barn floor: dirt, clay, concrete
Jonathan
17 years ago
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17 years agolast modified: 9 years agoPipersville_Carol
17 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Where can I find 'free fill' or free dirt?
Comments (56)I wonder if anyone has noticed that not a single match has been made on this thread between a person with extra dirt and a person who needs it who are both close to each other. Not surprising. I suggest using your local Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc. or the matching sites linked in this thread....See Moredriveway in and lights installed....now just the pile of dirt!
Comments (13)Thanks everyone! CMK, yes that is our thoughts. Just not enough time to get much done, so why rush it. So many other things...As far as design? No not really, not yet. Am thinking of lining the driveway with peonies. As the garden we removed had 4 very large old peonies that I dug and divided this fall. Ended up with 14 peonies. Not sure where else I would go with them. DH's wheels were turning today though, he mentioned several different ideas. holleygarden, we had thought originally of floating bricks randomly in the concrete. But with our winters were afraid they might "pop" out due to freeze/thaw cycles. Pat, if that's what you think, then we achieved our goal! :-) Many hours were spent planning the look of the garage and especially picking the paint colors. We started painting the house this fall as well, but that won't get done until next year either. Just ran out of time and energy!! thymetodig, good to hear that you don't think the big area of gray concrete doesn't look too much? That was my fear. If we could have afforded to stamp the concrete that would have been another story, but just could not see spending the extra $$$ to do that. Thinman, finding 2 over 2 wooden windows with actual muttins was a real challenge. Not many have the muttin on the outside/inside of the glass so that it can be painted or they are just snap in plastic grills. Didn't want that. Not sure about that small area yet. Guy that poured the concrete suggested it as he didn't think we would want the sidewalk right up against the building. I had thought perhaps window boxes under the windows? And yes, we are hoping to be able to build the balcony next summer. We have decided to make it a 2 level porch with floors on both levels. Don't have the plans fully developed yet, but working on it. :-) Keesha, quaint/old is just what we were aiming for. Our home is 141 years old and we wanted something to tie in with it. Memo, if you only knew how I struggled over the paint colors! Went with a historic color pallet and then customized each color. You know, a little tweak here and there. Part of the problem was picking a color that would work well with the roof (we put a new roof on the house last year)and also work well with the brick that the majority of the house is built from. We also have a fair amount of detail on the house to paint out, so wanted at least 3 colors to work with. This is the bay window that we also had rebuilt due to major rot issues. We at least got that painted this year....The picture below was taken while the painting was in progress. One of the actual windows is removed as we are having them reglazed. What you see is the inside storm. The windows, when done, will be the rust color like on the garage. Again, thanks everyone for your kind words. It really makes me feel that maybe we are achieving what we set out to do - build a new garage that, after landscaping is complete, will look like it has been there a long time. Marylu...See MoreDirt Basement Stabilization
Comments (10)You need a professional engineer who knows (and appreciates) old houses to advise you about digging in partial basements - especially basments with recently unsually wet soil. Call you local historical society or your State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO - every state has one, I believe, and they can start you in the right direction) to get names of people who fit my description. It's quite important to get someone with old house experience and affection. Houses without full foundations (i.e.with footings) are completely dependant on undisturbed soil for stability. Even a ground hog burrow can create problems. Bad things can happen under those circumstances, so get someone with an engineering license in there to help you decide what to do. I would think this is particularly important in brick houses (vs interconnected wooden hulks like my timber-frame structure.) And, yes, you should put down some vapor barrier while you're at it. It is easier to do with the floor open, but it can be done later, even if you have to practically push the material forward with your nose as you slither along in the crawl space. BTW, there are materials that are better for vapor blocking than contractor's poly. I can make some suggestions if you need them. HTH, Molly...See MoreConcrete Floors vs Porcelain Tile
Comments (6)And there you have the two sides of this "love-hate" relationship with concrete floors. A beautifully done (ahem...read: expensive) polished+stained+clear epoxy finished concrete floor is MAGNIFICENT. And darn near bullet proof. It is also as much as $25/sf (again....this is the best of the best of the best). If you drop to "mid-range" pricing you come in at $10 - $15/sf which is probably where Joseph's floor sits (I can't imagine Joseph would own a lower grade concrete floor than that). These are very nice floors with great presentation - often with 1 to 3 colours - and very low maintenance costs. This is in line with porcelain tiles (both in cost and in cleaning/maintenance needs. Anything less than the $10/sf range is going to have negative connotations for the home owners. It will stain, dull, etch and require additional maintenance throughout its life. These floors are more work (and often more disappointing) than porcelain tiles. These are the type of floors that get covered up after 7 years. As for cold and hard....there is no difference. Both are "earth" based products (porcelain is mixed dirt/clay whereas concrete is cement + sand/stone/pebbles). If you are worried about hard then you will need area rugs for either floor type. If you are worried about cold, then you will need hydronic in floor radiant heat for either floor. This is an expensive install. And it needs to be planned for WELL before they pour the slab....See Moredogridge
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