Re: steel building site

123go wrote:

"john jacob" <j.jacob-bikehead@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:mPqjg.176515$Fs1.108228@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

123go wrote:

"john jacob" <j.jacob-bikehead@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4nqjg.20654$mF2.12811@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


I recently purchased a steel building. 30x36 3 bay garage. It is a truss
type building. 4 total trusses.
The site I have is hilly. There is a 4 foot change in grade within the
36 feet of the building site.
I had planned on having a concrete guy dig footers, and block foundation
to bring up the sides to level, then fill and compact the inside of the
block foundation, pouring a wire, and bar filled slab on top. The
trusses would sit on concrete footers dug down below the frost line.
I got several estimates for the foundation, footers, slab. They are all
around 22 thousand dollars. Way too much for me to afford.

Here is my question.
I have plenty of dirt on hand. Would it be possible to build a retaining
wall, (much like the ones you see along the roadways holding back hill
sides) Using steel I beams, set vertical, in concrete footers, 8 feet on
center. Set 2x8 pt lumber in between the I beams, stacking them up, to
create a wall. Then fill behind the wall, compacting the soil,
alternating soil, stone, recycled concrete. Until the site is level.
Then either pour a slab on top, or use black top as the slab. Along the
2 long sides of the garage, I would ramp dirt, covered with cr stone as
a driveway. This ramp would also serve to "hold back" the retaining

wall.

Does this seem possible, and practical? What problems could I run into?
I live near a quarry, and stone is easy to get. Also, dirt is easy to

get.

John Jacob



you are attempting to build up the low side to create a level spot. Can

you

not cut down the high side to make a level spot? That is what we are

doing

here, starting tomorrow. A 9' drop in elevation between the two worst
corners. We will also grade out an area around the building site, and

slope

decently beyond that.



I can cut down some, the high side, however, I cant go too low, because
it will be blow the grade around it, and water will be able to flow
across the slab, into the building.
However, I maybe can cut a swale around the high side, to devert the

water.

John


actually, what we are about to start in an hour or so is to cut the high
side down by about half, push the cut dirt in front of the pad's low spot,
and use it as a wall to backfill the low spot with rock. the cut high side
will have 6" of rock (I think); the filled low side will have several feet
of rock. The point is that we will be using fill dirt as the retaining
wall, and then keeping it in place to raise the outside of the barn, on the
low side. This sounds like what you are asking, but we are only using dirt
as the retaining wall, no I beams and timbers.


Are you pouring a slab under the barn? Or is it a pole barn with a dirt floor?
JJ
.

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