Site leveling questions

[sfought]

I'm planning on building a 24x20 pole barn in the back yard. The yard has a gradual 17" drop along the 24ft side. Can I dig the high side down and use that fill to level up the low side or do I need to fill the low side up that much? I plan on putting a concrete floor in and don't want water in the building. Thanks in advance.

 

[Rusted Nut]

Depends what type of soil you have, if it’s good fill material then yes. You’ll probably need to cut at least a foot or more off all the site to get past the organic material.

 

[Copymutt]

How will you direct the water that collects in the depression you've created.
Either regrade the site or bring the building site up to level w/ compacted fill.

 

[bighouse01]

That’s exactly what I did. You just need a swale on the upside side to direct surface water away. My swale is only a couple feet off the uphill side.

 

[sfought]

Thanks for the info. Do you happen to have a pic of the swale?

 

[rsanter]

Dig the high side down to the level you need, and go farther than the building will be.

dig a bit more to have slope away from the building and slope it to run off to one of the sides or install drains that will take the water away from the building and dump it where you want it

whatever drainage you do, plan for way more water that you think you will even get

 

[theoldwizard1]

A lot depends on the elevation of the approach to the garage door. You really should have an apron in front of the door because you want the floor to be 4"-6" above the driveway leading to the garage. Prevent flooding.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Trying to fill with excavated soil and pour concrete on it generally ends in a mess. The complexity of getting it compacted makes it a futile effort for a small project except in areas with perfect soil. Get rid of all organics from the footprint, raise the floor area with compacted stone and grade the uphill side of the building site to send the water past.