Making a 'ramp' into my shop....

[DCarr2]

so my driveway is asphalt. the area of asphalt, is well... very large... under my concrete floor is asphalt...

the lip, from the driveway into the shop, is about 8" at the moment I am using bricks, wood, ect.... it *****...


So question: Should I make the ramp, out of asphalt or concrete? I am thinking the concrete would break apart over time and not adhere well to the asphalt.... Yet adding asphalt I am afraid over summer of getting ruts in it from my work truck (12,000lbs - summer load) its largely in the shade except in early morning...

the floor in the shop goes gravel>asphalt>2" xps foam>vapor Barrier>6" concrete

the width of the door is 14'

I am thinking an 8' long ramp, (1 foot per inch of rise - too shallow?) 14-15' wide.

thoughts?

 

[The Cobbler]

cut the asphalt out, pour concrete ramp ?

 

[DCarr2]

or what about asphalt millings? yes no?


Im not cutting out the asphalt/removing the asphalt even though everyone on this forum tells me too LOL

 

[seanc_mt]

some pictures would be very helpful

 

[rayra]

cut the asphalt out, pour concrete ramp ?

That. The lip of your ramp has to be thick enough to take the max vehicle weight.
Would take 2yds if you scrimp a little on a 6" thick ramp.

 

[rayra]

or what about asphalt millings? yes no?


Im not cutting out the asphalt/removing the asphalt even though everyone on this forum tells me too LOL

So you already knew the proper answer?

So what else do you imagine would hold up as the lip of your ramp / serve as a transition? OR do you just want to keep cobbling **** together out of scrap?

 

[matt_i]

I asked for a quote for an asphalt company on building a ramp to one of my shops. They quoted $3k. The guy was pretty decent, he said it cost him $1500 just to show up with his equipment and crew.

I never actually priced the concrete to build the same but I'd be shocked if it was over $500. More for the forms, rebar, stone base, renting the compactor obviously but nowhere near $3k.

The nice thing about concrete is its considerably stronger, won't creep under heat, nor load if the base is well-done, and can be reinforced to keep it together thru the inevitable cracking.

 

[tjdux]

Hey hey hey wait... back up a second. When are you saying your buikding concrete is poured over asphalt? I am not much of an asphalt guy but is that solid enough to put a buikding on?

Then again you probably have proper wall foundations that are comcrete or just a pad on asphalt?

I really dont know if thats a problem as asphalt is pretty solid stuff. Im not trying to say anything negitive i had just not heard of such things and ibwould like to learn more.

Also you could maybe fab a steel ramp. Place near where i live makes them often for their forklifts to drive on. But that could sink in easily too...

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[matt_i]

Steel is good structurally but is so slick when wet. Tread plate exists but its still pretty slick when wet imo. Then there's the issue of rust, which could increase traction as the plate pits, but will look crappy eventually, if you care about such issues.

 

[rburke65]

I'd make it out of asphalt. I don't think your truck will hurt it.

 

[DCarr2]

heres a crappy picture

Hey hey hey wait... back up a second. When are you saying your building concrete is poured over asphalt? I am not much of an asphalt guy but is that solid enough to put a building on?

Then again you probably have proper wall foundations that are concrete or just a pad on asphalt?

I really dont know if thats a problem as asphalt is pretty solid stuff. Im not trying to say anything negitive i had just not heard of such things and i would like to learn more.

Also you could maybe fab a steel ramp. Place near where i live makes them often for their forklifts to drive on. But that could sink in easily too...

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

When I bought my house last spring the pole barn that was here was built in the middle of a parking lot of sorts. They used to park semis where the pole barn is now.

so the floor, is asphalt. Theres a long drawn out thread around here somewhere about it... Make a long story short, the majority concensus was to spend $30-50K to remove the asphalt nd put down concrete.

Theres two major problems:

1) Cost

2) time. I simply did not have the time.

So what I did was I filled in any holes or low spots in the asphalt with concrete then i laid 2"XPS foam directly onto the floor, put my vapor barrier down, the concrete guy came and laid down the wire for the 'rebar' and we laid 2200' linear feet of pex, in one day.22 100' rolls from homedepot and lowes. not the most efficient way to lay pex, but if I was going to do pex I have to do it NOW.

I then opted for saw cuts vs expansion joints... 5" over 1650sq ft barn.

as a result, the floor in my shop is now about 7" higher than the driveway, where as prior to the concrete it was level.

the term is called white topping, just google that.essentially it was a monolithic slab thats free floating and not actually attached to anything.

With that said, the only cracking I have seen in the floor, is the 2" space between the end of a saw cut and the wall, and where I put a 2" pvc pipe under the floor to suply power to my main work bench.. it cracked on the top of that pipe, and its hairline...

Outside of that no other cracks have surfaced - kknock on wood....

 

[tjdux]

heres a crappy picture





When I bought my house last spring the pole barn that was here was built in the middle of a parking lot of sorts. They used to park semis where the pole barn is now.

so the floor, is asphalt. Theres a long drawn out thread around here somewhere about it... Make a long story short, the majority concensus was to spend $30-50K to remove the asphalt nd put down concrete.

Theres two major problems:

1) Cost

2) time. I simply did not have the time.

So what I did was I filled in any holes or low spots in the asphalt with concrete then i laid 2"XPS foam directly onto the floor, put my vapor barrier down, the concrete guy came and laid down the wire for the 'rebar' and we laid 2200' linear feet of pex, in one day.22 100' rolls from homedepot and lowes. not the most efficient way to lay pex, but if I was going to do pex I have to do it NOW.

I then opted for saw cuts vs expansion joints... 5" over 1650sq ft barn.

as a result, the floor in my shop is now about 7" higher than the driveway, where as prior to the concrete it was level.

the term is called white topping, just google that.essentially it was a monolithic slab thats free floating and not actually attached to anything.

With that said, the only cracking I have seen in the floor, is the 2" space between the end of a saw cut and the wall, and where I put a 2" pvc pipe under the floor to suply power to my main work bench.. it cracked on the top of that pipe, and its hairline...

Outside of that no other cracks have surfaced - kknock on wood....

Hey thats cool, like i said nothing negative to say just curious...

In all reality asphalt cant be any less stable than sand or gravel. So why not use it as a base.

No point in wasting money for now reason.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[jonesg]

At the junkyard I have seen 18 wheelers with the hydraulic lift gate, that steel lift plate can be used as a ramp.

 

[Firebrick43]

You are worried about making ruts with your van, do you want to park on the ramp long term? Properly applied asphalt won't rut just driving on it if it thick enough and has a good sub base. Does your pad rut currently? 12,000 is probably not likely to even sink in if parked long term. 12,000 is pretty small.

I wouldn't use Millings as they will take some time to consolidate.

 

[larry_g]

Part of the reason to cut the asphalt out is to not have a very thin edge on the concrete you pour for the ramp. One way to prevent cutting is make a steel wedge ~3-4" high that will form the front edge of the concrete. That way the concrete has a thick edge and leaving the steel in place gives you the strong edge you need on the approach. Take a 4"x6" length of angle and weld a strip across the inside to make it a triangle.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[dbabicky]

I would just pour a 6" thick reinforced ramp and be done with it forever.