[LeeWay]

Get a good crew to do the job for you. They will have the finishing machines and tools and labor to do it like you want. Rent two motorized wheel barrows that hold about a yard each. Maybe 3. No pump truck will be needed. Just get the bids from a couple of finishing crews usually recommended by the concrete company. You will wind up knowing almost exactly how much the job with cost and know that it is done correctly and like you want or need it. If you are doing the forms yourself, then okay, but you can hire that done too. If you do this yourself, don't forget electrical and plumbing runs before the concrete truck gets there.
It is a fairly simple, fairly small job for the concrete itself. You will thank yourself for doing it instead of a wood floor.

[mountaindew]

Hey MountainDew,


What's your thought on heavy duty wood floor? 2x10 on 12" centers with double layer 3/4"?

No for so many reasons!
Think flood and coolant and wood floor. I was looking on instagram the other day at pictures of where this got away from people making a huge NASTY mess!
Your tracked skid steer imho would do this job in a couple hours with little to no damage to anything. They are built for low ground pressure and ideal for soft terrain with far less damage then about any other tool I can think of. As For steep grades concrete trucks start to self empty at about 12% grade. and require the front discharge chute models for access to steep drives.
As Lee mentions above, get a subcontractor with some power buggies to do job. If experienced they will not even think twice about your problem and Have it done in no time.
Also I would suggest a power trowel finish "very smooth" Metal chips sweep up a lot faster with a smooth finish.
And if possible all electrical work in metal conduit surface mounted on finished walls ."not cheap " If done right it looks industrial cool and in future it is easy to extend add and change as desired. for new tools,

[sin_arms]

This is my thought, I would never build a building without a proper concrete floor. You might be able to go with wood but if you're like me you will add more machines and they get bigger when you add. I have 2 cnc mills, a cnc lathe, a manual mill and a manual mill. I'm thinking about adding another manual lathe. I would never want a wood floor under any of that stuff. Do what ever you have to so you can get concrete. I don't know if it would work but if you bought say 30 sheets of 3/8" plywood and laid on your driveway that might be enough to support a truck, granted you would have to move them front to back as you are backing up and leaving but it would be a fairly small investment that could be used on the building later on.

[R7237]

Why slab construction? There are many ways to build a workshop that would not require a slab.

... My bad, didn't read the entire posts before making comment.

[Eddard_Stark]

I used to own a concrete finishing company.

First, mixing it yourself with bags is completely out of the question.

Second, anything involving a pump truck isn't going to sniff 1/2 a mile. The type of pump truck that would essentially run a hose down your driveway is a line pump. While I don't know the maximum pump distance, I pumped downhill <1000 ft and it was really expensive, required several trailer loads of pipe in addition to the pipe on the line truck. I doubt it's feasible for you. Plus you have to use a different mix that can be pumped through a line pump. Not just any ready mix plant can prepare the mix...and it's more expensive.

Motorized wheelbarrows are called Georgia Buggy's. The biggest one I've seen is 21 cubic feet. A 1500ft2 shop 6" thick is 750 cubic feet. The buggy travels at a maximum of 7.5 mph. Concrete has a shelf life in the truck. Without getting into details you really have about 90 minutes from the time the concrete was batched to unload the truck. You can add some retarder to extend that, but I don't need to spell out the math to show you that GA buggies are a non starter as well, unless you have a veritbale fleet of them. If you are doing this in July then forget 90 minutes....actually probably just forget doing this in July.

Concrete can be moved in really anything. Many countries don't even use ready-mix trucks like you are accustomed to seeing in the US. Concrete is simply hauled in the bed of a dump truck. That is how slip form paving trains that are used to pave large jobs like say an airport runway, or an interstate highway get their concrete. The concrete is made in a central mix plant (as opposed to batch plant) and the entire mix is turned out into a regular dump truck and away it goes.

Which brings me to what I think is the best solution. Get a dump trailer, preferably dual tandem axles (psi is going to be everything) and ferry the concrete a yard or so at a time. (whatever dump capacity is) It can be pulled with a 3/4 ton truck. You will need to order a low slump, like a 2 - 2.5, but it can be done. Since you said you had a skid steer you will need to dump the concrete inside the forms with the trailer and place it with the skid steer. And by place I mean rake it close to level as well. A low slump will be a bear to float, but it can be done. Ideally you would also have a vibratory screed, like a truss screed, and that would mitigate the low slump issue. Regular finishers screeding with a 2x4 may not do an adequate job with that low of a slump concrete. They will need some sort of vibration.

eta: Just did the math...it's possible with 3 GA buggies...assuming they can travel near max speed on your driveway. (After delivery and setup blah blah...you really need to get the concrete off in 60 minutes....each truck will have 10 buggies worth @ 8 yards. (don't rent 16 cu ft buggies or if you do rent another one) While there is a safety margin @ 3 buggies, I would be concerned with elevation change affecting travel speed. Advantage here is you can get a more workable slump. Actually might be the best route. Rent 3 or 4, depending on size and speed, and get on with it. No problem. Make sure to communicate with your concrete salesman re: timing....the trucks need to arrive ~hourly (or however long you think it will take to empty one)....all four trucks pulling up in the first hour will be a disaster. And it happens. All the time.

[Eddard_Stark]

Just checked. The world record for a line pump is ~2000m. So it's possible....but I wouldnt want to see how much it cost. Call Cherokee Pumping out of Atlanta (that's who I used to use) and ask them how much to pump ~30 yards 2600 feet. Make sure you are sitting down.

I'm only half serious here. Depending on your elevation change 2600 feet may not even be possible. I mean you are in N. GA, so it's not like out of the question you are on a mountain or something.