What do you wish you'd built into/under your slab ?

[gjbuilder]

3100 square foot pole barn with a dirt floor ... getting ready to pour a concrete slab underneath the entire thing. Going well.

I am trying to brainstorm what I will want to put under/into the floor ... so far I'll have an electrical inlet coming in from a PVC riser ... as well as water inlet ... so both of those will be underground and will come up from under the slab.

I will also put a grounding pole into the ground at both ends, since we always seem to need those for electric fences and other weird reasons.

I'll install several drains throughout with pvc pipe going under the slab and out to drainage ...

What else should I lay into the ground ahead of the concrete pour ?

What do you wish you'd had in place when you poured your concrete ?

I am going to have compressed air sockets in 4 spots around the barns interior, but I am not sure if I should build that PVC pipe under the slab ... it would be nice to have it out of the way, but then it's impossible to fix, and I think pipe with compressed air is probably something that needs to be fixed from time to time...

 

[boobag]

rough a bathroom
pex for floor heat
thicker area for car lifts
saw cut the floor so its not one big piece. the worst is to have a floor with cracks later.

 

[PelicanPines]

Bunker with a hatch access. For the primary reason of getting away from family when they visit.

 

[vision8]

I put in a sunken motorcycle lift table so it's level with the floor used it to work on the lawn mower and bike .
Installed anchor pods for attachment points to put into each bay ( so in line with each doorway ) to pull disabled vehicle into shop with a winch.\; strategically placed to move skids from under racking into the open floor area.

 

[Thumper68]

I put the dust collection pipeing for the tablesaw, the jointer and router table under the floor, wish I had thought od on for the band saw as well.

There is elec under the floor for the above mentioned as well as a line running to the vise post and the future jib crane.

I did the rough in for the sink, shower but no toilet which I wish I had done.

 

[bmxdad]

....

I am going to have compressed air sockets in 4 spots around the barns interior, but I am not sure if I should build that PVC pipe under the slab ... it would be nice to have it out of the way, but then it's impossible to fix, and I think pipe with compressed air is probably something that needs to be fixed from time to time...

Your going to hear a lot of negative about PVC and air in a bit ... just go with it

I have all my electrical under the slab, just wish I had doubled up on the number of conduit, and the size. Don't be stingy with either.

Airlines are good too, but I would do more than 4 ... maybe 16. You can cap the unused ones off till you need them, and lay something beside PVC. You might have a moisture issue, but if the inside of the slab is higher then the outside ground a valve to blow condensate out would help.

I have a sink and water already under it too. Would have been nice to run water to each corner under the slab though.

Good luck, and show some pictures as you go. A location would be nice ... and welcome to the site.

 

[gjbuilder]

I put the dust collection pipeing for the tablesaw, the jointer and router table under the floor, wish I had thought od on for the band saw as well.

Ahh, ok - I wondered about that (putting dust collection lines under the slab).

What size PVC pipe did you use for the dust collection that is under the slab ?

 

[gjbuilder]

I have all my electrical under the slab, just wish I had doubled up on the number of conduit, and the size. Don't be stingy with either.

Ok - I was thinking just 1 1/4" PVC pipe bringing in the electrical, but you laid actual conduit underneath the slab, yes ?

Do I understand that now you can pull and replace lines if you wanted to, in and out of the conduit ?

I suppose if it would be good form to run the data lines in their own conduit, separate from the power lines ...

Airlines are good too, but I would do more than 4 ... maybe 16. You can cap the unused ones off till you need them, and lay something beside PVC. You might have a moisture issue, but if the inside of the slab is higher then the outside ground a valve to blow condensate out would help.

Can you elaborate ? First, what piping material for air (if not PVC) ? And this is the first I've heard of the slab elevation affecting condensate in the air lines - I figured I would just put a big water filter on the line somewhere after the pump ....

 

[inphx]

add in anchor pots so the once in a while frame straightening has pull anchors.

 

[gjbuilder]

add in anchor pots so the once in a while frame straightening has pull anchors.

Rough cut 8x8 construction with poles going 8 feet down into the ground...

I hope we never need to straighten the frame ...

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ Hope you know he's talking about anchor pots for pulling inoperable cars into the garage . . . . or anchoring for "frame straightening" like body work on cars !!

Another thing most people forget is . . . . Sprinkler system lines underneath driveway, or pad out front. Put in some extra 1.5" or 2" plastic conduits that you can pull through stuff later (thus put a pull rope in there !!).

 

[Thumper68]

Ahh, ok - I wondered about that (putting dust collection lines under the slab).

What size PVC pipe did you use for the dust collection that is under the slab ?

Main dust pipe for the table saw and jointer is 4" PVC with a 16 gage copper wire run inside to remove static.

All the electric conduits are elec pvc in different sizes depending on what they were for the table saw and jointer are 1.5" the vise is 3/4" and the jib crane is 1.5"

Everything is 6+ inches under the insulation and I compacted the subgrade material after everything was in.

 

[bmxdad]

Ok - I was thinking just 1 1/4" PVC pipe bringing in the electrical, but you laid actual conduit underneath the slab, yes ?

Do I understand that now you can pull and replace lines if you wanted to, in and out of the conduit ?

I suppose if it would be good form to run the data lines in their own conduit, separate from the power lines ...




Can you elaborate ? First, what piping material for air (if not PVC) ? And this is the first I've heard of the slab elevation affecting condensate in the air lines - I figured I would just put a big water filter on the line somewhere after the pump ....

PVC conduit yes. I can add wire, or replace as needed. Already have upgraded my 30amp 220v to 50amp wire. Very easy to do. I used 3/4" but should have gone to 1.5". My garage page has some pictures of what I did.

On the airlines ... the cool concrete will pull the moisture out of the air, so it needs a place to go. You don't want it in your tools or coming out of an air gun. Most systems, like mine, are up high and have a grade to move the water to a stubbed pipe, where it can be removed through a valve. That's what I was asking about the height of the pad. If it's high enough you could add a grade to a valve out side, to periodically drain the system.

As for the pipe material ... black pipe, pex or copper, but the concrete might be an issue with the copper.

 

[Toolfool]

I ran dust collection piping (6" pvc), electrical conduits, and pvc pipe that I later ran airlines through. Spent a lot of hours researching to pre-determine my entire shop layout. You can check out my thread link below.

 

[ViperJon]

My mother in law.

 

[bmxdad]

My mother in law.

... is a lovely woman with a lovely daughter?

Sorry ... to easy.

 

[homebuilt burner]

I recently saw on a woodworkers forum a guy built a 6"x6" trench into his floor to be covered with a board so he could run electrical or whatever later for machines in the middle of his shop. I thought it was a clever idea.

 

[ford33]

Anchor pots to allow you to pull in vehicles, trailers or machines into the garage. I also agree you should run conduit or pipe in places to allow you to run things under the floor.

I also saw where a few people placed strong floor lights in locations under the proposed lift location to light up the undercarriage of a vehicle.

 

[racerex]

Another vote for "anchor pots to allow you to pull in vehicles, trailers or machines into the garage". Since I work alone, getting my projects in can be tuff. I have access to a fixed height gantry crane, but it's too tall to use inside the garage, pulling a body, motor, etc has to happen outside....so getting the frame or the dolly with the body on it back into the garage is not fun.

 

[mo2872]

Anchor pots.......sure wish I'd asked this question before my slab!

Floor drain.

Hoist!

 

[Gerald O]

Fallout shelter -- for when Trump gets elected.

 

[racerex]

Anchor pots.......sure wish I'd asked this question before my slab!

Don't feel bad, I thought anchor pots were such a great idea at my last garage when I did a body off resto 8+ years ago. They slipped my mind when I built my new garage. I guess it was because I was not planning on doing a body off resto of my Corvette, but now having more space in the new garage, I changed my mind....that's when the anchors pots hit me....rats!! I have to buy new engine crane anyway, so I may just take the money that I was going to spent on that a put it to fab'ing up a gantry that will fit in the garage.

 

[stokessd]

Personally I'd like another 500 sqft under my existing 500 sqft.

Conduit for comm lines can be pretty handy too. Cable telephone etc. I have a friend with two metal buildings and his wifi from the house is pretty well blocked from the skin. He would love to run cat five over to his barn, but there isn't a conduit from the house to the shop (yet).

 

[arizonabuckeye]

I put the dust collection pipeing for the tablesaw, the jointer and router table under the floor, wish I had thought od on for the band saw as well.

I would steer away from this... for the reason Thumper states. What happens if you get a new table saw with a dust port on the other side? Or a bigger band saw that has two 6" ports? I personally am a big fan of putting dust collection in the ceiling with drops placed to not interfere with work. Plus unless the system is very well laid out (and even then) dust, especially if it is a little moist, will collect and build up in the lines and will need to be cleaned - pretty hard to do that if it is under ground.

 

[gjbuilder]

Forgive my ignorance, but how do conduits work under the slab ?

Right now, I have a dirt floor and my power and water come straight up from the dirt ground, vertically, into the panel and faucet, respectively.

If I put a spare, unused conduit under the slab, should the opening of that pipe come vertically out of the slab at one end and the other ?

I ask because that creates two right angles, and how easy is it to push and pull cable down right angles like that ?

Or do you have it come out horizontally outside (and under) the slab ?

 

[Thumper68]

I would steer away from this... for the reason Thumper states. What happens if you get a new table saw with a dust port on the other side? Or a bigger band saw that has two 6" ports? I personally am a big fan of putting dust collection in the ceiling with drops placed to not interfere with work. Plus unless the system is very well laid out (and even then) dust, especially if it is a little moist, will collect and build up in the lines and will need to be cleaned - pretty hard to do that if it is under ground.

Personally I hate the dust collector and electrical drops coming from the ceiling, they are always in the way.

Dust builds up no matter where your piping is, since mine is buried and held firmly in place I have no issue running a fish tape through and pulling a rag back to clean it out.

I'm on my third table saw since I built the shop and have had no issue connecting the port coming up from the floor to the dust ports on the machines.