Hello everyone, this is my first post and I have a pile of questions so please hang with me.
My parents still live at my childhood home in Louisiana. On the property, there is a building the previous homeowner built there to make some sort of shop for himself. One "room" of this building is about 16'x16' and has an existing unlevel** dirt floor. My dads mentioned renovating that building into a workshop to get his projects out of their garage. We went over and looked at the project and got a game plan on what needed to be done. Where this building is at, we wouldn't be able to get a truck back there to pour so we're planning on renting a mixer and concrete bags. I've researched how to DIY pour a slab but want to give a rundown of what 'i think I know'.
Starting off, there's a spot that looks like it has some water draining on the floor from the outside, maybe from under the building over the years. I plan to line the room with cinderblocks before I pour the slab. Should I do anything else as far as the drainage spot is concerned, put a layer of gravel or anything?? Also, the dirt is extremely hard so what is the best way to break it up and level the dirt with it being so hard? Would you recommend a tiller or some sort of aeration or something else? After that, I know we want a 4" slab. Should I use rebar or mesh or nothing for the supports? Nothing heavier than an SxS would ever be on this slab due to the location so I'm not sure what type of reinforcement if any. I plan on cutting the joist in the concrete after everything is set and cured. Second off I've read of vapor barriers, do I need one, and what's the purpose? I don't really have any concrete tools so any recommendations on that? Other than that I know it's going to be a pile of hard work which doesn't scare me. I just want to make sure it's not going to be completely screwed up if I go this route..
I know there are people in this thread with so much more experience in doing this type of project so I wanted to see if there was any insight I could get from anyone with similar experience.
My parents still live at my childhood home in Louisiana. On the property, there is a building the previous homeowner built there to make some sort of shop for himself. One "room" of this building is about 16'x16' and has an existing unlevel** dirt floor. My dads mentioned renovating that building into a workshop to get his projects out of their garage. We went over and looked at the project and got a game plan on what needed to be done. Where this building is at, we wouldn't be able to get a truck back there to pour so we're planning on renting a mixer and concrete bags. I've researched how to DIY pour a slab but want to give a rundown of what 'i think I know'.
Starting off, there's a spot that looks like it has some water draining on the floor from the outside, maybe from under the building over the years. I plan to line the room with cinderblocks before I pour the slab. Should I do anything else as far as the drainage spot is concerned, put a layer of gravel or anything?? Also, the dirt is extremely hard so what is the best way to break it up and level the dirt with it being so hard? Would you recommend a tiller or some sort of aeration or something else? After that, I know we want a 4" slab. Should I use rebar or mesh or nothing for the supports? Nothing heavier than an SxS would ever be on this slab due to the location so I'm not sure what type of reinforcement if any. I plan on cutting the joist in the concrete after everything is set and cured. Second off I've read of vapor barriers, do I need one, and what's the purpose? I don't really have any concrete tools so any recommendations on that? Other than that I know it's going to be a pile of hard work which doesn't scare me. I just want to make sure it's not going to be completely screwed up if I go this route..
I know there are people in this thread with so much more experience in doing this type of project so I wanted to see if there was any insight I could get from anyone with similar experience.
