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

[candymancan]

I habe a 100x50 foot barn. Built in the 40s on our 14 acres. Im lucky the first 1.4 section of the barn has a workshop with 4 inch slab and 220/120v 55 and 25amps. Like 8 outlets.. water/sink filtered from the house. And a chimney for a wood stove lol.

But the 1.2 section of the barn is dirt like yours.. dusty as hell.. the other 1.4 is 6 horse stalls. For the middle of the barn i actually used horse rubber mats. Theyre heavy as hell.. like 1 inch thick.. and about 6 of them fills up a space for my other Jeep so i csn work under it without the dirt.

Id like concrere in there.. but pavement is probably cheaper. Although if you do the concrete yourself and just have a truck dump it. It might be cheaper to do actually. All youd need for that entire section is a yard maybe two. And gravel for the base

[Jae70]

I moved to Colorado and have dirt floors in my garage stalls. I have cardboard layed everywhere. It only helps a little but better than the dust.

[daryl2cb]

One one solution would be liner material. I see your in colorado, typically these systems are used for oil and gas production sites, drilling, completions, and even on landfills for caps. You can buy this in 30 mil- 70 mil typically and it comes on long rolls, from 40 feet wide to 5000 feet long. These can be seemed as well using welding (actually melting) using a demtek tool. My suggestion would be to call around to some operators (oil and gas production companies) and see if you can grab a section. They typically toss this stuff after the well is drilled, so they give it away alot of the times. It is heavy so you need a trailer to haul it and a loader of some kind unless you cut it and weld it. It is extremely durable as trucks and equipment drive on it constantly. here is a general link to what I am talking about. If you tell me the city your in, I might be able to direct you to some local operators which might have this stuff. Also pipeline companies use this as well, but not as much.
https://westernliner.com/liner-applicat ... 63EALw_wcB

[devildog80]

Those could easily work over a dirt floor, but wonder how well an engine stand or cherry picker with an engine hanging off of it would roll, as they have small metal wheels?

[daryl2cb]

Depends on the soil compaction. If it’s packed should be reasonable nothing else lay some ply when needed. Or add modified or dust to the whole thing tamp and mist with a hose, tamp again and you got a hard surface to cover.. me personally I would concrete it. If you haven’t got the funds pour small sections. Hard to beat and would add value in the long run.

[devildog80]

But if needing coverage over dirt, looks like it would sure be nice for storage or garage.