Concrete Barn Floor | Foundation Homestead Barn Build

In this video we are pouring the floor for our new barn. It is important to use a good mix design for your concrete. Your local ready mix plant can help with this. Just tell them what you are doing and they can make suggestions to suit your purpose. We used 3000 PSI concrete which is a six sack mix. The amount and size of aggregate (rock) will change the expected PSI also. In some areas you pay a premium to have rock put into your mix, while in other areas. you my pay to have it taken out. This depends on what is most available in your area. Because of the weather the concrete was mixed with hot water (around 140 degrees). Heat cures concrete. Thats why concrete sets much faster on hot days. To this mix we also added am accelerator. We did this to shorten the curing time so we could get in finished before we ran out of daylight. Our screeding method was with a Multivibe. This is a brand name and other companies make similar products. We use this a great deal and have worn out a couple over time. These type of tools vibrate the concrete which consolidates the mix and typically will settle the aggregate into the mix away from the surface to make troweling more productive. We start finishing our concrete when you can step on the surface and only sink in about 1/4 of an inch. With a pan float it flattens the surface by removing high spots and it's also more forgiving when the concrete is still quite fluid. We make at least two passes with the pan float on the troweler and then remove it and use just the troweler blades. Just a word of caution. The way you finish you floor should take into account what you are going to put on the floor, such as paint, stain or clear finish. If the floor is given a hard surface paint will not stick easily. So keep this in mind. Curing blankets are important because if concrete drops below freezing it will stop curing and your final PSI will not reach the designed specifications. One of the maxims of concrete to get the best results is "pour it dry and keep it wet". What that means is that increasing the water added has an inverse effect on strength. Very little water is needed to hydrate concrete. After that added water is for workability. Good luck on your next project and thanks again for watching. We really do value you time and input!
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