concrete floor for barn

[MDSteve]

Folks,

I have my stalls built out and want to put a concrete floor for the rest of the barn. The barn is 40'X84' and the stalls take up 10'X48'.

My question is what needs to be done before I can pour concrete? the ground is pretty level, do I need to put in Sand or gravel to make it perfectly level? Do I need rebar and wire?

I have never done this. The estimates I received were 20K-25K. I don't have this much cash and would like to do this before winter.

Steve

[Pat]

Steve, All concrete cracks. Whether or not the cracks remain as minor cosmetic blemishes is typically resolved by the application of reinforcing steel. More steel is usually better but it isn't cheap so to be practical you need to decide how much is enough for your use.

Also of importance is the way the steel is used. Some concrete contractors walk around with a hook in their hand and try to pull the mat of rebar off the ground and let gravel in the "mud" get under it to hold it off the ground. THIS IS NOT THE PREFERRED METHOD by anyone but the cost and corner cutting contractor.

The rebar should set on "chairs" or other "stuff" that will keep the rebar off the ground a proper distance.

If you do not level the grade before pouring you may use a significantly greater quantity of concrete. Sand is an excellent way to get it level quickly and easily. Wet the sand well before the pour so it doesn't suck too much water out of concrete.

All areas of stress or portions of the pour under load bearing walls should be thickened, i.e. a ditch with gently rounded shoulders should be dug to give greater strength to these areas.

Keep the concrete wet on the surface for the first few days for better results.

Pat

[Goldchaser]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
The rebar should set on "chairs" or other "stuff" that will keep the rebar off the ground a proper distance.

[/ QUOTE ]

We used small plastic cubes underneath for that purpose. We also used steel (twistties) at each intersection of rebar to keep the rebar from moving during the pour.

[Pat]

Ah, securing the rebar at intersections is good. IT doesn't take long to get the hang of a "pigtail." Also as a rule of thumb, when you need to extend the length of a piece of rebar you need to overlap the extension by a minimum of 25 diameters. If you have a 10 ft piece but need it to be 14 ft long the added on piece needs to be at least X ft long where X is 4 ft plus at least 25 times the diameter. If you are using 1/2 inch rebar (#4), then overlaps need to be at least 12 1/2 inches. If you use #6 (3/4 inch) you need about 14 inches or more.

Oh, rebar is numbered in 1/8 inch increments so #8 is one inch which I used a lot of and can attest to the difficulty of bending and forming it.

Pat

[Goldchaser]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
IT doesn't take long to get the hang of a "pigtail." Also as a rule of thumb, when you need to extend the length of a piece of rebar you need to overlap the extension by a minimum of 25 diameters.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats what it was called....pigtail, that little tool to twist the ties. Couldnt remember. Been oh.....at least 25 years since I have worked concrete. There is a 10 story bank in San Antonio that had all the tilt-ups built by a team of 4 of us. Well, let me say that we set the forms, did the rebar and supervised the pour and loaded the cured walls on the trucks. Others actually worked the mud. One thing that interested me was that each time we poured we had to pour several small test blocks to turn in for testing. I know that it do to with testing for consistant formula and strength testing, but it was still interesting.

I enjoyed that job even though I didnt stay but about a year. Alot of folks think guys that do that kind of work a bunch of dumb beerdrinking rednecks, but it is quite a technical job. Especially working a 40 foot tiltup and you have less than a 1/16 of an inch tolerance in the build. Not that we didnt drink beer either after work. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[roho627]

Hello ALL, one more cheap piece of advise that I don't think I heard.....Put a mositure barrier on the ground before YOU pour the concrete...Now I don't know if you need to put it down before the sand or after but I've seen garages that stayed damp &amp; ol timers told me that there wasn't a moisture barrier(sheet of plastic) down &amp; I've went into a few fast food places &amp; almost busted my butt &amp; it was moisture....Anybody got any info on this.....I'd keep the floor rough if it's a barn w/shoed horses...Good luck...I'm sure we can get some suggestions on this!