Advice needed re construction of arena please

M

myhorsefred

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I am (at long last!) digging my sand school this week. Yay! Planning took ages. Anyway, that's another story...

My contractor has nearly finished digging. We had to dig into a sloped field and we found lots of good fill, quite stoney stuff which was spread over the base and then rollered in.

Anyway, the base of the school is rollered subsoil which has had this stoney fill rolled on top. There will be a drain pipe underneath this base. Then a membrane. On top of all that there will be 4ins silica sand, and then 2ins of Flexiride.

My understanding is that I need a layer of 40m gravel before the membrane goes on top. The contractor isn't planning on putting a layer of 40m gravel. He just wants to put the membrane on top of the rollered sub-soil and fill.

Who is right please? I haven't said anything because I might be wrong, and with the heat as well it is easy for tempers to get frayed and I don't want to upset the contractor. Aargh!

thanks
 
All I can say is make sure you have enough drainage.

When we did our school, I researched lots and along with the contractor made sure that there was drainage channels all the way round the school ( on the outside on three sides, inside on one) plus two drainage channels across.

I put a layer of stone down on top of the soil before the membrane, but you may not need it.

Will say that my school never floods, and doesn't freeze, even in the really cold weather, so it was well worth it!
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Good luck, and keep talking to your contractor, if you don't like something, say so, after all it's a big investment, and you want to get it right first time.
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I think you need the clear stone for drainage otherwise you may get problems. The only exception is if you have dug down to rock (which is possible in some areas) in which case you have a natural drain already set up.

Also, often people lay a membrane between soil and stone and another membrane between stone and sand.

There is a good DIY guide to arenas at the Jackson Arenas site (www.jacksonarenas.com) although for some reason I can't get the page to load.
 
Ah, thanks both.

f_s - yes, we've put drainage channels all the way round the edge and in the middle of the school. One big drain down the centre line with off shoots as well.

booboos - yes, we've hit rock so that may be why he's not putting gravel or drainage stone down.

He did say today that he thought the area would drain well and with the addition of the drainage pipe should drain exceptionaly well.

I guess I have to not interfere and just trust he knows what he's doing.

It's good fun though, seeing it progressing day by day. Have taken loads of photos too to look back on in years to come.
 
You definitely need a drainage bed as well as the pipes, unless you are on some kind of wonderful draining land.
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It acts as a reservoir for water in heavy downpours and allows rapid dispersal from the working surface. You could either be riding in porridge or stand back and watch it float away.
We are just in the process of constructing an arena and i'm afraid the biggest headache is water removal and as quick as possible
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. The top surface is down to personal preference or local supply but is secondary to the drainage system. Please, do not regret it later when you have paid a fortune for something you can't use.

My humble opinion an all that.........
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Mrs M - yes, he's on a fixed price.

Mind you he is such a lovely chap. When we planned it around my kitchen table we priced for six foot posts. Anyway he ordered the posts today and at his own cost ordered 8ft ones for me, as he thought that by the time the shorter ones were set into the ground they wouldn't be tall enough. He ordered the longer ones at extra cost to himself.

He is such a decent chap. And a perfectionist too. I might gently mention the 40mm stone to him and see what he says.
 
We hit rock when digging out an arena in Yorkshire and saved 2/3s of the hardcore cost. We put everything else in re drains, etc. and it drained beautifully even through the insane rains in the last two summers, so it is possible!

If you mention it to him kind of for your information rather than a complaint you might be able to find out his reasoning without putting his back up.
 
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