Do I really need a concrete floor in stables or whats alternative???

[claire1976]

Just been reading the other threads about rubber matting. i've been granted PP for 3 stables on my land and have bought the stables ready to put up over the next 2-3 weeks. I was going for a concrete floor with rubber matting but am shocked at the price it will cost for the concrete.
Are they alternatives bearing in mind the rubber flooring I'm having?
If there is an alternative then what do I bolt/fix the exterior of the stables to?
I was interested to read some people have Earth/Limestone screening floors and wondered if anyone could give me more info on this method? Does the urine not seep into it and make it smell?
Any advice appreciated as looking for cost saving idea's as now skint from funding my own stables. I know it'll be worth it in the end though!!
Cheers

 

[spaniel]

You are going to need a proper level and rigid base ie concrete pad put in by a reputable contractor. Without it you will probably breech planning rules, have terrible issues of drainage/subsidence and ultimately, maybe, stables that just literally fall down.

Personally I think not having the concrete base would be dangerous and I wouldnt fancy my horses chances much in a high wind or after a tail rubbing session.

You cant cut corners with this, its not worth the risk.

 

[henryhorn]

I think it's imperative to build a foundation to fasten the stables too, which is basically a concrete trench (not sure of the depth or width sorry) then a low brick wall to sit them on. You then use metal brackets into the concrete plus my dad knocked massive nails all the way round too.
When we built ours years ago I was hard up like you, so I did it on the cheap by getting a load of old brick rubble complete with mortar which we knocked off by hand, laid the bricks as a base on some gravel or sand, this meant you only needed a thin layer of concrete to cover them. We went on to do the same to the stable yard, and the drive outside, it was horrible dirty work and we had sore hands all the time, but between me my Dad and a couple of stable girl helpers we managed the lot. Nowadays I'd get done for child labour and low wages!
I seem to recall we used up five lorry loads of bricks...It was a huge saving on paying for concrete.
The stables are still in daily use thirty years on so it must be ok.
The other alternative is do the outside to fasten them to, then just put stone inside and the mats on top until you can afford concrete, but the outside base is something you can't eliminate I'm afraid!

 

[Helga1980]

I think the stables which have the earth/limestone floors are old stone built ones which (I think) would have been built with foundations.

If you are putting wooden buildings up you need a firm base to attach them to so concrete is the most obvious route.

 

[PapaFrita]

Quite alot of stables here have earth floors, and my last yard in England did too (these were wooden stables though) The owner had put rubber matting on the top because the floor was getting a bit concave, presumably from her mucking out.
There doesn't seem to be a problem with earth floors here, but it IS much warmer and drier.

 

[flyingfeet]

Our earth floors are in farm buildings - so wall and RSG's with proper foundation.

I imagine you would have to concrete in metal posts to give the stables the foundation they require. I doubt it would be much cheaper than the concrete floor and could go wrong.

 

[dieseldog]

If I was going to build stables I wouldn't have concrete floors, just rubber matting on top of earth. You would obviously construct the building correctly with foundations.

Rubber with concrete creates puddles, with earth this wouldn't happen.

My friend has some stables built on sandy ground and says it was the best thing she ever did not putting concrete down.

Nick skelton has earth floors in his stables.

 

[Tia]

As with all the answers, of course you will need to have proper foundations to hold the structure up; these can be concrete footings or have the stables built on heavy wooden bearers.

What you do inside the stables is up to you though. If you are intending on putting rubber matting inside then pay particular attention to your drainage - the floors should NOT be level; they must have a fall on them to rid the stables of urine. If you build the floor level then the urine will just sit on top. I always have mine built so that the fall goes to the back of the stable - we have drainage channels in a number of spots on the back wall and the liquid runs out there to individual soakaways. Having the fall run forward could cause a lot of mess and smell unless managed well.

 

[pottamus]

You will definately need something solid to attach the stables too as everyone has said already. But you could save money by not having the inside floors filled with concrete.
I have a mobile stable in my field and because it is mobile and due to planning I cannot have a fixed permanent floor. So I bought rubber mats (good thick ones) and put them down with rubber strip all round the inside edge of the stable to butt the mats up to. This has seen me through over a year including one winter and has been fab! Ok, so I can't have a deep bed because the shavings start to creep under the mats and cause hillocks otherwise! But my horse has got on fine with them, they are staying pretty level and I have no wee or drainage problems - although I muck out throughly every day.

 

[Oguh-C]

I am an advocate of dirt floors and deep littering. You can only use dirt floors in an area where you have good natural drainage and a position where there is a low water table. Deep littering requires a huge amount of bedding in order to work correctly. My 14x16 stables have about x12 bales Of quality shavings in them. They are about 8” deep, warm, comfy and never smell or move about much. Without foundations and damp course this system would not work as surface run off would penetrate and there would be damp ingress causing spores to develop

 

[emilylou]

https://www.concretecanvas.com/ alternative to concrete but has the same properties. Would work for the floors but not the foundations