Building and arena virgin.

Armas

Armas

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I have been putting this of as there is always some thing that needs fixing at home. Note to self never buy an large old property again.

Right back on track... Next months plans are to start to build a 60 x 20 sand arena at home. I have the hard core base already on site ( left over tuff stone from building a pool last year ) So this is an ideal way to dispose of it :D :D

I am intending to get a contractor with a large digger to do the big work. I will attempt the smaller stuff with a mini digger my self such as digging trenches for drains rolling the hard core compact putting in posts for fences and laying base boards.

Drains will be laid every 5m I am intending to then run them in to a 5x5M hole that I will fill with tuff to act as a soak away drain.

I am going to go for river sand as its the most economical.

So my plan is lay hard core base directly on to ground which is flat and level then a layer of sand then the membrane (thin layer of sand to stop membrane being destroyed by stone ) then lay the rest of the sand on top of the membrane.

Any tips or advice please.
 
Hi. I don't have any self build advice but I am in the middle of having an arena put in professionally as have neither the machinery for DIY or an OH with the inclination or skill to DIY for me. I've been surprised watching the contractors work to see the amount of work that goes into it and the sheer volume of materials needed.
The first week was spent removing the topsoil and levelling the site. Looking at the field I would have sworn it was level but there is actually more than 2ft drop along the 40m length and 1ft across the 20m side. Once it was perfectly level they dug drains every 5m and filled with pipe and clean stone joining them to a pipe the length of the school and then digging a drain to a free flowing clean water ditch which runs alongside our property. A membrane was then lain and so far 9 lorry loads of clean stone have been spread on top. At this point our drive collapsed and the lorries sank and got stuck so the last few days have been spent digging out the drive and conpletely rebuilding it.
On Monday we are due to receive the remaining 6 lorry loads of clean stone then 140 tonnes of equestrian grade silica sand. Apparently the key is to get the digger off the mud onto the stone and to stay off the mud until the surface is complete so it's not contaminated with mud. I'm having a flexiride topper put onto the sand to keep it damp in summer and frost free in winter. Then the boards will be put in and the fencing completed before they dig a whole new drain around the perimeter of the school to drain/divert any water from the field away from the school straight to the ditch so the drains in the arena only have to cope with rain that falls on the school not rain travelling under the field. Once that is done they will bank the topsoil around the outside of the school to give a nice grassy bank. At the very end they will focus on tidying up the new drive and leaving the site as neat as possible. Then about 4 weeks later they are back to turn everything to mud again when they do the groundworks for the new yard.
It's so exciting to watch but at times it's been overwhelming to see how much soil and clay has accumulated just in getting the site level and the drains in.
One really good thing to see was how much rain sat on the levelled site and on the new drains BEFORE the drains were attached to the ditch. There was at least 2" of water sitting on the site but within 10 mins of attaching the drains to the ditch the water cleared completely. I now feel completely confident that the drains work and that as long as I keep the ditch clear flowing the school will drain in minutes.
Good luck and enjoy. It is really fun to watch and I've taken tons of photos.
 
LynH said:
Hi. I don't have any self build advice but I am in the middle of having an arena put in professionally as have neither the machinery for DIY or an OH with the inclination or skill to DIY for me. I've been surprised watching the contractors work to see the amount of work that goes into it and the sheer volume of materials needed.
The first week was spent removing the topsoil and levelling the site. Looking at the field I would have sworn it was level but there is actually more than 2ft drop along the 40m length and 1ft across the 20m side. Once it was perfectly level they dug drains every 5m and filled with pipe and clean stone joining them to a pipe the length of the school and then digging a drain to a free flowing clean water ditch which runs alongside our property. A membrane was then lain and so far 9 lorry loads of clean stone have been spread on top. At this point our drive collapsed and the lorries sank and got stuck so the last few days have been spent digging out the drive and conpletely rebuilding it.
On Monday we are due to receive the remaining 6 lorry loads of clean stone then 140 tonnes of equestrian grade silica sand. Apparently the key is to get the digger off the mud onto the stone and to stay off the mud until the surface is complete so it's not contaminated with mud. I'm having a flexiride topper put onto the sand to keep it damp in summer and frost free in winter. Then the boards will be put in and the fencing completed before they dig a whole new drain around the perimeter of the school to drain/divert any water from the field away from the school straight to the ditch so the drains in the arena only have to cope with rain that falls on the school not rain travelling under the field. Once that is done they will bank the topsoil around the outside of the school to give a nice grassy bank. At the very end they will focus on tidying up the new drive and leaving the site as neat as possible. Then about 4 weeks later they are back to turn everything to mud again when they do the groundworks for the new yard.
It's so exciting to watch but at times it's been overwhelming to see how much soil and clay has accumulated just in getting the site level and the drains in.
One really good thing to see was how much rain sat on the levelled site and on the new drains BEFORE the drains were attached to the ditch. There was at least 2" of water sitting on the site but within 10 mins of attaching the drains to the ditch the water cleared completely. I now feel completely confident that the drains work and that as long as I keep the ditch clear flowing the school will drain in minutes.
Good luck and enjoy. It is really fun to watch and I've taken tons of photos.
Click to expand...

Hi Lyn,
Thank you for the detailed post sounds awesome. Can I ask what you have paid for the arena work. PM me if you like as I am curious.
 
I'm paying £26k for the arena. I read all these threads about people doing it for less than half that but as I have no access to machinery or the skills to level the site, put drains in etc I had no alternative but to pay for it to be done. I got several quotes but the cheaper ones had considerably less drainage under the school, none had the additional drain around the edge, one didn't include levelling the excess topsoil and leaving the site tidy and one had a small print condition that if any lorries got stuck I would be responsible for supplying a tractor to tow them out!!!
Having seen the extent of the damage to my driveway from the lorries I am so glad I went for a reputable company. They are doing an amazing job fixing the drive and making good the areas that have been churned up and destroyed by machinery.
 
not read everything but def. put membrane between ground and stone then again between stone and surface if you dont your stone will sink into the ground as will your drains

I did mine on the cheap 7k never puddles - drains dug, membrane laid - drainage pipes and clean stone put in, tons of rubbish but clean stone, another membrane then surface ! only thing I would change is to use slightly better stone as it was literally clean rubble and tries to come through membrane where not totally flat - saying that it has never had an even slightly damp patch in 4 years and I am on clay on flood plane !
 
Had mine done professionally too. Was amazed that a relatively flat, to the naked eye, field actually had a 9 foot drop from one corner diagonally to the other which involved a huge amount of work. So glad I had it done properly as 15 years in it's still fantastic.

Not sure about river sand? The yard over the road from my house which I used until I had my own built had a none equestrian specific surface and it's awful (think he may have used builders sand :rolleyes:)

Just a point, but do you really need it bigger than 40 x 20? It really makes a difference to the price the bigger you go!
 
Mine was built onto a sloping field which drops by over a metre, built up and out of the ground by 3+ feet at one end and cut into the field at the other, as a result it has supersonic drainage, so much so it is too dry! the surface was rubber chips on silica sand which because the sand drains so thoroughly, has now mixed in with the rubber chips and can ride a bit deep at times.
 
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