One option would have been to use a concrete mixture with a high percentage of fly ash, which is a waste product of burning coal. It would be nice to recycle this waste rather than add to landfills and produce new material, BUT it is toxic. Fly ash contains mercury, lead, and arsenic. If it would be covered with flooring, that would be one thing, but we are going to stain the concrete and this will be our floor where our little bare feet will walk. We had to take that into consideration.
Another option we considered was an earthen floor in the big living room/kitchen area- which is not a dirt floor. Everyone seems to think that. :) It is created from a clay/sand mixture over a gravel base. It is then sealed with linseed oil and has a smooth finish with beautiful earth color- imagine a pottery floor. This was my ideal, but we had to go with the simplicity of one process instead if two (since footers would have to be concrete) just a little less money and a quicker process- concrete slab.
Concrete also served a few different purposes for us- foundation, floor and thermal mass for passive solar purposes (it absorbs the sun's warmth on winder days with the sun shining, and hold it for the cold nights.)
This consession, as well as others, for the sake of time, work and money are making me feel guilty, but I am already looking forward to the differences for our future house (this is the barn, remember.) The barn needs to be quicker and cheaper for us to have something to live in, then we can really take our time on the house.
It was really interesting to watch the process from start to finish and the kids were fascinated! Overall, I'm happy to be moving forward and now we have a floor!
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