I get the corrugated metal look but the problem is your cabinets work, bench and anything else won't fit tight up against the wall. Crap will be falling down between the corrugations. Also if the lower wall portion of the wall sticks out further than the top of the walls you'll have more of an issue mounting to the wall. You may not think its a big deal but just wait.

Hey Paul Happy Thanksgiving........ I didn't mention but the corrugated metal panels will be capped with wood molding so no chance of anything falling between/behind . And all of my Gladiator cabinets are wall cabinets so no issue there . I do have two large tall cabinets but they are on wood bases with casters so again no issue there . Even if I have to space out the work bench a little I can put a 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 " backsplash " to cover the slight gap . But I appreciate the heads up .

Another small piece of the puzzle purchased . Found a guy on CL selling corrugated galvanized metal panels cut to 43 " length . He had 40 pieces which is almost exactly what I need so it was meant to be :D . So I can check off the metal wainscote from the list . Still haven't heard from the concrete guy :eek:

OK we finally heard from the concrete guy , planning on the pour for Wednesday ! Hope all goes as planned as I can really get some work done once the floor is poured . What is the general rule on how long it has to cure before foot traffic and construction type work can begin ?

Right now the heaviest items on the concrete would be piles of 2 x 6's , a table saw and a mitre box , a compressor and a generator . All of them are on wheels . I will ask the concrete guy but there are a lot of smart folks here .

How thick, 4"?

Couple of days.

Hey Paul was hoping you'd chime in . The floor is 5.5 " thick overall with two pads aprox. 36 " x 36 " that are 9 " thick that is where the posts for the two post lift will reside . We have been getting a frost here at night I know he stated some calcium may be needed to be added .

After about six hrs you can walk on it, depending on temp. There will be lots of moisture trying to get out so avoid covering it with material for a couple of weeks, or keep moving the material around, close to full hardness in about 30 days, wait to drill for your lift.

Are you going to seal the floor? Easy to do before you have too much stored in there. Some sealers can be done soon after.

Did they add rebar at the thickened areas?

take a look at I think it is the T5 HO bulbs. I put them in my garage, about $40 each.
its a real skinny bulb. compare the output to the LED

Yeah the internet search made it sound like 6 - 8 hours after being finished you should be able to walk on it . I will leave it for at least two days before walking on it to be safe . Paul there is no " they " . I did all the prep , digging , leveling , spreading the gravel and putting down the vapor barrier . I did not put rebar in any of this . For the thicker areas I don't have good enough measurements on the width of the lift so was afraid of hitting the rebar when I go to drill for the lift mounting . That would be a real pain in the neck . Do you really think it is needed ?

Can those bulbs be used in conventional fixtures ?

You should've put rebar in the slab. If you didn't, I'm hoping you ordered the mix with fiber mesh in it. You need to try to keep the moisture in the concrete while it cures. Either keep it wet, or seal it with a product designed to help it cure. If there's any chance of it freezing in the next few days, you should put blankets on it to keep it from freezing.

The rebar would have helped prevent cracking between the thin and thick areas of the slab. Did you slope the transition in the dirt between thick/thin?

If you want it to cure properly, you need to cover it with plastic and let it stay wet for a week. At least three days. Make sure there is a vapor barrier under the slab. If there isn't moisture from the ground will wick right through.

I don't think there will be a problem with it drying too quick, freezing the surface sounds like the bigger problem, blankets would be a good idea, I have heard covering it with straw works, anything to insulate it, Daniel is quite right with keeping it under water is good for it especially if it was hot out, but it should stay soaked not dry then wet. I did mine that way, but it was much warmer out.

If you still have time some rebar placed near centre of the thickness of the slab where your lift will sit is a good idea, you can mark lines on the walls where they sit so you have some idea or rent a scan tool to find the rebar later, Bosch makes a inexpensive one that I have used that will detect metal about 4" deep.

I did my best to taper the transition from 5.5 to 9 " it is NOT a squared off transition . And yes I ordered fiberglass reinforced concrete . When the concrete guy came out and looked everything over I asked about rebar and in his opinion it was not needed . Said he did his pole barn almost exactly the same way 10 years ago and no issues . He will be making stress relief cuts in the concrete . At this point I will move forward as is .

Assuming we pour tomorrow I'm more concerned with night time temp's . We have been hitting day time temp's of 60 - 65 but getting down to light frost temp's at night . If they get it poured in the morning and finish it off by afternoon it can start drying in the 60 degree temps . I will ask if covering it to protect from cold is needed .

Just had a text conversation with concrete dude we are on for tomorrow and he has no concerns over current temp's or the extended forecast for the next few days . His family has been pouring concrete in this area for forty years and are very highly regarded by everyone I spoke to so I am confident of good results . I will try to post some pics tomorrow .

There are a zillion resources on the Internet that discuss all the ins and outs of proper concrete construction. It's pretty easy to learn what you need to know, and what questions you need to ask, by spending a few minutes reading through one of the sites. Here's a typical one:

https://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/slabs/

You should be fine with fibermesh and tapered the transitions. It's only a 3.5" difference and over a 3' x 3' area.

Good luck- post pictures. SmileWavy

Concrete truck scheduled to arrive @ 9:00 AM can't wait to get this party started !

9:00 am? Slackers

Real pours start at 5:00 am. ;)

Gives you lots of time to get a couple 10 ft lengths of 5/8 rebar and set them near where your lift pads will be, stretching from front to back.

Hey Paul it's 6:45 as I'm typing this and it's still pitch black out ! But I did get a text last night stating the truck will be coming at 8:00 vs. 9:00 so that's good . Weather forecast for today/tonight is good and warmer than it has been so much less of a chance for frost . Might get a light rain tomorrow but it's under roof other than the front entry apron . Really looking forward to getting this portion of the build done !

A little over 16 yards of concrete is sitting there slowly drying waiting to be finished . So far no surprises and my DIY concrete forms are holding ! I have taken some pics will try to post tonight or tomorrow .

You're probably poured out by now.
Hope it went will.

Pictures damnit! ;)

OK OK :D Here are two pics I just downloaded . Power trowel put down a nice smooth finish I will probably seal the floor this weekend before I get it dirty :rolleyes: Relief cuts are done I think it came out great . Nice group of guys they were fun to hang out with .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511992137.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511992137.jpg

A few more .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511992898.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511992898.jpg

You want to keep the moisture in the concrete, not "push it out." There are curing products that are applied like a sealer that would be a good idea at this stage. Otherwise, keep it soaking wet and keep it covered. Keep the forms in place, too.

You can seal it right away if you use the correct sealer . Per the concrete dude if you use a " curing " sealer you are good to go the next day if you want to . If you use something like Thompson's water seal he said wait 30 - 45 days . Tomorrow I will breakdown the forms and go purchase the sealer and some 2 x 6's . Depending on the weather will seal on Friday and start studding walls on Saturday .

Do yourself a favor and get some water on the concrete. Concreted cured while remaining wet can have around a 50% increase in ultimate strength over concrete that is not cured that way. I wouldn't be in a hurry to remove the forms, they are beneficial to the curing process.

Leaving the forms on for a few days does make sense , I'm guessing it slows down the evaporation of the water allowing a harder setup . Tomorrow I am going to give it a bath with a garden hose to clean up the saw cut dust and to keep it moist .

Here's a little basic info on concrete curing that you might find helpful:

Role of Concrete Curing

Are your poles directly set in the concrete?

I ran a sprinkler over my shop pad daily for the first week - even though the pour was in early September and temperatures were moderate. Never had the first crack show up.

Paul when the pole barn was originally installed one bag of concrete went into each hole after the pole was put in . I nailed my 2x6 form boards directly to the outside of the poles . So the floor pour concrete encapsulates three sides of each pole .

Because I'm now retired ( it was official this morning ) I am dousing with garden hose every few hours . It has been raining here in Dahlonega for the past hour so that is helping also . This morning I picked up some curing sealer I think I'll water for a few more days then get the sealer down . I'm straining at the leash to get framing :D

There's pros and cons about posts in concrete. Let Google be your friend and look it up.
But it's too late now.

Yep I'm over the falls so really not an issue . Hey if I get 30 years out of it that will probably outlive me !

Another step forward today I applied the " curing sealer " . Used a garden sprayer and followed the manufacturers instructions no big deal . Tomorrow I break down the forms and start the real work :D

I'm still here guys but haven't done anything picture worthy yet :D I have enclosed the bottom of the laminated beams with 2x10's so I have something to nail to when I install the walls . And the end rafters at the bottom I have added two layers of 2x4's making them 4 1/2 inches thick so my wall top plates have some meat to nail to . In a few minutes I'm off to purchase the majority of 2x6's for the walls . Today is the last warm day here for a couple of days so we'll see how far I can get . I hate working outside when it's cold , yep I'm a cold wimp :rolleyes: