Arena surfaces

[Wheels]

For a windy site, I'm looking for my perfect surface! I think I will need rubber chips as not sure I would be able to stop sand blowing away. I am however open to suggestions on this.

Is it essential to have a layer of sand under rubber or can the rubber go directly onto the stones? I am new to this school building lark and want to try and get it right. Drainage and stones should be in this week.

 

[cptrayes]

Windy also usually means wet here. If that's the same with you sand will be OK with rubber in it.

Rubber with no sand would give a very bouncy ride!

Have you considered fibre on sand? I have Combi-ride and I love it.

 

[onemoretime]

No surface goes straight onto th brick rubble, you have to have a membrance seperating. We have 2 membranes on our school, one goes over the drainage, (the drain pipes are bedding in a sort of grave)l (dont know what the proper name for it is. Then another membrane onto top of the rubble then the sand and then the rubber on top. If you dont have these membranes the layers will become mixed up and you will have stones come up through the sand.

Hope this helps. We built our school in 2009 and it has been brilliant, particulalry in this wet weather.

 

[cptrayes]

Onemoretime, there is an arena builder around here who does not use a second membrane and his arenas are still working well after several years. I have a second membrane myself, but they aren't essential if your top layer is deep enough and the base well packed before it goes on. Lots of people don't actually like a second membrane because of the risk of it coming up through the surface over time.

 

[Goldenstar]

It's very windy here the surface is silica sand large rubber chip with fibre the fibre does blow a bit especially if you level it when windy we used a slightly heavy ( coarser) grade of silica sand it does not blow ever you never get built up agaisnst the fence.
However coarser sand does have disadvantages it gives a looser deeper ride when dry however it's extra abrasive ness is excellent for wearing raggy bits of the frog so excellent for the barefoot dressage horse.
You need to take a range of advice from professional arena builders and riders to decide what's best for you.