I have a garage with a dirt floor that I would like to turn into concrete, but I need to do it on the cheap as I cannot afford the typical cost right now. I do have about 150 pavers lying around that were giving to me a while ago. The garage floor dimensions are about 18 ft x 14 ft. The paver dimensions are 16 in x 16 in x 2.

My idea is to level the dirt, then lay down sand (or would road base be better?), water the sand and compact it. Then lay down the pavers with a little gap between them and then put a thin layer of cement on top to fill in the gaps and give the surface a smooth finish.

Would this work? Is there a better way to do this utilizing the free pavers that I have? I also have some concrete wire laying around that I could use but I don't see a good use for it in this scenario.

Thanks.

 

What you're planning to do will work, unless you plan to load the new floor with anything heavier than bicycles. Typical 2" thick pavers are not designed to withstand vehicle loads, but rather are intended for light-duty (people walking on them) use. Should you disregard this advice, you can expect to see rutting in the vehicle wheel paths shortly after finishing the project. With pavers being displaced and becoming an eye-sore. I've seen what happens when people try to do what your are proposing. Ugly is not pretty. And requires a lot of work to make it right.

If you can't afford conventional concrete, just wait until you can.

 

And the concrete would crack the first time it was walked on doing it that way.

 

As an alternative, put your effort and a bit of money into preparing the base for a future slab. Dirt will never be a good base and road gravel and hand tamping are cheap.

Here is an inbetween approach to utilize both the pavers and some concrete. Since the tire path is where the majority of the load will be carried, layout 16" or 24" wide forms right where you expect the vehicle tires to be. Consider that in the future you may want to pour a concrete floor over these. Now, fill inbetween and to each side with the pavers for foot traffic. With some good compacting below the tire paths 6" to 8" concrete should hold up well. I would use a 4.000 lb mix, but maybe there is a better choice.

This hybrid solution would look unique and should hold up well.

You could also run the pavers right over the concrete, but at the risk of someone eventually steering too far off the center. Leaving the concrete exposed kind of tells people to only drive in the lanes.

Bud

 

Excellent idea, I hadn't thought of that. I was thinking of a hybrid solution in the layers so to speak (horizontal) but your hybrid is in the columns (vertical). And it would have a unique creative look to it. I would do 24" wide paths for the tires with 6" of concrete

So, would this be the best way to do this:

- level the dirt and compact it.
- measure out the vehicle tire paths, make a wood frame for laying the concrete 24" wide for each path.
- put in road base and compact, put down the concrete wire?
- poor the concrete 6" thick.
- when the concrete is dry remove the wood frame and begin laying down the base and pavers for the rest of the floor.

What is the best thing to use under the pavers? Obviously being in a garage they will not get rained on but it does often go down to freezing here. Would sand, road base, crushed rock, crusher dust be best?

Thanks

 

know its an old post & you're probably done by now but 2 points need addressing,,, 1, sand isn't compactible; & 2, why compact a base, place wire mesh, then poor concrete ? why even use the wire mesh ? what good does it do on the btm of conc ? to be worthwhile, it must be placed @ slab's vert midpoint +/- 5%,,, on the btm it adds nuttin',,, pulling mesh up w/hooks doesn't get it altho it may look good.

welded-wire-mesh adds to conc's strength only 2 X,,, 1, while conc's curing ( in tension ); & 2, after curing, it holds crk'd pieces together in comparison, adding rebar doesn't make conc compressively stronger however it does add to conc's flexural strength - ie, bdge decks typically have @ least 2 mats of steel

1 addl point - NOTHING subs for a properly install'd jnt pattern,,, for the most part, fiber is good for one's diet but rather useless in conc despite what you've read

 

Stadry, would you please use the standard font and PLEASE stop using all the arcane abbreviations? Starting sentences with capital letters would also be nice.

 

expect'd attn to message but not posting style,,, what about spelling as in ' poor the concrete 6" thick. ' will consider rqst - tnx