Building an arena...

[juliehannah58]

Has anyone on here had an arena built on their land, either by themselves or by a company?

Thinking of going down this route in near future, so any experience or information greatly appreciated, I would like to do some of the work ourselves so I'd be especially interested to hear of self builds or part self builds.

Adviced welcomed!!

 

[bandit]

only thing i'd say is if it's poss, remember to get lights so you can use it in winter!

the ones we have were just dug from the ground, luckily they are on sandy ground so v good - all were 'hand made' by old YO, and more or less they are fine. would be nice to have some rubber but frankly they work!

Bx

 

[Rambo]

You won the lottery then lol!

 

[juliehannah58]

All will be revealed

Thinking of buying somewhere that has come up *whistles*

 

[coedcae]

Two words... drainage and the correct sand. Oh that's three words

We inherited the arena from hell, so I spent quite a lot of time investigating the best way to sort it.
Depends on your budget and how much use it will have, but I decided against wood chip which is the cheapest surface as it needs replacing every few years, as it rots and goes deep.
Sand is very important and needs to be the best silica. Worth paying extra for the best. I was told there is only 4 quarries in UK which sell the top quality stuff you need.
You need a drainage system which holds enough water in the sand, so that it doesnt dry out and also that lets enough water out, so it doesnt flood.
We got our sand from equestrian surfaces and they were very helpful, delivered when they said and would highly recommend them

 

[Rambo]

[ QUOTE ]
All will be revealed

Thinking of buying somewhere that has come up *whistles*

[/ QUOTE ]

Cool ! You up tonight ? You can tell me everything

 

[miller]

Yes - had it built last July - 20 x 50 silica sand and rubber with post and 3 rail round - rides brilliantly ans cost us £18k

We costed it up doing it ourselves (including hiring machinery) on very flat well draining fenland soil and it came to 15k - tbh for the difference in cost and the fact the company were guild of master craftsmen and arena has 5yr guarantee we decided to get them to do it and I'm really glad we did - there's no way we could have done such a good job ourselves. We've not had 1 puddle on it all winter even when dykes around are nearly full up and it rides beautifully.

We applied for the PP for the arena first to get it in and then once it had been in a while applied for PP for lights - were advised we were more likely to get agreement this way - we did - no quibbles either time.

If you want any more info please drop me a PM as I'm only online in the daytime

 

[Forget_Me_Not]

Drainage... Drainage... Drainage! Can't stress enough how its so important! Really no cutting corners there! Looking at 10-30k really. Two floodlights should be appel.

 

[juliehannah58]

Yupies

See you then !

 

[juliehannah58]

Thanks that’s really interesting, I was thinking around the 20k mark. It will probably end up being 20 x 40 but if I can get it larger I will (as it will be used for jumping a lot). I have friends in ground works and engineering, I have heard in the past that removing the ground is the most expensive part as the time it takes etc etc, so perhaps I could save some money that way.

The area I’m in are notoriously difficult when it comes to planning but as about 5 other places up the same lane have had new facilities put in, I’m hopeful as long as it’s done the right way!

Thanks again, I may take you up on the pm

 

[Chex]

Not me personally, but the farm where I keep Chex are in the process of building one (and have been for about 6 months now

). They flattened the land, dug drainage ditches and put pipes in and covered with stones. Next I think is putting the fence up and then peagravel, then membrane, then rubber. They have put up 4 poles for lights, 2 lights on each one. I think the total cost is about £9000, doing all the work themselves and getting cheapish materials.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

This site will give you loads of information about the construction, drainage, surfaces etc:-

http://www.ascotarenas.co.uk/index.html

 

[henryhorn]

If you do a search for arenas old posts may appear, I've answered loads.
Talk to Cala (mrussel) on here, she is in the process of redoing hers after lots of problems.
We have built two of ur own, the current one has pics if you go onto www.henryhorn.blogspot.com and back through the archives.
Build as big as you can, our 20 x 60 is super, and is a mix of silica/padstow sea sand and rubber. If you look at any pics by Cazcrazyjonty they normally show our arena surface, it's the nearest thing to gelled sand and rubber I've seen at a 1/4 the cost..
If you have any questions pm me..