need advice ASAP on base for a barn

Im biulding a 30x60 pole barn. i signed the contract back in september and i hired a guy to bring in 70 yards of fill dirt he gave me excuse after excuse until the rain started then said we needed the ground to freeze so the dump truck wont get stuck now the ground is froze and he doesnt want to haul because he said the fill is still moist and will freeze to his truck bed and it would be to much work to clean out for only 4 loads of fill so he said now we need it to be dry. Im done with this guy. My barn was supposed to be done by today. the biulder says he can work with me on construction time. but i don't have forever he said eventually the contract will time out and be void and to redo the same contract now will be more money due to higher material costs.
So i need to rasie the site 4-7inches in the middle of january. am i screwed as far as fill dirt till spring? they wanted 150$ per triaxle load of fill how much more would it cost do you think for gravel and will gravel be an issue for the biulder? the barn will house some dairy goats maybe a couple of steers store 1000 bales of alfalfa hay and my baler and my ford 4000. any ideas on what to do is apriciated thanks.

I would use limestone it is relatively cheap an makes a great base

Is it possible for it to be built without the fill, and then fill it in later (spring)? We've added sand/gravel/dirt/concrete to buildings after they were put up; the builder just needs to figure the difference in floor level as it is built.

If you have a gravel pit near, use bank run or gravel. You can finish it later when the barn is up. I"ve done it after the barn was up.

m2cnts
John

As the others have stated just set final grade height and put the structure up.A little bit of a PITA filling later but I wouldn't recommend putting fill on the frost and then regrading.

Vito

I had a 30X40 built with a four foot drop in 40 ft. I payed for longer post for the low end and back filled a year later.

What the others said- just build the barn. Fill will be soft- its a PITA, floundering around on it during construction, and can be done after barn is built. In the summer. When everything is dry.

Limestone screenings from a quarry if you have one close by. You can use them in the winter with no problems and they pack tight. The builder will pleased that they have stone to work on. Screenings are whats left from production of clear stone, 3/8in on down. We use it up here in Wisconsin all the time to fill buildings.Jim

Just build it. Fill it later.

My builder wasn't smart enough to raise the poles up ( not dig the holes as deep )got short on one of them. Wish I'd of took off work to keep an eye on them !

We built our hay barn without a floor.

<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/Hay%20Barn/?action=view&current=IMG_1204.jpg" target="_blank"> </a>

Later had clay/gravel hauled in to build up and even floor the store hay.

<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/Hay%20Barn/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_1669.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

Moved dirt around with Ford 2810 and front-end loader.

<a href="http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/jameslloydhowell/Hay%20Barn/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_1664.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

Works just fine for us.

build the barn, may have to add to the poles or buy a few longer ones for the low side/end. Fill it with dry material-limestone dry clay,whatever and grade next summer.

find someone else to haul in your fill next summer gobble

I had a similar situation. As most others are saying don't try to bring it to grade with frost in the ground, because when the frost melts the surface will drop up to six inches depending on how deep the frost gets. I would just have a 2-4 inch layer of gravel or limestone, depending on what is available put down to facilitate construction. Then plant the poles, put the building up and finish grading in the spring once frost is out. Anything you have done now will have to be done over unless you push all the frozen dirt up into a pile to the side and spread it in the spring.

If you are north in the state, use crushed Mill slag, Cheap and not frozen, Jim

You also might want to check with some local road conractors- you may be able to get some millings fairly cheap. They make a great base, compact and drain extremely well.