I have a 60x120 ft pole barn in my backyard. My shop, which is a 24x60 ft insulated room with concrete slab floor, has been built in one corner of the barn. The other side of the same end of the barn used to be a 10 or 12 horse stable, but all the stalls have been removed leaving a concrete slab on the center walkway strip and just dirt floor in the areas on both sides where the horse stalls used to be. I would like to put the retired stable area into a better use - additional work area and such, but before that can happen I need to cover the dirt floor with something to stop the dust, raise the floor to the same level with the concrete walkway strip in the center, and of course add some insulation.
Hiring a contractor to put in a layer of gravel and to add concrete slabs on the the dirt floor areas would be an obvious choice, but I have heard that I might end up paying well over $10k for the job and materials these days. Are there any less expensive options to consider? Something that a DIYselfer with broad shoulders and a Bobcat could do? Would some kind gr PT lumber construction on the top of gravel layer work? I must disclose that while I am trying to learn to be a furniture maker, I am 99% ignorant about even basic construction and structural building design principles - so take it slowly please.
Pete