concrete floor in pole barn

[Tarheel Slim]

Hey all,im getting ready to pour concrete in my pole barn,i have cleared away the grass and top soil,luckily there wasnt too much to remove,however i did need quite a lot of gravel fill so i went with recycled concrete,it had some chunky rocks and some pack-able screening in with the mix,it wasnt as consistent as i would have wanted it,but its in and its packed but i still need some more material to bring it to where i want it.My question is do i use a A gravel or do i use a three quarter clear,reason is im worried about frost heave and i hear if you have alot of packed material that holds moisture it would be prone to heave at some point, i used several loads of recycled concrete at 9.00 a yard i thought this would save me some money as it is scarce these days,so what would be a wise choice to pour my concrete on? the A gravel?with poly on top.I was told you will use more concrete using the three quarter clear since it doesnt pack and the concrete will fill in all the pockets of the clear gravel,so im kind of stuck at this point,hope my questions dont sound to stupid,please help!!!

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... 'round here we used 3/4" minus, crusher-run, rake it level, 'n compact the 'ell outa it,....

If it pounds down into the voids in what's there, throw some more on, 'n pound it again,....

 

[Tarheel Slim]

Bondo,is the crusher run or (crushed) the same as what they call A gravel? will have to borrow my buddies compactor again when the load of grave comes next week.

 

[matt_i]

Personally I like the 3/4 washed (#57 in some places) as I feel like it packs once. I feel its difficult to get the dust in the crusher run fully compacted in 1 day, thus leading to small voids all over everywhere which are undesirable. There's no exact science and there will be an equal number of opinions on the other side. I plated compacted my 3/4" washed twice around, wetting with garden hose. Definitely a firmer feel judged by the sensors in my work boots. If I was going to set crusher run I'd want to compact it 3 or 4 times on different days, and get it more saturated in between, again to give the dust the best chance of being packed solid.

Just to mention based on recent threads, I'd negotiate with your finishers ahead of time to cut the control joints the next day as part of the deal. 10-12' squares.

I also recommend vapor barrier and steel reinforcement.

 

[rburke65]

Yes I would think something with lots of fines in it and as said tamp, water, tamp again....

 

[hillbilly slim]

Could use sand to fill the voids then your gravel on top, and do agree having a moisture barrier and steel reinforcement! And like mentioned, you can't really over pack it and if not packed good enough cracks usually follow...

 

[olytdi]

Oh God, yes -- vapor barrier. I simply forgot on mine and have regretted it since!

 

[wssix99]

so i went with recycled concrete,it had some chunky rocks and some pack-able screening in with the mix

We've used this extensively and it's worked out really well for us.

For the extra material under your pour, I'd ask for a crushed stone for road or sidewalk base. (Your local materials company will have a special mix of sizes particular to your part of the world.) This will compact flat for you and (probably more importantly) won't poke through the nice moisture barrier you are about to lay down.