Anyone know of "Cheap" way to do a hanger floor -about 40'x 50 ' ---??? I've looked into Cement -Delivered as $100.00 bucks a yard -with 3 inch slab that's $$$$$ .I'm looking at asphalt maybe less ?Or just a 20' x 20' slab in middle ???? For now I'm just renting the hanger (Private strip near where we live)-may buy it down the road . Any ideas ? Right now floor is dirt with carpet __ Thanks Bill Reid

Fine crushed rock chips is almost as nice as asphalt. You roll it with a roller, repeat as necessary in the future, and it really makes a nice surface. I think he may have added some hardener to it. It is as solid as a clay tennis court- sweepable too. My neighbor has it in his garage, and I can use the roller creeper and tool boxes like it was concrete, basically. I am doing it in lieu of paving my driveway this spring.

I used a hardening dust control product for the dirt floor of a steel quonset building. I stored soybeans on that over winter. It worked great until I went in to clean the floor with a skid loader and tore it up by turning and scooping. I had to split one side of a schedule 80 plastic pipe and wedge it over the cutting edge of the bucket to keep from scooping dirt at clean up. For a hangar it might be the just the thing though. There are other brands but here it is.

http://bwt.jeffotto.com/avail_now/dirtcrete.htm

I looked at doing asphalt. Gotta have the ability to haul it and spread it while its hot. Basically gotta hire it done. Concrete was cheaper cause I could spread it myself.

I do a lot of building. Concrete is the way to go. I know it is a big expense but do it right the first time. Remembered cheep Charlie pays twice.

182 - I always thought my next hangar would be a wooden barn type floor, made out of rough sawed lumber. Ideally it would be easiest on a slope, so that you roll the plane in level and the backside drops down. As long as airplanes are all you put in it (no weight). Big tractors and trucks would not work.

That way air moves through the cracks and most likely less moisture then concrete. Stuff stored upstairs in bank barns, never seems to rust around here.

Eeeek! I vote NO on the asphalt idea!

My hangar has an asphalt floor, and it's so incredibly bumpy that I had to lay boards on top so that I could get my airplane to roll in and out. I'm guessing that it was installed flat and that moisture and the freeze/thaw cycle (unheated hangar) over the years has brought it to its present condition. The unheated hangars around mine with concrete floors are in great shape. I plan on replacing the floor with concrete when there's enough pennies in the petty cash sock under my bed.

Prior to placing the concrete, place a sheet of 6mil poly. This will provide a vapor barrier.

Concrete, especially if you are doing maintenance in there. I don't think I'd foot the bill for a slab in a rental though, without serious consideration from the landlord.

Asphalt will degrade much faster, also it is real nasty to work on when oil and fuel get spilled.

patrol guy wrote:182 - I always thought my next hangar would be a wooden barn type floor, made out of rough sawed lumber. Ideally it would be easiest on a slope, so that you roll the plane in level and the backside drops down. As long as airplanes are all you put in it (no weight). Big tractors and trucks would not work.

That way air moves through the cracks and most likely less moisture then concrete. Stuff stored upstairs in bank barns, never seems to rust around here.

I was thinking the same idea as John. I'm not sure how much wood is going for these days. But thought maybe a deck like floor would be cheap and easy. Maybe use 2x8's?? Just would be a big pain if you were working on the plane and drop a nut, screw, bolt or other small parts and they fell through the cracks

But, I would go for the concrete for the reason some others already mentioned. I would even contact the owner of the hangar to help with the cost. One possible draw back to that would be possible higher rent?

My wife spends the hard earned cash in the spring at a local greenhouse. We gotta have all those flowers you know. These greenhouses fine grade a smooth level small crushed stone, then put a layer of geotextile on that, then build the hoop house on the geotextile. Looks pretty good, you can even sweep up stuff on it. All I have ever seen is black. You would want to use woven fabric, not the spun fabric. Its not too expensive by the roll, comes 12 ft wide. I am going to try it on my small hangar this summer.

Jim

182 STOL driver wrote:Anyone know of "Cheap" way to do a hanger floor -about 40'x 50 ' ---??? I've looked into Cement -Delivered as $100.00 bucks a yard -with 3 inch slab that's $$$$$ .I'm looking at asphalt maybe less ?Or just a 20' x 20' slab in middle ???? For now I'm just renting the hanger (Private strip near where we live)-may buy it down the road . Any ideas ? Right now floor is dirt with carpet __ Thanks Bill Reid

Wish I could have got concrete for $100/yd. Out here it would have cost $500/yd if it could even be delivered (it is $375/yd in McCarthy). Consequently, I built a plywood floor laid on 2' -- 4"x4" treated stringers with 4" of blueboard insulation in between the ground stringers to prevent frost heave. It was a lot of work, but the best option I had for building way out in the wilderness. Frankly, if I had access to concrete at even double the price you mentioned, I would take it in a heartbeat. Here is a picture of my Hangar floor and Husky. A lot of work, but my dawg likes it.

Not sure if any of you live near a paper mill, but getting the heavey felt from the papermachine is great stuff. There are several types ( one canvas like, and another one that has a little more plastic feel to it.) If you live near a mill you should be asking the maintance guys if they want to go flying and have them keep an eye out for you. The paper machine rope is another thing to ask for, great rope but remember it stretches.

I know a few guys who have made some decent trades for things with the paper machine felt.

Bill, Is it going to freeze? Lots of water? If you don't have either one of those to deal with you can get by with less. Concrete is the best and 3" isn't thick enough. Go at least 4". If you want something cheap and you have a steel mill close, use slag. 4120 if they have it. Look in the phone book for Heckett, they do a lot of slag recycling. It will pack so hard you need to jackhammer it out after it sits a few years. The ideal way is to put down the slag for a sub grade. Then pour concrete and you'll never have a problem with it.

Do not! use gravel!!! It dosen't compact. In your neck of the woods they have coleche. Could it be ground up and then recompacted? I know it's as hard as a rock and would probably make a good base. Might call a gravel pit nearby and talk to them about it. Just leave it low enough that you could add concrete later because that is the way to go. Call me if you want. I have been doing concrete for 35 years and I would be glad to help.

Nizina - that is a nice looking wood floor.

Do I understand that you put down the blue foam board on level ground, then "laid" the 4x4's across and then the plywood; or did you have posts vertically in the ground (like a deck) and then had the 4x4's attached to them with foam under??

bloomah wrote:heavey felt from the papermachine is great stuff.

What he said. Everyone needs that stuff around.

If you are going to place 2" Styrofoam on the floor, then lay down 6 mil poly and welded wire fabric. Tie your radiant floor tubing to the wire then pour concrete (3 time the thickness of your course aggregate per ACI standards), tie your tubing into the solar panels on the roof then to the expansion tank. Hook up the recirculating pump and you are off to the races. A nice dry heated concrete floor. Be carful not to cut the tubing when you saw cut the control joints. I like to keep the system pressurized while pouring and cutting that way I can see if I caused a leak. If only money didn't matter!

A hundred years or so ago, when I was in college I worked for the Wyoming Highway Department. We were doing a bunch of County Farm to Market roads under some federally funded program, and for the lesser used ones we used "soil cement". It was not much different from plain ol' dirt mixed with dry cement, packed down with a roller, and watered. After just a few days, it was absolutely hard as rock, and pretty smooth (unless some knot head drove over it before it hardened). If it got beat up from too much use, then a grader and a roller and a water truck put it back in shape quickly. I always thought if I ever lived in the country, that's what I'd do my driveway with. I think it would work pretty well in a hangar; not as good as concrete, of course, but better than a plain dirt floor.

Cary

Might be a lot of work. But, what about pavers? I see a lot of home owners using pavers for their driveways.

Jaerl wrote:Bill, Is it going to freeze? Lots of water? If you don't have either one of those to deal with you can get by with less. Concrete is the best and 3" isn't thick enough. Go at least 4". If you want something cheap and you have a steel mill close, use slag. 4120 if they have it. Look in the phone book for Heckett, they do a lot of slag recycling. It will pack so hard you need to jackhammer it out after it sits a few years. The ideal way is to put down the slag for a sub grade. Then pour concrete and you'll never have a problem with it.

Do not! use gravel!!! It dosen't compact. In your neck of the woods they have coleche. Could it be ground up and then recompacted? I know it's as hard as a rock and would probably make a good base. Might call a gravel pit nearby and talk to them about it. Just leave it low enough that you could add concrete later because that is the way to go. Call me if you want. I have been doing concrete for 35 years and I would be glad to help.

Slag is cheap! $1.25 a ton at the plant here, I built my driveway with it. Good stuff, sets up like concrete! But if it's the same as we get here it expands and retracts, I have demoed asphalt driveways and concrete foundations because of it. We didn't know 15yrs ago, but we do now, ask the locals around your plant.