Another barn dilemna, input please

[Marty]

The gravel for the new barn floor is coming at the end of this week barring anymore disasters.

Ok, so, after gravel, then what?????

Dirt, sand, etc. What?

We can't decide.

And then bedding on the very top of that. But there has to be something inbetween the gravel and the bedding. Just what, we can't come to an agreement.

Oh and there is no chance, like none, zero, nada of concrete and stall mats.

 

[miniappluvr]

Marty,

This is not from personal experience, but I got to looking and found this page on question and answer. I am not sure if it will help at all, but good luck to you

Any new pictures of the barn lately?

Barn design question and answers

 

[Marty]

Any new pictures of the barn lately?

Nope, there's been no progress made inside the new barn at all....

For some dumb reason, Jerry thinks it's important to pay bills and buy food first instead of blowing all the money each pay check on the barn.

Well I can't say that nothings been done. In July the electric has been laid from the electric thingy to the tack room area, and the ditches for the water pipes are dug. Jerry decided to hook me up with our city water instead of well water being the generous soul he is.

and it had not a thing to do with me begging for it either.....

While we were saving up more money to continue the building, Jerry's been mending fences, adding more hotwire, and putting back up the round pen. I've been making picket gates again.

I'm turning into a picket. My head is beginning to have a point on it just like my gates.

 

[Bess Kelly]

OK, I read the page and while it's a good idea, it is a huge amount of work, not to mention a lot of material! Yikes, 3' down for gravel. They are, of course, a big horse stall/barn prep. Of course, you DO have a big horse, Marty.

Personally, I have a great sand based soil. So, I used the rubber mats in front and woody pet/shavings at the rear only. It has worked fine. I have considered digging out the rear of each, adding gravel over the sand/loam dirt and then covering with the dirt I had removed -- and adding a holed mat over, then shavings. AGAIN, a whole lot of digging to give a little more depth of drainage...and I don't have a problem now. My barn isn't a large as you were able to get put up there in TN !

Let us know what you decide, Marty. You might make me feel like I need to do something

. I have gravel, shovels, time and no help! Of course, I'd have to shovel this gravel myself from the extremely over rocked driveway, take to barn, etc. Wow. Lots and lots of work -- want to send me your two sons?

Oh, hey, I saw those rubber bricks at a horse expo...cool! Well, except for price and that was so hot it was not touchable. I have enough of the durock board (behind bath tile) to line the isle of my barn and I intend to level and place that in there. I've had some pieces along the door entrances on the outside for about 3.5 years now. It was placed onto the ground which had been smoothed down to a level but slight angle, as a test. I'm amazed at how well it has held up out there! Since there will be drainage between the pieces it should be ok. I use a light bleach wash down 2-3 times a year, that helps control odors, molds, germs, etc. at least a little bit. Hey, it IS a barn not a hospital.

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]Our floor in the barn is also dirt.... I put the shavings right on top of the dirt and each time I clean them I shovel down to dirt again..... Works fine for us although we do have 1 digger.[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[justaboutgeese]

Our stalls have a gravel base. It is actually a clay base gravel mix which packs good and hard while still allows good drainage. We use lime about every other week to keep it fresh. There is about eighteen inches of gravel under the horses stalls.

 

[whitney]

I have sand. A mat in the front under hay feeder and grain feeder and I use woody pet in the back. My stalls are REALLY dry using woody pet.

 

[wildoak]

Dirt floors here too but we have put screenings over the dirt. If you wet this stuff and pack it down good, it makes a pretty good base to put your bedding over. We only have one stall that - for whatever reasons - never packed down right and is always dusty. The others worked great. Screenings look and feel like sand, but are much heavier and very dense.

Jan

 

[justjinx]

We have dirt floors in this barn. We put rubber mats in the stalls. the aisles are dirt too. We put down some left over rubber mats in the aisles also to help keep the dirt & dust from flying, but it is not adequet help at all...i really do NOT like all the dirt and dust. give me the old cement barn with rubber mats! No matter what we do the dirt & dust is everywhere (including in my nose and lung...)....

jennifer

 

[arb&agb]

We also have a large gravel based covered with about 6" of a sand and soil mix. It is nice and firm but yet drains very easily and dries quickly...We also use lime about once a week (depending on the weather). We have tried a couple different kinds of floors (wood, plain dirt, etc.) over the years and so far I think this works the best.

 

[Mnmini]

I have tried, or used nearly every flooring system out there. Packed clay over gravel works fine, but requires ongoing maintenance, as you are inevitably going to carry out some of the clay each time you clean stalls.

Currently have concrete floors heavily bedded. It works ok. I've passed on adding mats, as I don't want the suction effect of the urine getting trapped under the matts, and stinking to high heaven. Going to add some of the permanent bedding made of crushed lava rock, with my shavings over it.

But, the best is where I board my riding horse. Had 6-8 inches of pea gravel, with treated wood flooring over it. The flooring isn't nailed down, and can be replaced a board at a time if necessary. The urine drains through the board slats, down through the gravel. There is never an amonia odor, the stalls are always DRY, and this is a 17 stall boarding facility!

 

[Magic]

When we move, I plan to do my stalls just the way they are now: we have about 2 feet of "road base" (which is a gravel/dirt mix that packs down really well) under the barn, with a concrete aisleway, and rubber mats in the stalls. When I've had an automatic waterer get its plug pulled (tricky horses, lol) and the stall has flooded, it drains in no time. I love my stalls.

 

[Danielle_E.]

Well it's too bad Marty that rubber mats are out because they are the best darn thing going in my book. I have them in the stalls and in the aisle, EVERYWHERE and it makes my life so much easier and of course saves on bedding as you don't have to bed so deep which makes less work for picking and for disposing. My second barn will be the same as this one. It's worth the extra dollars.

 

[bcody]

Marty, I love my rubber mats, we also have road base with rubber mats over it. I love it! I would do the same thing if ever I could build a new barn.

 

[Feather1414]

We have concrete floors. I love em to death! So easy to clean.