Limestone is probably best. They use that for handicap paths because it packs so well. Crushed concrete isn’t bad but not quite as nice, but the price is a little more friendly. Pea gravel will never pack down so I wouldn’t go with that.

 

crushed limestone with dust. They don't give that stuff away by you.
About half that price around here.

 

Pea pebble, drain stone, river rock are to be avoided. Sucks to walk on. Sucks to drive equipment on. Will never compact or lock together. Dolomite or limestone are best. Start with a base layer of 1-3" stone. Roll or compact it. then go over that with a 21AA limestone. compact it, wet it, compact again. Go back in 90 days, compact it again, wet it . Add material to high traffic areas as needed, compact it again rewet it. You will have a virtually maintenance free floor from that point unless you are turning tandem axles on it..

 

This is the way to go, I have a 40x60 barn and I did everything like this except wet it. It is solid. I also put road grade fabric under my large stone, no plastic in my barn with zero issues.

 

I like ground black top for the floor and the driveway. It packs good and isn't dusty.

 

Go with crushed concrete base and compacted damp. Top dress with The 6aa and compact. Also place the 6aa where you want to remove at door . much easier than the compacted crushed concrete. The 6aa is washed and will eliminate dust.

 

It might be more expensive, but it could be a permanent fix. Put in two doors. Assuming the doors would be on the 32' side, put in a standard overhead door for normal use and a slider on the other side for your trailer. Lower the floor on the slider side, and extend the bottom of the slider to close it to the outside. Now you can put in a solid concrete floor across the whole barn with just one portion lowered for the trailer. Put in a good drain in the lower side and step(s) up to the main floor.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm going to go with KisherFisher's idea of layering the crushed concrete on the base minus the apron area. That'll save a couple hundred bucks as well.

 

I put 4 inches of Ag lime and compacted it. It is now like concrete.

 

I am just about within a week putting the pad in for my new barn. Has anybody put plastic down before the pad? I will be using 21AA cracked stone, no way Limestone as stated even though it is cheaper around here. To the original poster, do you not have any gravel pits around you, you are paying pretty heavy price.

 

I wondered about that too. The concrete yard is only a few miles from our property, so the delivery is cheaper. Some places that I called before were 30 min away and delivery was a lot more. I'll call around a bit more.

im curious how much are you guys saving vs a poured floor?

In my case the total cost of the gravel and delivery for the barn is $1000. For us to have concrete put in was minimum of $4000, most likely closer to $4500-5000. And for us trying to match the height of the platforms and account for the door height issues causes a lot of headaches.

Current platforms:

 

plastic would be a good idea under your gravel base if that is the finished product.

 

I built a smaller pole barn this year on a gravel pad. I did not take into account the amount of moisture it holds without a moisture barrier under the limestone.

I will be placing a barrier on my current base and then placing another few inches of gravel in the spring.

 

I wonder what is the recommended plastic.

 

im curious how much are you guys saving vs a poured floor?

 

Stone cost was around 3600$, concrete was going to be 8-10,000$. The fabric under my stone was left over from a project at work so it was free. I used the asphalt from my driveway as a base.

I also left the grade low so that I only had to remove about 2 inches of stone if i ever wanted to pour concrete, I doubt i ever will because it's only a storage barn.

BTW I'd strongly suggest not using asphalt millings inside the barn. Asphalt has a lot of chemicals in it that will stink when it gets hot in the summer.

 

Maybe 2” is too much to overcome but can you let enough air out of the tires to squeeze it in?

 

Just remember crushes concrete can have metal in it , so it is not recommended if you are walking or driving on the final surface . Do the top two inches with limestone to avoid puncturing a tire .

 

I see you used fabric rather than plastic for moisture. I am still trying to find out what plastic the commercial guys would recommend.

 

Just wondering did the pole barn come with your property or did you build it. If you did build it your a good example for people planning builds in the future. Bigger. Wider, higher is always better. Please don't take this as criticism just a great example for the future.

 

If it was me I sure would not dig that floor out everytime I wanted my trailer out. I would raise the door opening

 

We went upto the property this past weekend to do the prep work for the upcoming stone and after we moved the remaining items off the dirt area we decided to actually measure the camper instead of using the manual with it's stated height of 112". The manual doesn't count the air conditioner since it's an option. That added another 8"! I excavated down about 15" below the edge of the door, and made a ramp down to that depth on the exterior of the barn. It looks ridiculous at this point. So we've adjusted our plan a little. For this year we will still get camper in the barn and re-excavate next year to get it out. Then we're going to build or buy a carport that the camper will stay under year round. It's a little too late in the year to try and get one in place this year.



I looked at that as well. When it was only a couple of inches I thought about it. Now that it's a lot more, that plan is out the window.

 

Thought I would post the results. Took Thursday and Friday off and arrived Wednesday night during a snowstorm, 3-4 inches. Crappy to drive in, but beautiful in the daylight. Went to the gravel yard in the AM and had 20 yds of washed crushed limestone delivered in the afternoon. Before the stone arrived we moved the trailer into the barn off to one side, so the stone drop would be at the mouth of the barn to allow easy access and ease to fill the chasm under the door. We put an inch or so down of stone where the trailer would sit (closer the wall) and moved the trailer over to its resting spot. Then I tractored in about a 1/2yd per scoop next to the platforms to meet the platform height. Hand raked and floated the tractor bucket over the stone to smooth and ramp down the camper edge. Came out pretty well! We moved the pop up back in the barn and surprisingly can still pop it up of if needed. Space for guests! Still have 5 yards or so of stone left for the spring, once we get the camper out we'll put the remaining stone back in (as needed) and then tamp down with a plate compactor. Everything went so well that we decided to cut our weekend short and came home Saturday night. We've been sick with what seemed like a mild flu since Tuesday, so being able to persevere and get this done was very satisfying. The photos I have were after we got the pup camper before I cleaned up and "moved" back in. Wish I took more / better pictures.

This project wrapped up our first year of property ownership. It's been great to take over this abandoned property and be able to accomplish so many of our goals in the first year; new electric service, new wellhouse / pressure tank, septic hook-up, built 3 picnic tables, barn platforms, property gate, start on dead tree / timber work etc. The barn has been a catch all from the beginning, so to able to finally start implementing our vision and set it up for our needs has been great. Next year and future projects include a carport / "camper lounge" of about 18'x30', new roof on the barn, and gravel path to the riverfront and finishing our perimeter trails.

Thanks to all for your input! Although I may not have followed it, I appreciate taking the time to provide it! Cheers.

 

What about chickens? Will they rough it up? Ty!

 

You're welcome...?