# Going to pave s shed floor, what do we do?



## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

We're having the floor dug down about 21-22 inches, going to refill with 12 inches of plain stone, and then 4-6 of modified stone, and then 3-4 inches of asphalt..... This building has been up for about 10 years, and there was very little trouble with any bales going bad. The only water we had on the floor was a mysterious roof leak. Any suggestions? Things we are doing wrong? Something we should not forget? What variety of asphalt - something that uses fine stones and looks tight, or something with bigger stones? Or a combination of the two?

Rodney


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## geiselbreth (Feb 21, 2010)

i like 6 inches of crushed limestone works great


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## chief-fan (Aug 27, 2009)

Not sure what grade of rock your talking about when you say "plain stone" and "modified stone". I would go with 2" rock for the lower layer and then 3/4" road rock with a lot of fines for the second layer. I think you will find that 3-4" of asphalt may not be enough for heavy tractors. Use a standard highway paving mix of asphalt and go 6" and it will last a lifetime.


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

Enjoy the fire with the pallets. Pack the gravel with viborating roller, when you think your done, do it for a couple more hours. You know your done when a loaded single axle truck does not sink in at all. Leaves tread marks but no sinking in tracks. The gravel holds the weight, not the mix. Think of your bed, does the sheet hold you up or does the matress? The finer the mix the better it will seal. I sloped my floor 2 percent towards the back wall, helps to keep the stacks from falling foward. Good Luck, send pictures.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Before paving, check your local property tax codes. In this area (Illinois), I get taxed on "permanent" improvements, like putting in a concrete floor. But, if it's removable, I don't get taxed. By putting in a rubber mat floor over limestone in one building saved me almost $2,000/year. That's a considerable chunk of change.

Ralph


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

Today they hauled in 275 ton of stone.... I think they call it 2B? I think most of the terms on stone are regional the way it seems, but I think it was about inch and a half.... maybe 2 inches depending how you measure. Current plan is bring it up to paving grade with a version of the same stone, but it has finer chunks of stone mixed in, and it gets really tight when compacted. It sorta sounds to me like y'all recommend a finer asphalt mix - is that more beneficial in terms of the pavement holding up, or keeping moisture from coming up? I'm thinking that moisture going down isn't a as much of an issue as moisture coming up, or am I all wrong?

Rodney


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## ButchAutomatic (Jun 4, 2008)

We are also putting a test strip of asphalt in one of the barns to see how well it works


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

Moisture up or down Rodney, either way the asphalt stops it. Finer will give a smoother finish and easier to clean up. Before you put hay in, dust a bit of chaff/ old hay on floor just to absorb any oil from new mix. When loading out hay turn over bottom bales and dust them off, no more bottom bales.


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## steve IN (Jan 13, 2010)

I built a new barn and what I am trying is this. Brought building sight up one foot from grade with sand then put in 6 inches of crushed asphalt. This has fines all the way up to two inche rocks. Also used this for the driveway. Seems the more you drive on it the more it packs. Havent put any hay in yet so no conlusions on how it will hold up. This was only $11 ton.The 60 by 150 building took 283 tons. I will let you know how it works. We also have to be careful about property taxes here in IN. Seems like the trustees think the farmers are responsible for taking care of the homeowners.


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

Did they pave it yet rodney?


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

I think they might pave it tomorrow - they had a few jobs elsewhere, and we had a few rainy days inbetween, that might hold them up. We talked with them on monday, and they thought thursday they would be here. I think that we've prepared for about 4 inches of asphalt, but they're thinking af about 2-3 inches, made from 3/4" stone, so it's not going to be fine, like on roads, but it should hold up to weight better.

Rodney


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## enos (Dec 6, 2009)

Rodney, they get that thing paved yet, need some pictures to see how it turned out.


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

Enos,
I only found one picture that allows a guy to see the finished product. The paving has been done a little over a month now, and about 1 week after it was done we covered it with sawdust, maybe 2 inches over everything - we had it over top of the plastic and such on the old floor - scooped it up, loaded on the dump trailers, and spread it back out. The building was empty last week, and as of this afternoon I was up to the side door with timothy, and more to go, not sure where I'll put it all.
I have to get another one with it nearly full, but this is all I have now.










Rodney


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Rodney, Looks great. Let us know how it turns out as far as the bottom bales go. Best of luck. Mike


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

Anyone able to tell me the approximate cost per square foot? I know there a lot of variables, just curious about a ballpark number.


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## hayfarmer (Nov 9, 2008)

Rodney R said:


> I think they might pave it tomorrow - they had a few jobs elsewhere, and we had a few rainy days inbetween, that might hold them up. We talked with them on monday, and they thought thursday they would be here. I think that we've prepared for about 4 inches of asphalt, but they're thinking af about 2-3 inches, made from 3/4" stone, so it's not going to be fine, like on roads, but it should hold up to weight better.
> 
> Rodney


How is the asphalt floor working. I have a wooden flloor with visqueen underneath. I put chlorax on the floor just before stacking hay and use hay preserative and still get mold after being on the floor for 3-4 months. I have a stackliner so pallets are not a option. Wondering if asphalt may be my solution


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

So far it looks like the asphalt is working better than the concrete. We've been using a fine sawdust on the floor and had used the pallets up until this year. We also have one shed with concrete.

This year, on both the concrete and the asphalt I would back in, spray proprionic acid where the stack would set, set the hay down and drive away. We haven't had a bad bale on the asphalt, but on the concrete floor...... a few have been close, and the sawdust has gotten real hard, almost like concrete, and it has pasted fast to the bottom of the bales. At this point the asphalt looks like the way to go. Most of the hay is still in the sheds yet, and some won't be sold until right before we make new crop.

The asphalt has timothyhay that was baled right around July 4th, so we're at the 4 month mark now. The concrete floor has orchardgrass on it, so I would say that's been in an extra month.

Rodney


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## jpritchett (Sep 22, 2009)

I have seen a few guys lay asphalt down in there sheds to store hay on. It is pricey also but not as expensive as cement.


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