Re: Levling site for barn

Posted by KEB on March 28, 2006 at 21:14:31 from (207.94.26.1):

In Reply to: Levling site for barn posted by Nathan in Texas on March 28, 2006 at 13:52:59:

Appologize if this turns out to be a double post. System hung when I tried to submit it the first time.

Did just what you're talking about last summer. Had a 30 x 40 shop building put up with a concrete slab floor, plus a 16 ft extension on one end to park our travel trailer under. We have a 4 acre lot which is kind of rolling, and the only level spot that wasn't already taken up by yard was in an area that looks like it would accumulate water in the winter, so ended up putting the building on a gentle slope. Had to take one end down about 2 ft.

Learned a few things in the process:

1. Don't put a slab on fill unless you have the capability to properly tamp it or are willing to let it sit long enough to settle.

2. Take off the topsoil. At least here on the edge of the Rockies, the topsoil was about 6-8 inches thick & was full of grass roots, making it soft. I was afraid of the slab cracking if I left it on top of all this organic matter.

3. Moved the dirt with a box scaper on the back of a Farmall H with an aftermarket 3-pt hitch. At least here in Colorado, once you get below the top soil the dry dirt in the summer time is too hard for a scaper by itself, so you might want to make sure that whatever you use can dig into the dirt in your area. My box scaper came with retractable rippers. Best technique seemed to be to make a couple passes with the rippers all the way down to break up the dirt, then retract the rippers & go back & scrape up the loosened stuff.

4. Make sure you have a place to put the dirt. I greatly underestimated the volume of dirt that would have to be moved, and still have a couple big piles that I'll need to do something with this spring. A lot of it I was able to just spread out on the slope behind the building.

5. Buy a decent laser level, unless you have access to a transit. My first try was with twine and a line level, and over the 50+ ft span I could never get the line tight enough to get a reliable reading. Ended up having to take one end down a couple inches more than I'd planned on due to this error. I also discovered that reasonably priced laser levels aren't bright enough to be seen during the day. Once I got close, I'd go out at twilight, set up the level, and mark the areas that still needed to come down.

6. When you check for level, check along all four sides plus diagonally across the area. Found a few inconsistencies until I started being a little more careful with the measurements. Diagonally also allows you to walk along the beam with a ruler & find out how close you are in the center of the area.

7. For a slab, the area needs to be level to within an inch or two, at least according to the contractor who did mine.

8. If you're cutting into the side of a hill, make sure you extend the leveled pad far enough for construction access to the outside of the wall. My contractor wanted at least two feet.

It took me the equivalent of a couple weekends & a few evenings to do mine. Could probably do it a lot faster the second time. Doing it myself gave me $1,000+ to use on something else, even after I paid for the box scaper. Plus,it was a good excuse to go out & play with the tractor.

Not sure how well a loader would work, but what have you got to lose except some time & gas for the tractor.

Inspector signed off on the building without so much as one question about the location or grade, so I'm assuming what I did was acceptable.

Good luck. I wouldn't hesitate to tackle this kind of a project again. The only reason I would hire it done is if I was really pushed for time.

Keith

Replies:

Add a Reply Name: E-Mail: Subject: Comments: Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: Email Notification: If you check this box, email will be sent to you whenever someone replies to this message. Your email address must be entered above to receive notification. This notification will be cancelled automatically after 2 weeks.

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]