Pole barn - Concrete Floor - Can I do myself??

So, I thought of breaking it into 18 foot sections(posts are 9 feet apart). Each weekend for 3 weekends pour an 18X36 slab. Thought of using 1X4 PT lumber for forms and leaving them in place for expansion joints. Was going to pour roughly 4 inches of concrete(with fiberglass for strength). Each load is about 8.25 - 8.5 yards.

Guy down the road wants $1 a foot to finish. Seems high to me given what I want. I do not need a polished floor, it's a barn. Level it off and smooth but certainly not polished.

Can a do it yourselfer buy a float and a long handle and finish himself given he has no concrete finishing experience? To make look pretty I am sure there is an art which needs skill, but for a barn floor would it be that tough?

What do I not know that makes it seem not difficult to do?

I suggest that you forget about concrete. As implied earlier, you still need something like wood pallets on top of the concrete to prevent spoilage of the bottom layer.
Aside: are the same people using pallets the same ones who moan about how hard it is to get people to help them unload small bales? Old pallets are not nice to walk on while carrying bales- I had a real knack for finding broken boards.

Instead put down a solid, heavy vapor barrier. Putting this on sand over a gravel base would be good. Then lay down sleepers such as landscape timbers although something like 4x6 treated would be better, but a lot more money. Fasten a �floor� of � OSB down to the sleepers. One person can do this and there are not time constraints like you get with wet concrete. However, this wood �floor� will not take any vehicle traffic�Note initial assumptions.

I have thought about your suggestions previously, I am trying to think long term. Like the day I no longer want to bale hay and want a shop to fix an old car or a wood shop....whatever my hobby will be at the time.

I want to take something apart(equipment, car, rototiller etc) and not drop a screw into the gravel and spend 10 minute looking for it.

I always find the broken board like you or worse find the spot between boards(not nice to ankles).

Concrete, taxes or no is what I want. Now how to do cheaply.....

Yes you can do it your self!, but you'll need 2-4 helpers.

VAPOR barrier is a MUST, we used 6 mil black plastic.

Just how smooth a finish do you really want?
In an unheated area, a little ruffness will help keep you from slipping on a wet/icy floor.
Get yourself a bull float, pour and screed it off, then wait for it to set some then just go over it with the bullfloat, wont take much, you'll get the hang of it real quick, thats all you need to do.

This is an unheated barn so a little roughness as you said is not a bad thing.

Everyone is telling me two helpers.

Is this to 'screed' off? Floating?

Since my barn is already built, I do not plan on removing all the steel to get the first(back) section. This will be a pain on the first pour. later pours a helper can be on the back already concrete section to help....

Welded wire and fibermesh are shrinkage crack control. They do very, very little to strengthen the actual floor. Use the fiber and don't work about it getting pushed down too far, etc. If you have a section which will get heavy traffic, use a rebar grid, maybe #5 bar, 12 to 24 inches each way. Rebar needs a minimum of 3" cover, so 6+ inches thick in this area. Key the joints with rebar pins stuck through the form board or make a true keyway with a strip centered and nailed on the side of the first pour.

Yea, have at it. You can do it with a little help.

Bill

ps: I do agree about the condensation / wicking issue - use pallets to stack hay on.

Small pours are due to lack of labor assistence... I hope to have 1 helper, maybe by myself....

I find an concrete floor nicer to work on equipment with. I usually end up digging through gravel looking for a small screw or something....