Another case of hurry up and wait- here are some pictures that show the prep work that I did to pour a 6" concrete slab inside the barn. Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated, so the actual pour is postponed till after January 1. It's also been a problem getting quotes as the local contractors are busy. When we do pour, we cannot get the trucks right to the barn - ground is too soft, so we will pump from about 100 away which is where our road currently ends. It will actually be easier this way since we can place the concrete everywhere inside the barn just by moving the pumper hose around.
This picture looks northwest inside the barn. Those are #4's at 16" each way sitting on 3" chairs which puts the steel in the center of the 6" slab that will be poured. There is 8" of compacted fill below the 6 mil plastic sheeting - there is no significance to the black plastic strip - it just overlaps the center seam of the plastic. Plumbing in the foreground and right is for area floor drains, plumbing towards the corner is for bathroom with shower.
This looks at the opposite (southeast) corner. The bathroom pumbing is now in the foreground and the area drain plumbing is just off-center of the barn.
View of the west wall looking towards the southwest corner. The two plumbing stub-ups are for hand sinks that will be located at either end of a workbench area. If you look closely at the steel, you can see that it's located about halfway up the 2x6 that is at the bottom of the wall framing. The slab will be poured to match the top of that wood framing. The outside of the barn is staked to keep the walls from bowing outwards from the pressure of the wet concrete..
This shows the 8"deep perimeter trench that I dug. Purpose is to let me pull the dirt fill pad away from the outside of the barn, preventing the dirt pad on the inside from eventually washing out from below the slab. The lower part of the trench has 1/2" plywood on the outside face as formwork -it will be pulled away from the outside when the dirt is removed. The bricks are temporary spacers and will be removed as we pour. That's an extra #4 at the lower part of the trench, tied back to the main steel to help keep it all together. The trench is continuous around the entire perimter and is wider at all the roll up doors. Additional reinforcement was also added at the door openings to help prevent cracking. The plastic sheeting extends down into and inside the trench.
A little closer view of the previous picture. Notice that the plastic does not entirely seal the trench - that's not necessary. Water has not accumulated inside the trench because the barn is on a raised pad. I've gotten a small amount of water, but nothing significant.
Anyway, I hope all this helps someone out if they are trying to get their slab ready. In my view, what could be easier for a contractor? Cost estimate is about $2200 for concrete (40 yds), plus pumper truck ($300-$600), plus labor ($400-$800). I want the contractor to coordinate getting concrete, pumper, and labor to the site.
At least you are getting your barn and house done at the same time. We plan on building after the first of the year and there is no money in the budget for a garage or barn. I don't mind my vehicles being out in the weather but I will be glad when I can afford to get a barn built so I can get my tractor and boat inside.
Thanks Chris [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Joe. it took about 2 weeks of evening and weekend work to get it all done. My wrists are still recovering from tying all those rebar splices. The house will have gutters all the way around, plus at the raised plate over the front door. The barn will also have guttering - in both cases I want to be sure to control the roof water drainage and get it away from the structure.
PJ, I want the slab to be poured as one section. It may get a little temperature hairline cracking here and there, but it's thick enough and has enough steel to be ok. I will probably cut some control joints about 1/4" deep to separate the slab into 4 "sections". I do not want separate sections with expansion joints because I need to roll stuff around in there and I want an even surface.
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