Im putting in a concrete pad now where my shop is going to be someday and wondering about site preperation. Im in a clay soil and wondering how thick the base gravel needs to be. and Im putting in a 6" slab. Is that thick enough for large trucks and heavy equipment or should I go thicker? its going to have quite a bit of steel in it.

 

I think here in Fl. the standard is 4". I think you'll be good with 6".

 

do you plan on a lift at any time if so you need a 24"x24"x18" pad where the lift post will be.what is the weight of large trucks and heavy equipment?

 

Also you might want to dig it deep and make friends with a few concrete truck drivers. They are usually willing to sell or give leftovers away for free of very little. I am a driver and poured a slab for a storage sted in my backyard 12x16 and it was 14" thick and I had $10 in 2x4 for frames in the entire slab.

 

no lift just drillrigs up to 80,000 ibs. I hate trying to roll a creeper over broken cement one more question I have heard of putting waterlines in the floor and heating with a water heater has anyone had any experiance with that and is it worth the hassle?

 

impervious clay (clay that holds water or brown clay) is okay for a :

lay down rolled roofing or tar paper

pour a four inch number two gravel base
then square number ten wire frame
re rod where the garage doors are, tie in to foundation at both ends
rerod at apron entrance for trucks

max weight on 4 slump 3500 pound mix is 6,000 pounds static.
adding fiberglass to it raises it to 10,000 pounds.

strike two areas for drainage or plumb a center pitch drain.

blue clay raises the gravel base to ten inches on matting.

nasty black, grey sticky clay uses old cinder blocks and dirt, then ten inch gravel base and re rod boxed double rails aroudn the perimeter.

hope that helps. code enforcement for your area might require a minimum too, check before you pay the fine.

heidi in NY

 

Thanks for those numbers thats what I was wondering. im in Idaho and the local building inspector is a great guy as long as a person does what he wants he is fair tho so thats not a problem

 

Wow not bad for a judge

 

I'd say find some pex on Ebay, there's a couple good sources on there cheap, and put your lines in. You'll love yourself later, even if you never add a heat source it's a good, cheap way to make your place more desireable if you need to sell some time. You might even want to put a few lines down for a spicket or two across the other side of the shop for a quick water source that you'll never have to worry about freezing or punctureing the lines. Good for cleaning floors, fires, washing up, etc.

 

Who do ya think did the floor in MY shop? None other than the judge from NY!
Got in-floor heat too! Our whole property is blue clay with a seasonal high water table about a foot under the surface and it's been 3 years and still not a single crack in it!

chaikwa.

 

That all depends on how well you reinforce it. In clay soils I would recommend using post tensioned cables. I also wouldn't use gravel. I'd put about 8 inches of sand under it instead. With that said, I'm not a structural engineer.

 

Up here in snow country there is a place that works on big trucks ,its called (Truck Customs) they heat entire building with tubes in floor hooked to a wood fired boiler. It makes it verry confertable to work eaven in the dead of winter. I think it may help with the cracking situation also because there is never a dramatic change in the temp of the concreat. future soninlaw works there and i have used the facility on weekends ,sure makes it nice and he tells me it is quite econimical to heat that way.
might give it some thought>
Claude
Oh my sock full of tea is brewing got to go !

 

You need more than a 6" slab if you're going to drive 80,000 pound rigs onto it. Six inches is your standard house slab. A typical sidewalk is usually 4". For rigs like that you're probably looking at a minimum 8-10 inch slab.

But again, I'm not a structural engineer.

 

Lots of commercial places up here Claude. A big shop down the road heats with 2 big ones. I also wonder if the tubeing doesn't add structure, by shapeing the cement with smooth curves internally, like a honeycomb would do? Also, all the saw mills going to them for free heat.

 

If you've got an adequate, compacted subgrade. (Compacted, not pumping. Proof roll it w/ your 80klb drill rig, the subgrade should not settle or pump).
If your subgrade is in order, a 6" thick slab, 4000psi concrete, single mat of #5 rebar @ 12" oc EW, will be fine. Thicken the slab at garage door entrances.
If your grade is bad, dirt work is cheaper than concrete, sub exc it and repalce w/ good material.