Barn style planked wood floor to hold a car?

I want to build an overgrown shed in my back yard. After seeing Nimrods garage I am very passionate about having it sort of hit that same mark.


Short of having him deconstruct his garage and tell me the specs specifically - I am wondering where I could find the right specs to build my shed / garage to have that planked wood flooring and safely be able to put a motorcycle and hot rod in.

I have a garage for fab work, but I want to also build this shed to be able to store the hot rod (a 1934 Ford Truck) and a motorcycle (either a Harley or my trusty DR 650 Suzuki) as well as some tools and lawn care equipment. My wife likes to park in the warm garage over the winter and all of this stuff can't fit if she does so. I'm not getting rid of the Harley, the hot rod or the Suzuki anytime soon so I need a solution.

The idea being that I would come off of the patio (concrete pad) behind my garage - onto a wood decking that would ramp up and sprawl out into an elevated deck that would basically be the foundation for the shed. This is being done to avoid pouring a cement foundation because there is no way no how to fit a cement truck or even transport cement safely back there without totally killing my newly revamped yard/landscape.

If I sunk a few 6"x6" posts into pier style concrete foundations it would let me use bagged crete and so on. Then I could basically build a super sturdy deck that hovers just above the grass. What I am not sure of is the weight rating and other requirements that are needed.

Here's my dart throw - best guess:
either 2"x12" joists - or an engineered joist @ 16" on centers (advice needed)
Then I'd use at least 1.5"x6" tongue and grove planks or better (thicker).

Anyone want to toss me a bone?

If I had to guess my stripped down 34 Ford will weigh a few hundred pounds shy of 3000 lbs and the Harley comes in around 750 lbs. The Suzuki is quite trim and I am not at all worried about it. Heck it could slip into a corner almost anywhere...


Please help!!!


Thanks,
~Broman

Broman said:

This is being done to avoid pouring a cement foundation because there is no way no how to fit a cement truck or even transport cement safely back there without totally killing my newly revamped yard/landscape.

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Wood floors are cool, but if you wanted a concrete floor you might be able to rent a concrete pump. We have poured a floor 150' from the concrete truck.

Broman said:

This is being done to avoid pouring a cement foundation because there is no way no how to fit a cement truck or even transport cement safely back there without totally killing my newly revamped yard/landscape.



If I had to guess my stripped down 34 Ford will weigh a few hundred pounds shy of 3000 lbs and the Harley comes in around 750 lbs. The Suzuki is quite trim and I am not at all worried about it. Heck it could slip into a corner almost anywhere...


Please help!!!


Thanks,
~Broman

Click to expand...

If you can't get concrete back there how are you going to get a vehicle back there?? For that mater how is the building material getting back there??

Anyway, post pictures of the pickup..

Do you have any building departments you have to deal with??


What I would do is lay down some 10x10 PT runners, put 2x12 joists on 12" centers and then flooring on top of that. Your 10 by's would line up with the track of the vehicle entering the building plus on the outside walls. Now that assumes that you have the soils that will support it. If your in the swamp or quicksand then ignore the previous.
lg
no neat sig line

Just Wheelbarrow the concrete down there - get a few of them and some friends to help. I've been involved in several jobs wheelbarrowing 10 yards or more of concrete - not that big of a deal. Put a rope on the front of them if you need extra HP for pulling them up a grade and lay down planks if you need over the soft stuff so they don't sink in.

Broman said:

...

Here's my dart throw - best guess:
either 2"x12" joists - or an engineered joist @ 16" on centers (advice needed)
Then I'd use at least 1.5"x6" tongue and grove planks or better (thicker).

Anyone want to toss me a bone?
...

Click to expand...

IMHO... Not nearly strong enough. I'd use 2x12 for decking minimum, and if 2x12 for joists, I'd consider closer than 16".

If you decide to go concrete,think about stamping wood grain in to it and color to match,best of both worlds maybe.Just my 2 cents, good luck

look at the trailer world for the basis of what you are doing

with enough cross beams and then 2x6 to 2x12 planking there should be no problem
add extra underfloor cross beams where the tires will ride and near the front and back where you may use a jack

bob

Okay - there are a hand full of things I need to clear up.
Enough questions have been asked about the "why, where, how" and what not...I knew I'd get some questions but I am just now able to sit down and explain myself.

I saw Nimrods shed:

View media item 12526
......and as soon as I saw it I thought to my self - "that's it!!"
I have been trying to come up with some way to make decent use of my back yard. A shed is the most useful, other less useful ideas I have turned down are fire pits, elevated garden, gazebo (puke), etc. etc. etc.

Although after seeing Nimrod's whole shop inside and out - I realize that I can never have that kind of character (that's not bought - it's built), I did have a vision of the overall layout working in my yard. It was like the puzzle piece that fell right in place.

I hope this pic is big enough to show you what I have going on. You should see the whole parcel and how my house and patio land on it.

View media item 12525

So you see I have no room to the right side (my 89 year old neighbor already hates me for coming so close to his property line with my driveway and sidewalk) and though it appears here as if I have room to the left - it is a steep hill that I just got back it shape after having a mini trench digger tear up the hill side getting around the house on that side.

Is it totally impossible to get a Bobcat back there, not really, but it has cost me money and time (over a years worth of my own sweat) to get it back to growing grass.

So..here I am. I have a decent idea of the size of shed (*cough* garage*) that I am hoping to build as you can kind of see in the above parcel layout - but here is a close up:

View media item 12527

There is a bit of extra space that I could lose in the large (main) area of the shed. I don't really need a work bench or too much extra space to the left of the hot rod there.... What I am saying is that if the wife decides that Shed-Mahal is too big I can down size it, but I say shoot for more than you want and hope to get what you want....

Ideally I will have a decent little shop on one side and a shed storage area that my wife and kids can store their stuff in on the other. Also - I have a neat little well shaded patio overhang area to put rocking chairs so I can sip an iced tea with my wife, the little ones and / or a few friends. In a few pictures you will see a curved deck area - that could be my fire pit area if I got a wild hair.....

Here's an isometric shot without the roof:

View media item 12528

Here it is rendered - at a slightly lower perspective:

View media item 12529

Last view - you can see rendered with a roof.

View media item 12530
Okay, so that should clear up a lot......(stay tuned while I post and re-read)...

~Bro

Uhh one major gap here.

If I don't have room to get concrete back there how am I going to get a hot rod back there?

I have a call-out in the parcel view that shows the standard 36" door. After I plan out and perhaps even build the decking and the shed - I plan on installing a set of sliding barn style doors (hopefully using a Garage Journal Alliance vendor - wink wink).

Why do this? Because everything I do is done in order and has a TIGHT budget. Besides that I need to get a lot of ducks in a row before I worry about tearing half the wall out of my garage and install sliding doors. That is a pretty expensive deal and it will take some real doing> My garage holds a lot of stuff - no need to explain that to you all. Most of it will have to have a temporary home while the garage work is done. Building the shed first will give me that room and it should give me the time line I need to get my savings back into shape. In the meantime I will be able to put a Harley, Suzuki, mower, tools and other valuable stuff into a secure place that is not my kitchen or basement....

...deep breath.....

Okay, what still remains is a bit of engineering. This is where I run out of answers and I have a bunch of questions. One of which is - am I over thinking this?


This pic will demonstrate most of my feelings:

View media item 12531
Ohh, and BTW, forgive my robot like 34 Ford...AutoCAD is not very organic, lol.

I don't usually do architectural drawings either - but I fake it enough to get my point across.....sorry no dimensions - I did draw most of this to perfect scale - minus the truck - it's faked over the frame, which, though faint in the pics is a depiction of the actual steel tubes that I have sitting in my garage. I stole that line work from a work in progress file that I was using to calculate the angles and the amount of material I had - and I want to set this truck low enough to be cool, but still useful. But that's fodder for another message board.....


Bottom line here is - what do you think? don't worry about the money don't worry about the logic, just tell me how to make this deck strong enough for the load....uhh, please?!?

Thanks guys,

~Bro

My first thought is that you should have a floor strong enough to support the Rod, and your goodies. The secret will be to spread out the load sufficiently to not overburden any supports. Personally, i would make the effort to pump concrete back there. It would just be easier, and likely, less expensive.
I am thinking 12 inch centers with 2x6's should do the trick A house floor is designed to support a 40 psf, and a garage is coded to support 50 psf. There is not a whole lot of difference there. That means as long as you are using 2x4's 6's or 12's for the floor planking, it is should be sufficiently strong for a wood floored garage. Just make sure that there are not a lot of knots, and the **** ends are staggered. Also make sure you have sufficient support underneath.
If you just have to have a wood floor, you would be well served, with money well spent, to have an engineer do an assessment.

Low decks are bad news, won't last as long and aren't cheap even though you said don't worry about the money (even though you did say worry about the money). Furthermore, you need a hell of a lot more load bearing than standard and you want all of this how close to the ground? I wouldn't worry about the lateral stresses with those 2 x 12's bolted up.

If you don't want the hard look on concrete and don't want to fuss with pumping, etc., look at some plant between pavers. There's even an integrated system.

Broman one little thing I will point out here is the picture you put up as" Nimrods shop" isnt actually his " automotive shop " thats his wood working shop in the picture with the deck around it .

Rick

Clean and get rid of useless stuff, install garage door. Wheel concrete through garage. Or just build a ramp for the standard door and wheel through the garage. Couple college age boys should wheel for beer. Large wheelbarrows can be found on CL.
If you build something to "winter" the hotrod and bikes, they will no longer have a spot in the garage. You might as well just plan for that to be the new home for them. Another problem, wood floors or concrete, the deck will have to be built close to the same specs to be driven over. The deck will be exposed to the elements top and bottom. Building it to carry weight will not be cheap or attractive, and not nearly as lasting as concrete.

Money would be better spent on a crew to pour, stamp and color a pad. Could be done for the patio as well. Only thing is that when stamped and sealed concrete gets icy it is really slippery. I'd go with a pad for the shed, and pavers for a patio.

Or dirt floor for the dirt poor.

rickairmedic said:

Broman one little thing I will point out here is the picture you put up as" Nimrods shop" isnt actually his " automotive shop " thats his wood working shop in the picture with the deck around it .

Rick

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm aware of that.

I guess after seeing his whole post (and seeing his car sitting on a wood planked deck in combination with all of that) I assumed that it was possible.

Forgive me here, but it seems like I am getting a lot of criticism for trying to do this rather than support in trying to figure it out. I see it right there live in the flesh so I know it can be done. All I am asking for is how.

I think maybe Zeke is right about the lateral stress being a sort of non issue. And I am thinking that I talked to an engineer (who has since retired) who told me to shoot for 80 lbs/sq. ft. But I can't be sure about that it was a while back.


~Bro

Broman by all means I think Nimrods garage is by far the " kewlest " on this site . With that said anything is possible . I will point out though that his T bucket pickup might weigh half of what your 34 does .

I would run the supprt beams the same direction as the car will be going in and out and double them up in the area where the car will be rolling regularly.


You might also note when looking at his actual garage ( through the carport ) where the tri 5 truck and duece are parked . The shop floor almost seems to be built right on the ground .


Rick

NP, thanks.
I really have no idea what the truck will weigh. My estimate is heavy. Nimrods little roadster is only a few hundred pounds short of what I am building.

I wanted to build for beef though - incase I ever wanted to trade up to a sedan or something. Most hot rods are pretty stripped down - I am a no AC no CD player type of hot rodder...(as it appears Nimrod is as well).

I wasn't sure about if his is built on the ground though.

View media item 12569

Looks like it could be bi-level. I see the big blue planishing hammer in that shot (through the door). At least I think that's it...
And if I am correct then that level is a foot higher give or take.

IDK. I am just trying to build something with character and heart. I don't want something that looks just like every place you've seen - using the same materials that every fucker that walks into a Menard's with a credit card can get. I want to put Broman's stamp on it!!! I want to be creative and artistic and masculine and purpose minded. That would be my signature.


~Bro

I still haven't figured out where exactly you want to build this shop you are talking about.

I do know you should and probably can do concrete. If its a similar situation like the one in the picture where its behind the house. No problem getting concrete behind the house. As long as the truck can park on the street in front of the house.

The mud hauler can bring in the boom pumper truck and drop the end of that pump line anywhere you want. Over the house and drop the line down in the back yard, nothing touches the grass anywhere.

To me, if you want it to have the cool factor, the permanent cool factor, you should do it in concrete.

Call your local concrete supplier and tell them what you want to do. It will cost extra for them to use that truck but for you it would be worth it.

Mm

Mmfh, it's laid out in one of the pics above. It's in the back yard in the back corner of my lot.

It's pretty straight forward. I just want to have a deck and a kind of cozy and inviting back yard where people can come for get-togethers and just hang out.

Quite simply - even though it is possible - I don't like concrete and I don't want concrete. There is nothing about crete that I like other than the fact that is is durable and flat. I have laid an ocean of crete in the front yard with my new driveway and back patio and I would rather not blanket the entire back yard with it as well. If I can - and I know I can - I will build a deck.

Let's forget what I said I was going to do with it / on it and just start from another angle. It seems like a lot of folks have some kind of hang up on purpose and the concept that I posed above has not been received well.
Let's pretend that I plan to hold regular gatherings on a deck with 15 to 20 people showing up at any given gathering. These cook outs or whatever are going to have families and kids and kegs and drugs and strippers and dencing all the time. I am not going to lie - we will abuse this deck. Let's also pretend that when all those people show up - the load that they will put on the deck will be .....hmm 18 people x 170 pounds per person average = around 3000 pound load......how can I support that weight with confidence?



I talked to a guy at work today and he had no idea of my intentions for the deck - but had a clear idea of how to built it stout having just built a patio off the front of his second story log cabin. He said that the timber itself on the planking and the joists are not as much the concern as is the span between the supporting joists....

So bam, there it is. That is where I need the help.


~Bro

Broman said:

... the concern as is the span between the supporting joists....

So bam, there it is. That is where I need the help.


~Bro

Click to expand...

Right, now re-read my first reply...

What you need is a professional engineer to design it. I don't think I or anyone else said it can't be done, but simply stated it needs to be much stronger than you are thinking. That's both supporting structure, and the decking. Again, 2x10 or 2x12 is probably a minimum for the decking.

But get an engineer who understands the problem and do it right.

Bro,

Reading the reply's to your original post, I can see your frustration, apparently there is a sort of groupthink bias towards concrete. You are right, this can be done and will just take some intellectual rigor to ensure it is done right. Wood is pound for pound stronger than concrete, hell even steel; so as a material for supporting 18 strippers at a party, it's a fine choice (and a fine party!)

I just googled "wooden floor strength support vehicle" and found a thread over at sawmillcreek.org that discusses this issue. Seems pretty easily done, especially when you consider train trestles in the old days were wood and supported, ya know, entire trains!

Good luck, seems like an awesome project, post back when you get it done, mainly as proof.

Have you thought at all about the critters that will love living under your low deck/floor. In our part of the world, that's squirrels, cats (their litter box), mice, skunks...etc. You get the picture...just trying to be helpful and curious about what critters you will need to deal with.

I'm sure a wood floor can be built strong enough to support a car. There have been plenty of cars parked in barns on wood floors. In fact, I once saw a single axle dump truck parked in an old barn on a wood floor. I don't know exactly how that barn was constructed, but it was obviously well built!

Another issue that should be considered is access into this building. Most sheds are built up off the ground with one or two steps to enter the shed. In order to drive a car into an elevated building some ramps will be needed. The other alternative is to perform some excavation so the interior floor level can be closer to the exterior ground level.

Can be done. You shouldn't put the flooring on top of the joists, like a deck, but you should put down two layers of 3/4" plywood over the joists first, staggered, glued and screwed. Then the wood flooring.

16OC is a bit wide as well. 12OC would be much, much stronger.

That will be over 2" of wood there. I can almost guarantee you driving up there and it wouldn't even make a sound.

It's all about the foundation really. Just make sure you have good, deep concrete pureed peers.

I think you have several issues to work out.....and we don't have near enough information to give answers....

What type of ground do you have? Where do you live?

Is drainage an issue? (seems like it would be with a steep hill to one side of your lot?

Does it rain a lot? Snow? Freeze?

All those factors will determine how you do your foundation, whether wood, steel or concrete post supports. Your foundation will determine how you do the rest of the building, what the spans are between joists etc. In general, you need to protect the wood from moisture and insects - how do you do that ?

Using wood for a floor is not a problem in itself, getting it to last is....I think the idea of screwing two layers of ply down before the top boards is a good one, especially if you cross orient each layer. But you still need to protect the wood from below, I don't know if a vapor barrier under several inches of rock on the ground would do it or not. And you'll need termite protection, and a way to keep critters out from under it - metal mesh (chicken wire?) burried 6 iches down and attached to the inside of fascia boards should do the trick - you do not want skunks living under there, don't ask me how I know!

I think the stress of driving in and out is miniscule, since you won't be coming in at 30 mph, more like 3....

If the floor is strong enough to hold the weight in the first place, driving on it won't matter. Get an engineer to help you with the strength/weight/span calculations, and someone familiar with the soils in your are to help with the ground support, then you're on your way.

Do post up what you do with lots of pics, it'll be a fun build!