Question for those smarter than me

I am building a backyard barn for all my stuff (wheeler, ice fishing stuff, golf cart, etc, etc) I am building a green treated floor, and have been told that a sand base is fine for water runoff, or grade 2 rock.

Is sand ok? Is rock better? I don’t want any rot down the road…no 4×4’s under my gig, gonna sit the floor flat on the ground because of the weight that is gonna be in there…

Any advise? Also, anyone know where to pick up rock or sand around rochester without giving away my 7 year old? My shed is 12×16′ so I figure a yard of material should do me…??

Any help is appreciated.

D

I am not so sure I would put the wood directly on the ground, even if it is green treated. That makes it very difficult to keep your floor level. You must have some type of frame to this barn (floor frame) ? Personally, put in a concrete pad. Your dimensions come out to roughtly 2 1/4 yards of concrete. A person could do that for around $400 +/- a little. If you were to go with sand or rock, you will want at least 3″ and make sure it is packed down hard. You would need roughly 2 1/2 yards of sand to make the base layer.

Thanx Mike, that’s the kind of expertise I was looking for….would love concrete, but after putting $1800 into the building (materials only) another 400 just isn’t in the mix.

This is what I did today….don’t laugh….dug the sod out by hand (yes, 12×16…my buddy told me I was nuts) down roughly 4″. Now this is where it gets funny….looked over at my kids’ sandbox, and thought, hell, they haven’t used this in 3 years….so we removed the sand….put back in about 2-3 inches of sand….now I am wondering if i should finish it out with sand, or with rock. I know I will need to pack the sand…dang…wish I would have just gone with concrete….

I think your going to be real unhappy if you put your floor right on the ground. I got a 10 by 20 shed with 4×4 on 2′ centers and i drive a 2000 lb. garden tractor in all the time. even with your sand under the floor is going to be wet on the bottom all the time.

I hear ya on the cost of adding concrete
Isn’t hand digging fun ?
My weekend was spent in a similar way. So far a friend and myself have tore out, by hand, a 10X14 patio with wire mesh and chain link fence in the concrete as well as part of a sidewalk. All we have for tools are a big breaker bar, a large maul, shovels, and a wheelbarrow. We still haven’t got the patio re-graded or all the sidewalk tore out and reset. We are supposed to be pouring this Saturday morning We had to take a few days off to let our hands heal up a little. I have 3 blisters on top of one another right now that are killing me Plus, we also have a bunch of sod to dig out for the new driveway

Yeah, just love it…..feeling it in muscles I forgot I had…glad to have my 10 yo and 7 yo around to help carry (did a lot of the work for me….made a game of it) then we moved a couple yards of sand, and filled in the sandbox with sod…all in 5 hours….draggin’ puppy today….

I’ll say it again…should have poured a pad…..set the forms, let the concrete dude pour and level…and done…oh well, sand is free, got advise from another to place down plastic….will borrow a transit and try to level it off…

good luck to me huh?

Either plastic or styrofoam would help. The plastic would really help to keep the moisture from going up through the wood.

I wouldn’t put a wood floor down directly on the ground. Why not class 5, pack it and be done. Good Luck.

BIRDDOG

even putting some large patio bricks on the ground around the frame on the bottom would help.

Big D. 10 yrs ago, I built a 12×8 shed. I dug the sod out and filled with 3/4 inch crushed rock then put 3 treated 4×4’s down and 3/4 in. plywood on that and built the shedon that. The bottom plate was nailed through plywood into the 4×4’s. there has been no sag, no moisture problem or rotting. The crushed rock is about 4 in. thick.

I did the same thing about 16 yrs ago where I used to live, built an 8 X 12 baby barn on 3 – 4″ base of crushed rock but used treated 4 X 6’s as the base w/3/4″ treated plywood on. Parked garden tractor, motorcycle in, even firewood and had no problems and it all stayed dry. Only down side – it gives the critters a place to sleep underneath – had a skunk take up residence once . I was just by there last week and it’s still standing. Good luck and have fun building.

Big D,

I have a round 1/2″ plate welded to a piece of tubing that I used to pack the ground before I poured concrete for the dog kennel. If you want to use it, it is just sitting in my garage. My slab is 10×12 I think and I went through 85 bags of quickcrete. I think it cost me around $200 bucks or so with an electric mixer rental.

I thought I heard you out in the yard yesterday. I was out back raking the lawn and trying and fix a motorcycle that hasn’t ran in 6 years. Stupid gas prices anyway.

If you need some help some afternoon just give me a yell.

MM

Oh sure, NOW you offer….after the diggin is done

I may use that packer of yours….gonna go with 2″ rock on top of the sand I think….drains better

You hear me in the yard stop on over, not sure what I have for beer, but could possibly conjur up a couple whilst we swap stories

D

Sounds good Big D,

Anytime you want the packer, just let me know. I’ll walk it across the back yard. I’ll be gone this weekend for Easter.

I had to laugh when I read that about your muscle pain from digging up your lawn. All I did on Sunday was rake the lawn and I am still feeling it.

Sux getting old doesn’t it? Sheesh…back in the day I could cut down, cut up, split up, and put up 3 cord of wood in a day….then go out for cold ones with my buddies….now…..I can do a cord or two maybe, but will be walkin funny for a week afterwards, and that’s IF the chiro can straighten out my back…and no evening frolics that night except an ice bag on my back, and two on my knees

85 bags of quickcrete!!!! Wow!
I know there are still people that pour concrete by hand. For small things like say,…air conditioner pads, entry ways, or even replacing a small piece of their sidewalk. Instead of buying quickcrete, heres the mix I always use. I call it the 3,2,1 mix. Its overkill in terms of strength. You just need some 5 gallon buckets and a mixer. 3 sand, 2 rock, 1 air entrained portland cement. Thats all there is to it. As long as you keep that ratio, you’ll be fine. If you do it this way,…1/2 yd3 costs $20.