Garage/Shop dirt floor? what is better than dirt but not concrete?

[Blake]

I recently bought an offgrid property in the Colorado mountains that has a 34'x45' dirt floor metal shop. It has three garage door bays and a regular access door.

The only problem: its a dirt floor and is really dusty.

I can't afford concrete right now.

What are my flooring options?

[Tatsadasayago]

I have a large (40x60) barn in Montana that had the same issue. I bought 25 bags of mortar and mixed it with water (Mixed in place) with the dirt floor then troweled it to a fairly smooth surface. It won't hold up to any real weight, but it isn't dusty.

[rocklaurence]

You could go with 4x8x3/4 composite sheets of fiber bourd [looks like brown fiber glass sheets]. Durable but expensive

[REDONE]

How about a bunch of rugs from Goodwill?

[Stuka]

Lay down heavy duty tarp, follow by interlocking rubber mats (thing the one you see at gyms in the weights area). Tarp is important or mud may squeeze through. And best to get it as flat as you can.

Concrete may actually not be that much more though :/ But, no permit for mats

[Tatsadasayago]

How about a bunch of rugs from Goodwill?

We did that in a barn/garage when I was a kid. Worked pretty good for quite some time.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

I'd suggest looking into either asphalt or hard packed road base. The road base won't fix your dust issue but could give you a platform to start from? Maybe buy some concrete pavers as you can afford them. Lay them in the base and tamp em down.
Asphalt may be cheaper, I can't say. As it's 100% recyclable, maybe it isn't too expensive? Down side is it stays soft so rolling stuff like an engine hoist or tool cart would only be slightly better than in the dirt.


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[rocklaurence]

Not sure where to find them--Temperary run-way repair panels. They're a 12x4 half inch thick interlocking piece of aluminum. Saw them in the Air Force and look for them once for a Project for works and they were crazy expensive. Once your done with them, you could recycle and get all your money back

[tedlovesjeeps71]

Not sure where to find them--Temperary run-way repair panels. They're a 12x4 half inch thick interlocking piece of aluminum. Saw them in the Air Force and look for them once for a Project for works and they were crazy expensive. Once your done with them, you could recycle and get all your money back

They used to be called PSP panels and date back to around Vietnam? Perforated Steel Panels.


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[CherokeeOwner]

A cheap fix is Calcium Chloride. In liquid form, it will remind you of open cuts you have. They use it on dirt roads in Michigan.
"Calcium chloride attracts moisture from the air, keeping the road damp even under hot, dry conditions. The moisture film provides a cohesive force that binds aggregate particles together, resulting in a hard and compact surface. A beneficial residual effect accumulates with consistent application year after year."

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... wAodd3UGyA

[CherokeeOwner]

Application tables.
http://www.daleedustcontrol.com/downloa ... ations.pdf