How long does it take...............?

[P4NN]

..............for a silica sand school to settle?
We had our surface laid a week ago but have also had alot of rain so it currently feels like porridge under foot. Some bits feel firm but other parts are like quick sand?! The drainage is excellent and it is working its just the sand was fluffed up during laying and is trapping the water. The owners were talking about topping it with rubber pellets after we ride on it and give them feed back but Im not going to take panni out on it whilst it is like that and I havnt seen anyone else recently to find out what is happening to it?

 

[kerilli]

it sounds as if the drainage hasn't got anywhere to take the water to (stream or ditch backed up with water, for instance.) if that's not the case, if there is somewhere for it to go but it isn't draining, then i'd worry. i'd worry about firm bits and quicksandy-bits too... it should be uniform.
a friend had this with a professionally installed arena this summer, they came back and watched her lunge a horse on it, agreed it was very uneven, and replaced the whole surface.
did they build the surface up above the surrounding ground, or level the subsoil leaving a hole and then fill that? this makes a huge difference to drainage when the water table is very high, as now.

 

[P4NN]

No he drainage is working perfecly (heringbone trenches with pea shingle and perforated tubing) The school was half built up on one side and dug down on the other but I dont think it is deep enough to be under the water table but then we are on clay and have had alot of rain?! Ive been told by one of the liveries on this yard it is normal for this to happen and will take a while to compact down (6 weeks?????!)
If you stand in the quick sand bits and tap it with your foot to get the water up you can watch it sink down and the bit you tapped with your foot is then firm so perhaps rollong it would help?