Advice on concrete tiles

[txturbo]

I'm looking at buying a 5000 sq ft building to put all my car stuff in. The building was originally built in the 40s and was a tractor dealership. The thing that concerns me is the floor. It consists of 5 foot by 5 foot concrete tiles that look to be 3 or 4 inches thick. Would probably be ok for use as a restaurant floor as it was a couple of times.....but I'll be driving cars around on top of it. Anyone have any experience with a floor like this?

 

[rsanter]

Aren't tractors heavier than cars?
If it's already been used for tractors then it should be fine for cars
What am I missing here?

Bob

 

[txturbo]

I don't know for sure if they were there when it was a tractor dealership.

 

[Erampu]

Three or four inch concrete sounds sturdy enough. Why not try it, then replace it if it doesn't work out?

 

[bdamico]

hehe

 

[txturbo]

Three or four inch concrete sounds sturdy enough. Why not try it, then replace it if it doesn't work out?

well.....if money was no object I could do that. If I buy the building I don't want to spend a fortune pouring a concrete foundation if it doesn't work out.

 

[txturbo]

Ok.....since all is quiet I'm assuming I'm the only one that has a floor like this....

 

[katotter]

Is it laid down tikes or casted there in blocks? In essence the same thing but might get movement if there is difference the soil structure.

 

[bobscogin]

Knowing nothing about the substrate makes it very difficult to evaluate the adequacy of the concrete. 4" thickness is certainly enough for any automobile provided the concrete is at least 3000 psi in compressive strength and the substrate was properly prepared, but who knows what's under there. The other thing, and it's been mentioned, is the possibility of differential settlement if the squares aren't tied together in some manner.

Bob

 

[TheWhiteMamba]

That floor is definitely unique and actually looks pretty cool! I had a pad of 18"x18"x2" out next to my old house with really no proper underlayment to speak of and the tiles shifted horrendously until I put sand in the lines and everything solidified up. No broken tiles or anything. I would be willing to be that the tiles of that size won't shift or even break and you should be alright (unless you are parking fire engines). The only bad part is that you wouldn't be able to have a lift installed to take advantage of the ceiling height without getting the pad poured.

 

[Scotty72SS]

Is your exterior wall sitting on these tiles as well, or is there a footer poured? If it is sitting on them then I would say your good, because they would have been there when the tractors were.
That is a very unique floor And I have never seen another like it. The only reason I can figure they did this was so they could hand pour in smaller sections. They had to have doweled them or they would already be very uneven.
Great space, good luck.
Ds

 

[mattdwelder]

try before you buy? ask the current owner to let you drive in there

 

[Iowa Mark]

Are you sure they are tiles, or concrete just poured over another concrete floor below it? If that was a tractor dealership, the floor might have been damaged and stained up to the point that a new floor was used to cover it. Maybe the tile look was because of it's new usage rather than as a plain concrete floor. Clean it up and stain each panel for a unique checkerboard look.

 

[bazzateer]

Have a core sample drilled out to see what lies beneath?
Hard to tell from the photo but are you sure they're tiles and not just deep control cuts in a big slab?