I have an old simple barn on my property that currently has a half-rotten wooden floor. In some places, the floor is almost completely gone, but most of it is intact. My (probably dumb) question is whether you can remove the floor in a barn or if it usually contributes to holding the structure together? The barn doesn't have a real foundation as far as I can see, I think it's just soil directly under the boards, and the walls then rest on foundation stones, but there could be some cross beams holding everything together under the floor. I want to remove the floor and put in sand and fine woodchips so I can use it as a small budget riding arena in the winter since I won't be able to afford to build a real one for 20 years 
Most likely, the floor does not serve any function for holding the barn together. It would have been a different matter if it was about a loft since its beams hold the walls together. It's not uncommon for planks to be laid as a floor directly on the ground in old barns...
Take a picture and upload it
Take a picture and upload it
