Concrete this year, shop next year. Problems over winter?

[live4soccer7]

I'm thinking of building a larger shop, somewhere around 50x100 and was thinking about doing it in two steps. Settling on the way I want it, placement, design etc... and doing the site prep, concrete, and running power to it this year before the summer is over.

Does anyone foresee any issues with this train of thought? I'm in the northwest where the ground does freeze and we get about 40" of annual snowfall. I wasn't sure if I should be concerned with anything going this route. Please feel free to openly share opinions/suggestions.

I'll probably go with metal infrastructure vs wood as it seems more cost effective on a shop that size, so I'll likely have to have an "engineered" pad.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, because sidewalks and streets made from concrete hold up well after being exposed to the weather for years, you should not be concerned about the weather bothering a quality concrete slab.

 

[pmiranda]

Just got to make sure there are no holes in it that could get water in them and freeze, breaking the slab. So cap off any roughed-in plumbing or electrical conduits and make sure there is a seal where they meet the slab.

 

[ConCretin]

This is the dilemma you face. Typically air entrainment is used to protect concrete from the damage caused by moisture during freeze/thaw conditions. Interior concrete is not usually air entrained because it can cause a range of surface defects if it isn't finished properly.

I faced the same dilemma when I built the Concrete Underground. Because of the construction sequence, my interior slabs were going to be exposed for an entire winter. I eventually decided that there was adequate time for the slabs to 'dry out' before they were exposed to freezing temps and decided to forego air entrainment. I didn't experience any problems. It's actually not that uncommon for labs to be exposed for a winter eason during construction without major issues.

I think you'll be fine as long as the concrete has a month to two after placement before freezing temps. If that's not possible, I might consider air and make sure the slab is finished appropriately. Prior advice regarding sealing the slab and penetrations against water intrusion is very good as well.

 

[TRIGGER]

This is the dilemma you face. Typically air entrainment is used to protect concrete from the damage caused by moisture during freeze/thaw conditions. Interior concrete is not usually air entrained because it can cause a range of surface defects if it isn't finished properly.

I faced the same dilemma when I built the Concrete Underground. Because of the construction sequence, my interior slabs were going to be exposed for an entire winter. I eventually decided that there was adequate time for the slabs to 'dry out' before they were exposed to freezing temps and decided to forego air entrainment. I didn't experience any problems. It's actually not that uncommon for labs to be exposed for a winter eason during construction without major issues.

I think you'll be fine as long as the concrete has a month to two after placement before freezing temps. If that's not possible, I might consider air and make sure the slab is finished appropriately. Prior advice regarding sealing the slab and penetrations against water intrusion is very good as well.

^^^^^ exactly!!!!

 

[topp64]

Exterior concrete like streets and sidewalks exposed to freeze-thaw conditions and de-icer chemicals is air-entrained. Floors that get a steele trowel finish generally should not use a mix that is entrained with air because the finishing process can create a void below the surface causing delamination. A mix with no more than 3% air can be used on floors safely if finished properly. That's about half the air content of an exterior mix. Air content plays a big part in the quality of ready mixed concrete. I don't think I've ever seen an air test done on a residential job around here. Anytime you add water to a load it raises the air content, so caution needs to be used.

 

[live4soccer7]

Thank you for the information. That is very informative and it will definitely help me. I have quite a bit of stuff to figure out and plan now.

 

[nadogail]

The sidewalk in front of my house has a 1914 date stamp.

As a boy in Portland Oregon, I remember curbs with rings to tie your horse to. The ST Helens road, in North West Portland was a concrete highway.

 

[live4soccer7]

The sidewalk in front of my house has a 1914 date stamp.

As a boy in Portland Oregon, I remember curbs with rings to tie your horse to. The ST Helens road, in North West Portland was a concrete highway.

Thank you for sharing. That is very neat to hear about.

 

[Bessy]

If you're doing metal, could you do it the other way and erect the structure, skin it and then do concrete the second year for the floor? You'd still need to do some concrete obviously for footings, but it's certainly cheaper than doing a 5K sqft slab.

Then after you've got the building completed, your concrete can stay protected during the curing process.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

[matt_i]

I poured my concrete the last week of October, in this region and that year's weather basically the last week any flatwork was going to be poured without special preparations. Then framed it thru the winter where it was a fully open structure requiring shoveling every time it snowed. No preparations for exterior. The only downside was most of the curing sealer flaked off by springtime and probably accelerated by the abrasive shoveling. The sawed control joints took 2 full years before I could visibly detect a crack the last 2-3" out to the edges (next to the poured wall where they couldn't saw because of the blade's diameter).

So I'd agree if you can get a good 30 days of curing done before the freezing weather starts you'd be in good shape. If cast-in/wet-set anchor bolts are to be used I'd recommend the hot dipped galvanized versions.....there are uncoated versions out there and I'm not sure why I used them but I ended up spray painting them so my stem walls wouldn't get stained.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I'd erect the structure first, then pour the concrete next year.

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

A friend had the same idea. Concrete first, then building the following year. Concrete was poured around 1990....a long time ago. Slow forward to 2020....still no building.

 

[infinkc]

So similar situation, my dad had poured a 40x30 slab for a building he was going to put up in the future. Unfortunately he passed away. I decided to have the building put up, but came to find that metal building need engineered footings to match the structure. I landed up just going larger 60x40 so the footings would be poured with the new slab around the existing. So if you do plan on pouring now, i suggest to make sure your footings are done now also to meet the requirements of your building. concrete can sit for years, just gets dirty.

 

[Mattlt]

I'd erect the structure first, then pour the concrete next year.

This also gives the disturbed ground in and around the building an opportunity to freeze/thaw over the winter. It should settle down a lot better and you'll get a better floor when you pour it the next year.