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

AwesomeJ10 · Post by **AwesomeJ10** » Wed May 03, 2017 10:57 pm

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 · Post by **Tatsadasayago** » Thu May 04, 2017 12:09 am

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 · Post by **rocklaurence** » Thu May 04, 2017 4:25 am

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

REDONE · Post by **REDONE** » Thu May 04, 2017 6:15 am

How about a bunch of rugs from Goodwill?

Post by **Stuka** » Thu May 04, 2017 6:30 am

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 · Post by **Tatsadasayago** » Thu May 04, 2017 5:27 pm

REDONE wrote: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 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sat May 06, 2017 5:35 am

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 · Post by **rocklaurence** » Sat May 06, 2017 12:53 pm

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 · Post by **tedlovesjeeps71** » Sat May 06, 2017 12:57 pm

rocklaurence wrote: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 · Post by **CherokeeOwner** » Sun May 21, 2017 10:35 am

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 · Post by **CherokeeOwner** » Sun May 21, 2017 10:38 am

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

threepiece · Post by **threepiece** » Wed Apr 29, 2020 10:31 am

Gosh, I would use crushed stone. Start with larger stone like 3/4” then compact it. After 3/4” place a layer of smaller crushed stone to fill in between the 3/4” and compact again. Adding some water during compacting will help secure the stone so they stay in place.

When it’s time for concrete you will have a start to a good base and you won’t have any foreign materials to remove.

kr8peace · Post by **kr8peace** » Sun May 16, 2021 12:57 pm

Horse stall mats, 1/2" or 3/4" thick will take anything, much more comfortable than concrete for sliding under cars. Instant garage floor or driveway!

iharding · Post by **iharding** » Sun May 16, 2021 3:48 pm

Linseed oil?

tgreese · Post by **tgreese** » Mon May 17, 2021 10:51 am

The horse stall mats are heavy for their size. Very dense. I use them on my basement floor to cushion under my deadlift barbell. Available at Tractor Supply. Not interlocking though.

In the garage I use the foam flooring tiles that are often on sale at Harbor Freight to lay on. If you need a larger mat, glue them together at their interlocking edges. Lightweight, and easy to move around. The stall mats are heavy enough to stay put.

Srdayflyer · Post by **Srdayflyer** » Wed May 26, 2021 9:03 pm

fyi, use what they call 1/4 minus its a crushed gravel with nothing over 1/4 inch in diameter , spread it out level use a plate tamper and water after tamping it sets up almost like concrete and when you are ready to pour vola, in my state they tax concrete footage i used a fine grade asphault considered aggragate

SJTD · Post by **SJTD** » Thu May 27, 2021 9:56 am

I think that's the best idea for a guy trying to get away cheap but doesn't want it to get nasty like old carpet would.

Anvil-3 · Post by **Anvil-3** » Fri Dec 24, 2021 7:26 am

SRdayflyer has the right idea I’d say

Concrete is not that expensive when you order it by the yard delivered. Bagged concrete is the most expensive way to go if personally get annoyed by the looser options like tarps etc and would likely be long term most expensive. a few tons of gravel (I pay $32 per ton in NC) could drop the dust until you can afford the concrete to go over it. Not sure if you’re trying to get your vehicle in there too/weight rating but just a couple inches of concrete plus stone wouldn’t cost all that much and you could progressively do the whole area in different pours depending on area

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backroadin' · Post by **backroadin'** » Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:07 pm

How about old barn boards? Nothing wrong with a wood floor. You could do just one bay that could be your work bay. Otherwise, asphalt, depending on the price to have someone lay it down. I would not try doing that myself, although it you had a dump truck and a tamp, and the asphalt plant wasn't too far away, you could, I guess with some help.

devildog80 · Post by **devildog80** » Sun May 01, 2022 7:03 pm

For a small work area, steel road plates used for construction used to be affordable, and will stay put.

Easy to move with front end loader and chain. Not your little John Deere or Kabota, but a reasonably sized front end loader.

Or look around neighboring properties, to see if some of the old farm trucks retired, might have steel beds in them.
Same concept as the steel plates, and probably buy the whole truck for scrap, then recycle what you do not use.

There is a method to the madness

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