Gravel floor storage area?

Blaze

Blaze

The Jeeper Reaper
Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Location
Wake Forest, NC
So debating enclosing my lean-to off the back of my shop. It is a 15x40 area right on the back of my shop. I have a lot of fairly heavy stuff I'd like to get out of floor area of my shop and I am afraid to put a bunch of stuff in the attic and have it too heavy up there.

I'd like to store on shelves back there things like crankshafts, heads, some manual transmissions and heavy stuff like that. Maybe my extra engine blocks.

Is this a bad idea to do with a gravel floor? I think if I soak all my stuff in a heavy rust preventative and wrap it it'll be fine but not sure. I am looking into laying concrete but I'm thinking it might be cost prohibitive. I plan on installing a drain system on the high side, the rest of the floor stays very dry.
 
Blaze said:
So debating enclosing my lean-to off the back of my shop. It is a 15x40 area right on the back of my shop. I have a lot of fairly heavy stuff I'd like to get out of floor area of my shop and I am afraid to put a bunch of stuff in the attic and have it too heavy up there.

I'd like to store on shelves back there things like crankshafts, heads, some manual transmissions and heavy stuff like that. Maybe my extra engine blocks.

Is this a bad idea to do with a gravel floor? I think if I soak all my stuff in a heavy rust preventative and wrap it it'll be fine but not sure. I am looking into laying concrete but I'm thinking it might be cost prohibitive. I plan on installing a drain system on the high side, the rest of the floor stays very dry.
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I'd put down ABC and rent a plate compactor when you put it down. It will be darn near like concrete.
 
I did a similar thing. I have a lean to on the back of my garage, its about 26x10. I got a quote to concrete it, it was going to be 3k to concrete it (them doing all of the prep work and all).

I enclosed it myself for about 1200 in material to keep it dry, it didn't have to be perfect. The concrete cost was just too much for me. Right now I just have a dirt base, but I may do rock eventually.
 
How are you transporting the heavy stuff in and out? Would it make your life easier to have a smooth floor you could roll a hoist?
 
LBarr2002 said:
How are you transporting the heavy stuff in and out? Would it make your life easier to have a smooth floor you could roll a hoist?
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Well, the main heavy things would be engine blocks and a friend and I can move those. I don't normally keep any complete engines, I normally tear them down to see what is trash before I keep it. And transmissions are easy and I can move them myself.
 
Put a vapor barrier down first, then some 6oz non woven, then stone, consolidated with a plate tamp. You should be good assuming the walls and roof are reasonably sealed.
 
rockcity said:
Put a vapor barrier down first, then some 6oz non woven, then stone, consolidated with a plate tamp. You should be good assuming the walls and roof are reasonably sealed.
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That wouldn't work that well with having stone there already though, would it? It is a lot of rock that I have driven over/parked trailer on/parted out Jeeps on for many years.
 
Blaze said:
That wouldn't work that well with having stone there already though, would it? It is a lot of rock that I have driven over/parked trailer on/parted out Jeeps on for many years.
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Would work just fine unless your current grade elevation is where you want your finished grade. If so, then pull a few inches of stone out, put vapor barrier down and then fabric and some stone.
 
How much value does the stuff have? How much would the area benefit you more by being once and done concrete?
Form that up with some cheap lumber, lay down a vapor barrier and call the truck.
Level with a good ol 2 by four and broom finish it. Cut three joints in it with a masons trowel and drink a beer.

4 inches would be about 7.5 yards I think.
150 yard delivered ......wild guess on amount!
1125 plus some lumber and plastic sound like cheap piece of mind and better service in my book.
 
Gravel is about $32/YD delivered when you buy a 20ton truck load at a time. The most expensive part is the trucking, so even if you only need 10 yards, the trucking cost is the same, so your per yard price will be higher
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
How much value does the stuff have? How much would the area benefit you more by being once and done concrete?
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It is all vintage Pontiac stuff. Crankshafts, heads, blocks, speed parts, etc. Stuff that is kind of hard to come by.

So a good friend of mine is in the concrete business (commercial, he's on the engineering/strength side) and can get me a deal on some concrete. He looked at what I need and can get me all the concrete for $900.

I need to pour a 3x4 pad for my compressor anyway, so considering I'll have $75 in bags of concrete for that anyway, it doesn't seem like a bad deal.
 
For what you'd end up with in the long run, it seems to be concrete pad is the way to go here.
Plus then it would be easier to box in later or something if you wanted.
 
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