soil from 1/2 and added to the other half. If you add soil you HAVE to make sure it is well compacted. I used a wheeled skid steer to pack the fill every 4-6 inches that were spread there. Here in Virginia the clay soil packed super hard - no settling problems.

 

[CurlyDave]

My experience has been that if you add material it has to be gravel, it has to be compacted well, and it will still settle over time.

If you remove soil, what is left is already compacted, and there is less chance of settling.

That is only my experience on a few sites.

The best idea of all is to contact a local soils engineer. He will be able to determine the type of soil you have, and then sketch a recommended configuration. Your pole barn won't fall down if you don't get an engineer, but you have a much better chance of having a building that ages well, and keeps a level floor if you do get one. The cost should be $1-2 K, maybe even less for a simple site evaluation.

 

[devildog1]

You can do either but as rogerius said it need to be compacted. What I would do and have done is spread crushed stone (gravel) which could be used for a while until you decide on pouring the concrete for floor. When I did my barn floor we removed soil to level then added crushed stone, then laid down 10 Gage wire mesh and poured what we call an a Alaskan slab. Worked great, no cracks in 20 years. Good luck with your project.
DevilDog

 

[rogerius]

Seams that compaction is critical even I'll not have the concrete floor. I know ideal is to use a big roller compactor but can I use the tractor with a lawn roller (500lbs) instead?

 

[mikehaugen]

rent a plate compactor

btw, are those drawings done on CAD?

 

[BeezFun]

I'd take whatever fill is free in your area and bring it up to grade with that, around here clay is free other than the cartage. If you can leave it exposed to rain a few times that will settle it really well, if not by the time you're done driving on it to build the thing it will be compacted.

 

[gwiley]

When compacting the issue is getting the highest lbs per square inch you can on the ground AND having slightly moist soil. Dry soil will not compact well. A 500lb lawn roller simply can't get enough weight on the ground. With my skid steer I was able to put about 1500lbs on each tire - well inflated that gave me a pretty high lbs/sq inch.

 

[Egon]

Will the top organic soil be removed?

 

[rogerius]

Thanks guys for advice. I think I'll bring soil from other part of the property and level it. Still confused about how I can compact it, I'm not considering to rent the plate compactor as I think I need around 100cyd for this (I'll injure my joints with that amount). Maybe I'll let my kids do some driving lessons with the tractor on that area for fun. In the mid time I called stores to see if they have roller compactor for rent but here around us nobody has one, so the plan will be to use the tractor and leave the rain to do the job as BeezFun said.
p.s.: Mikehaugen: I used a free CAD tool for sketches; I can send you the link to download it, so you can use it too.