How much would it cost to concrete my yard?

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rolsterlady

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Hi all

Just wondering if any of you knowledgeable lot can give me a rough estimate of what it would cost to concrete a section of my yard?

As you can see in the attached photo (taken in summer), my stables have a small section of concrete in front of them already, but in winter the grass around this area turns into 1ft-deep mud and it's a pain if i want to tie the horses up etc as it's not a big enough area!

I just want to extend the concrete by a few feet, so the area the new concrete would need to cover would be approx. 30ft x 4ft.

Would also consider alternatives to concrete if anyone has any ideas?

Thanks in advance! :)

January62013
 
You would probably be looking at £200 (Inc VAT) for just the concrete alone, at 150mm thick concrete. Also bear in mind that you will require excavation for the concrete and hardcore; provision and installation of hardcore.

Probably at least £500 for the lot
 
£500 ,that sounds about right,providing the concrete lorry can get close.One of those mixer lorrys would be ideal rather than buying it by the cubic metre. Only problem is access.
 
Be cheaper to dig out an area, hire a small digger, think they are called bobcats. Then fill the area with road plane, the stuff they have when roads have been dug up. Its been done where I keep my girls and they rolled it with a mini roller, its absolutely brilliant and was all done in a day.
 
wench said:
You would probably be looking at £200 (Inc VAT) for just the concrete alone, at 150mm thick concrete. Also bear in mind that you will require excavation for the concrete and hardcore; provision and installation of hardcore.

Probably at least £500 for the lot
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Not only that but you also have to get planning permission now to concrete over an area which currently is permeable.
 
Izzwizz said:
Be cheaper to dig out an area, hire a small digger, think they are called bobcats. Then fill the area with road plane, the stuff they have when roads have been dug up. Its been done where I keep my girls and they rolled it with a mini roller, its absolutely brilliant and was all done in a day.
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The more i hear the more i think this is a better idea!

The only problem is sweeping and keeping it tidy - how do you find that? I can imagine straw and hay being blown all over it and it becoming really messy? Still better than grass though i suppose!
 
A concrete lorry should be about the same width as a horse lorry... so I think should fit through a gate.

Best option would be to ring local concrete firm up, and see what they have to say. If you use a "local" name, rather than Lafarge etc, they may well have smaller lorries.
 
rolsterlady said:
The more i hear the more i think this is a better idea!

The only problem is sweeping and keeping it tidy - how do you find that? I can imagine straw and hay being blown all over it and it becoming really messy? Still better than grass though i suppose!
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Bits of hay do get caught up but I have brushed it and its not too bad. Does make me be careful and more tidy but then mine live out so I only cross the area with haynets to the field shelter. I guess if you kept it with a rough finish you could rake it with something like a leaf rake to get the worst up and if all else fails pick up the bits by hand! Lol
 
Izzwizz said:
Bits of hay do get caught up but I have brushed it and its not too bad. Does make me be careful and more tidy but then mine live out so I only cross the area with haynets to the field shelter. I guess if you kept it with a rough finish you could rake it with something like a leaf rake to get the worst up and if all else fails pick up the bits by hand! Lol
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Yes i guess you're right! I think it would work out much cheaper than concrete, definitely something i will look into... thank you :)
 
Well you could get a concrete pump but you dont need many cube for that area - and the will ask you loads of questions like slump - how runny you want it - if you want OPC - ordinary portland cement - if you want WRC - water represent stuff.... it just means it drys out quicker - so would not worry about that or you could get a mini mix - these can usually pump it a short distance but for a larger amount you would need a bigger vehicle but they can usually pump a good 15 ft or so.

To lay it really flat you could hire a screed - its like a very long level or you can do it by hand.... and if you are having a lot delivered you will need a concrete poker.... what I would do is dig out about 100mm - tamper it down, lay a wooden frame around where you want the concrete to lie, and barrow it accross.

Good luck - I am no expert but feel free to ask if i can be of any further help
 
Gingerwitch said:
Well you could get a concrete pump but you dont need many cube for that area - and the will ask you loads of questions like slump - how runny you want it - if you want OPC - ordinary portland cement - if you want WRC - water represent stuff.... it just means it drys out quicker - so would not worry about that or you could get a mini mix - these can usually pump it a short distance but for a larger amount you would need a bigger vehicle but they can usually pump a good 15 ft or so.

To lay it really flat you could hire a screed - its like a very long level or you can do it by hand.... and if you are having a lot delivered you will need a concrete poker.... what I would do is dig out about 100mm - tamper it down, lay a wooden frame around where you want the concrete to lie, and barrow it accross.

Good luck - I am no expert but feel free to ask if i can be of any further help
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:eek: :rolleyes:

Do you speak english? :D

Only kidding, thanks for the advice, i think i'll ring around and see what the best deal is, and if it works out too expensive i'll have to look into hardcore/road scrapings i think!
 
Personally i'd want it nearer 200ml deep, and if I was doing it myself I would reinforce it with chicken wire and glue. But that might be viewed as somewhat excessive. And really that's too big an area to make one's own concrete for, even with a mixer, at least if doing the job in one day. You could definitely hire a digger and clear the ground yourself - have you got somewhere to put the spoil?

You could use limestone scalpings which is road base stuff but be careful you don't end up with a load of weed-filled crushed hardcore instead
 
If you want to go the whole hog you can get some wire mesh - comes in different thickness- and get some chairs - for the mesh to sit on....

they may ask you what size stone you want you concrete to have - ie 20mm or 50mm - if you talk to the little companies then they will probably be more helpful and you can usually pay cash on delivery.

You need to work out what cube you want - and phone round accordingly but many places will charge you for empty capacity i.e. if its a 6 cube wagon and you only want 4 cube - you will be charged a rate for the 2 cube not used.... the company may want wash down facilities as well - hose pipe and some thick plastic will usually suffice.....

The bigger co's want you to know exactly what you want... so thats where all the daft q's come in.... and then they will give you a price and then you have to phone and book the del with someone else.... what area of the world are you in?
 
Have just done an area in front of our tack and storage shed this weekend. Like you have concrete apron on actual stables, but wanted some more hardstanding.

Our yard did have quarry waste and dust topping about 20 years ago, and this has now disappeared under a layer of grass, so does drain but pony hooves are churning it up and the mud can be slippy to walk on. I have areas as well where I have used road planeing and they are great for gateways, walkways etc. but not so great if you want to sweep up!

We have used concrete slabs which we got second hand from reclaimation yard and they are great, easy to lay, removable if needed (so not permanent) and job done in a day without mess! Old pavement slabs are great for this sort of job.
 
Yes, probably about £500 for the concrete option.

We had a large area of road chippings put down last year to make a winter turnout area that tags onto the yard area. A farmer did all the work with us, he got some free rough hardcore (very rough) smoothed it a bit with his tractor bucket, then we ordered 3 lorry loads of chippings at about £100/20 ton lorry to go over the top. This is what we ended up with... Been a fab winter turnout for two winters, the hay and straw rake up (although we have about 20' of concrete in front of the stables) easily. We think we may have to top it up at the end of this winter with another load or two, as the haylage and poop, although cleaned up regularly, do turn a bit muddy eventually.

winter2012028.jpg
 
The other consideration at this time of year when the ground is wet, when you're bringing heavy concrete/planing lorries on your land is that they will probably sink and cause more mess.

This was taken in autumn, so the land wasn't so wet, and the lorry hit a spot where the hardcore wasn't so deep, and we nearly lost the field shelter next to it as the lorryalmost tipped right over (worse than this photo, this was as it started sinking and we still found it amusing at that point!) and had to be pulled out by a huge tractor, which also made weals in the ground as it wheel spun!

bonfire2011005.jpg
 
Have you thought of putting down slabs on top of hardcore? i too have about a 4 ft concreterun in front of my stables and put hardcore/stone down so I can drive my trailer past into the barn, there's around 8" of stone and the I just roughly levelled off the stone and dropped some old slabs on top, thev'e eventually levelled out well and 5 years later are still great:). They cost £1 each and a couple of days hard lifting but they're easy to sweep and easy for the horses to walk over and give my yard a squared off look and therefore loads of tying up room :). They are temporary so don't need permission too !
 
Thanks for all of your replies :)

I've emailed my local council to ask about road scrapings as i think this is going to be my best and cheapest option. I also think it looks really smart if done properly!

When i get it done i'll be sure to post photos of what it turns out like!

Thanks again everyone, you've been very helpful :)
 
Honey08 said:
We had a large area of road chippings put down last year to make a winter turnout area that tags onto the yard area. A farmer did all the work with us, he got some free rough hardcore (very rough) smoothed it a bit with his tractor bucket, then we ordered 3 lorry loads of chippings at about £100/20 ton lorry to go over the top. This is what we ended up with.
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This is exactly what I am after. Did you need to get planning permission for this Honey08?
 
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