Hi all, Just jumped over from FWW.com and gathered a wealth of info from all of you. So I thought I would see if anyone had any initial thoughts on my pipe dream. The pics are of a walkout barn basement that has been given to me to create a workshop. At this point the basement is in rough shape. The concrete floor is all over the place there is even a portion that is just earth. The owner is a relative and just moved in. So I will have to work with them to get to the end result.
My first look at this space was that in wouldn’t be suitable for a shop space. However, after looking at it some more and recognizing the amount of space it offers I am going to have to suck up and deal with it. Rough isn’t it? I would like to replace the concrete floor while installing a proper drainage system to keep it dry and hopefully alleviate some of the moisture inherently associated with basements. If feasible I would also like to incorporate a radiant heating system since there will be new concrete poured. Then we would tackle the electrical requirements needed for a woodshop. From there I will have other projects to setup but no need to go on about those.
Am I crazy or can this be accomplished? Anyone with any expericence replacing concrete barn floors, please let me know of any pitfalls or questions I should be asking. Thanks.
dimensions are 36×25 with 7′ ceiling
Replies
Jack it out, compact, put a gutter aound the walls to a sump, and pour.
Very straight forward, barring hidden circumstances.
Looking at those gorgeous stone walls, I personally would want to clean them up for appearances. Maybe replace or surround the wood and steel columns with brick to match the others.
Might just put a facade wall in front of the back wall to hide the plumbing stack and have a place for the workbench and wall hanging stuff
Score and stain the floor to complement the walls.
SamT
My barn floor was/is the same mess. If you can get a bobcat or small front loader in there I'm betting you can lift and break the slabs without a jackhammer, I doubt there's rebar or wire mesh in the slabs. Pick-up the debris into the bucket and haul it outside - you'll be done with this part of the job in less than a day.
Putting in a proper exterior perimeter drain around the entire foundation will go a long way to keeping the space dry.
-Norm
Oh, yeah, If dry is a priority, a proper exterior drain system is a must. Somewhow I got the impression that really dry would merely be "Nice." That mostly dry would be good enough.SamT