Sugarhouse floor options

[DaveB]

I've been reading some posts about what different people did for floors in their sugarhouses. I'm preping for the fall construction of my sugarhouse and am wondering what to do with the floor. Ideally, I would have a concrete floor with slots and a grate covering for drainage, however, I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that.

The place I have selected for my sugarhouse is in a location where a cement truck cannot get to, so any cement work will be done by hand. At the very least, I'm planning on putting cement sonotubes at the corners of the building and the corners of the evaporator. I'm even putting in extra ones because I have a feeling in a few years I'll be upgrading to a 3x10. That said, I don't know what I am going to do with the rest of the floor. Here are some options I'm considering:

1) Create a wood floor and cover it with 1 or 2" of concrete. By putting the concrete on top of the plywood would create a fireproof/waterproof floor but require less concrete
2) Keep the floor dirt and wait till next year when I might be able to afford/find people to help with mixing and installing a full concrete floor by hand
3) Wait until such a time that I could afford pumping the concrete by pipe to the sugarhouse from a point where a truck could go. The concrete would have to be pumped about 250'. I'm told that this could be expensive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

[forester1]

I mixed the concrete for my floor by hand in a wheelbarrow. The sugarhouse is 16'x24'. I did it in 4'x8' by4" sections formed up. It took me about 3 or 4 hours to do each section, about all I could do in a day. I didn't put a vapor barrier underneath but would if I could do over. Under my evaporator I went down 4' to get below frost line in front and where the legs hit. I put expansion joints between those parts and the floor. I put in one floor drain. I would put in more if I could do over.

[mountainvan]

I have concrete on top of 3/4" plywood. I put down roofing felt, galvanized chicken fencing, and poured the cement on that. Has held up well for 6 years of very heavy use. Fireproof and easy to clean.

[DaveB]

Hey Mountainvan,

How much concrete did you put on top of the plywood? That's one of the solutions that I'm considering. I'm glad that it's held up!

Dave

[Amber Gold]

I'd put a 12" layer of 3/4" crushed stone down this year and put your evaporator up on blocks. Whenever you get the money to construct a concrete slab you'll be all set up for it. Ditto with the moisture barrier. The crushed stone will keep water out from under your slab and keep it from heaving. I have a garage that's ?? years old and the back corner is heaved up pretty bad and I have to knock it out so I can put the sill back where it belongs. I think it's becuase they poured the concrete on bare earth.

Good luck.

Josh

[Justin Turco]

I think amber gold has the right idea with the crushed stone. The drainage is critical to a long lasting floor. If you did put in the crushed stone you could put in landscaping bricks over it instead of cement. I saw where somebody used them in their sugarhouse on this website and it looked good to me. Nothing like concrete though if you want things clean and dry. Sounds like your making sure your evaporator wont move.. that's good. Floor drains! Darn... wish I had some. Good luck with it all.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Putting sonotubes in the corners is a waste of time and money. Putting cassions 36 or 48 in. down below the frost line for a deck is fine. Putting a cassion down to bedrock for a foundation is fine but putting a cassion down to bedrock and then putting a slab over them is a disaster. The ground will settle and the slab will be sitting on 4 cement posts and in time crack and and heave. Putting concrete on a good bed of road base is the best idea. putting concrete over plywood is not a good idea when the plywood rots and it will it will allow the concrete to settle uneven and lead to cracking.
Justin has the right idea with the landscape pavers if that is your only option. Start with a good base of roadbase and compact and level and then put down 30lbs tar paper and set the bricks on the paper and broom in sand.
The problem with the pavers is you still dont have a foundation for the bldg so your back to the cement pad. Concrete floors in basements do not set on cassons or footers they floot on the ground and will move up and down seperate from the walls. Sorry to be so long winded but I see this all the time when a homeowner digs a 36" deep hole for a deck post and then they put a sono tube all the way down the hole back fill with dirt and then fill with cement BAD IDEA. The best way is dig hole tamp bottom fill with cement put 6" of sonotube at the top for nice and neat looking pad.

[halfast tapper]

I definately agree with the no sono tubes. You will regret that one. Definately put stone under your slab. Are you digging out the topsoil? You should, it holds moisture and will allow your slab to settle.
Do you know any one with a tractor with a bucket that could be used to transport the concrete from truck to slab area.

[Justin Turco]

When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of, "See! This our father did for us."

-John Ruskin.




Taken from Audels Carpenters and Builder Guide. Published in 1923.

[petersp22]

I used pavers for the floor of my sugarhouse, built in 2007, and have been very pleased. I'm on sand and built on a floating treated-wood "footing". Within that I placed and packed road gravel, then an inch or so of sand, and finally the pavers. Since my evaporator is such a small unit I don't have the concerns about heaving that those with larger units would have. As a hobbyist I'm working at a whole different scale that many others here, and realize this may not be an acceptable option for everyone.

My concrete supplier used to say "There are two kinds of concrete - concrete that is cracked and concrete that is going to crack". Cracking is to be expected and you can mitigate that by scoring your slab. But to keep if from heaving takes proper preparation of the base. I would never use plywood under a slab on grade.

Unlike some of the other comments, I think there may be value to supporting your evaporator on sonotubes as long as they are well-footed below frost and the floor floats free of them. Without knowing just what construction method you're using for the building I won't comment on your idea to place them at the corners. But be careful that your floor is independent because it is more likely to move seasonally.

[mountainvan]

I put 1" of concrete on top of the plywood. The evaporator is on concrete footer 4 ft down.

[Al]

I'm a hobbist and have had a limestone floor for five years. I used cinder blocks to level up my evaporator and last year I had to level my evaporator for the first time. It was a small adjustment at most. I would like to cement my floor but time and money are both short. I did add a back room and put in a wood floor since we now use it for more then a sugar house. The boys have taken over the back room and just talked me into putting in a loft.
Take care

[markct]

well i have just a 1 inch plywood floor in my 8 by 19 sugarhouse. it started out small at 8 by 11 and a small arch kinda like a barrel stove, i used a stoveboard under it and some corugated roofing to protect the wall behind it. worked well but of course a deal came along on a 2 by 8 so i added and 8 ft addition to the back of the sugarhouse and plan to put the front firebox part which is about 10 inches off the ground on a stoveboard and the back ramped part will be hight enough off the floor to be ok, and the whole arch will be insulated too. the wood floor worked fine last year, as long as you protect the area infront where ashes can fall out ya should be ok i think. the whole shed sits on two skids made of 6 inch galvanized I beam. the reason for this unusual setup is that i currently live with my parents but plan to build a house on a section of our property within a few years so i will likely want to move it then

[white mt]

I have concrete pavers from the home depot 1ft square.no frost to worry about and if ever need be you can move them .works for me. they are about $ 4 each.But you can make your own or buy cheaper pavers.

[michiganfarmer]

Under my evaporator I went down 4' to get below frost line in front and where the legs hit. I put expansion joints between those parts and the floor. .

Thats a pretty neat idea. Shouldnt ever have to worry about re-leveling it.

[dano2840]

im going to put a slab under the evaporator, about 2-3 wider than the arch, (leaving room for expansion) and the floor is just going to be the river gravel the sugar house sits on, the gravel is nice because it wont turn to mud or make puddles

[white mt]

sounds good