[AT] another new shop

[Clint D]

Cecil

I tell you what, down here where I am in North Texas, we have a very active
soil and have this problem

There are a few things you can do in the concrete phase, but normally the
slab is only as good as what is beneath

If you do not want to do some extensive earthwork in the slab area,(like
removing active clays and replacing with inactive sandy clay)
then here is what I suggest
incorporate several beams beneath the slab, like a honeycomb,  maybe spacing
them about 8' apart
these do not need to be real deep if you go the spacing
about 1' deep below the slab and 8"-1' wide, go with a 6" slab and specify
more sac concrete than what is normall sold by just ordering, in other
words, tell them you want two more sac concrete than normal (maybe 7 sac)
use the steel rebar in the slab of 3/8" and at least 1/2" in the beams
areas, using at least two lines of it with horizontal sections coming into
the slab

Rebar really does not stop cracking necessarily but holds things together
when it does crack

The slab type I mention above, keep it a floating slab, no piers, unless you
are building on an existing heavily filled area
With the honeycomb type slab, if you get soil movement then the whole slab
will kind of move as one piece instead of breaking up.
If you plan on using the shop for tractors or heavy equipment, design the
beams layout with two beams spaced aprox width of equipment driving in and
out
at the doors, another idea is at the entrance apron, go down about a total
including slab about two feet coming out side the door two feet, and make up
a piece of angle iron with some short pieces of 1/2" rebar welded in the V
sticking out, set these on th esharp corners/edge of the entrance tp keep
from chipping the edge off driving in, especially good if you drive in
tracked equipment

The slab and beams can all be poured at the same time

These are just some suggestions that worked well for me and really not
adding a lot of costs, that could be suggested.

You may sit down and take some of these suggestions and incorporate others,
etc and come up with a good floor

Hope this helps some

Clint

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cecil E Monson" <cmonson at hvc.rr.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 9:10 AM
Subject: [AT] another new shop


> It looks like I may get a chance to design another new shop
> and put it up in the coming year. I have a list of things I am going
> to change from the way I built the shop I have now. One thing I am
> going to add is an auxiliary hot water heating system that will heat
> the house and the new shop from one location. There will be an oil
> burning furnace that will handle both locations also and it will shut
> down if the wood furnace is going.
>
> Which brings me to the question.  Does anyone on the List have
> an outdoor furnace that is used this way?  The ones I am considering
> are the outdoor furnaces with a large firebox that stand out away from
> the buildings a ways and look like a little building. If you have one,
> what do you think of it and would you put in another one if the situation
> came up again?
>
> Another question I have is concerning the concrete floor. On the
> new shop I have now, I specified 6" of concrete with steel laid on the
> whole thing and centered inside the slab. The pour was 36' X 48' and the
> thickness and the steel did nothing to stop cracking. I have a diagonal
> crack that did not spread but goes literally across the building from one
> front corner to an opposite rear corner. Before the floor was poured and
> while the building was under construction, I hauled and spread about 8"
> of 3/4" crushed stone over the entire floor and it was well compacted by
> the time the concrete was poured. I thought I had everything covered with
> the steel and the underlayment of stone but apparently not. I made sure
> when the concrete was poured that I was there and that the steel stayed
> in place so I know that was done. Maybe cracks are the way things go but
> I would just as soon not have any if I do it again.
>
> Any comments will be appreciated.
>
> Cecil
> --
> The nicest thing about telling the truth is you never have to wonder
> what you said.
>
> Cecil E Monson
> Lucille Hand-Monson
> Mountainville, New York   Just a little east of the North Pole
>
> Allis Chalmers tractors and equipment
>
> Free advice
>
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