Manège advice please ?

digitalangel

digitalangel

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Hi can anyone in the know she'd some light on this ?

Basically we have found a property we really like . It has a sand and rubber manège however it had weeds growing in it which made me suspicious. We went back with a builder and the agent and dug in the corner and found there was no membrane at all. Also the sand was laid straight onto this white stuff which looked like chalk. I am told the ménage drain reasonably well but I haven't seen it after sustained rain. The manège also needs a top up as the base is only 1.5 - 2 inches deep in the centre.

I did some more digging and found ut that the manège is quite old. There are no planning documents registered for it online, and the neighbours say it was there before they moved in which was 25 years ago. They also said for the most part it was totally overgrown with weeds but had been de weeded around 10 or so years ago.

So should I just top it up and hope it drains well ? O dig it up and put a membrane down and relay it ? thing is if I was going to do that I would be in half a mind to re-site it anyway as the location isn't great.

No idea what to do ! I really like this property but sorting this manège is starting to sound expensive......
 
I just wanted to say: so nice to see it spelled properly!!!! :)

Sounds like it could be an expensive overhaul... weeds would grow in sand if there were a membrane or not if neglected/unused (seeding rather than growing through) but the drainage could be sorted without a membrane.

Hope you get some expert help. I only have limited knowledge and can tell you a school can flood with/without a membrane - it's the drainage that matters most. Weeds can be managed.
 
TO be honest i would not want an arena with a surface membrane as they seem to always come up. What you have sounds like a blinding layer of chalk? which should work fine. I would go and see it in torrential rain and see for yourself. Weeds are not a problem, I have an arena that was green when we bought the property. i simply harrowed and levelled and harrowed and harrowed and the weeds have now gone.
 
Thanks for the reply ! THIS have no idea what the drainage is like or even if there is any drainage and given the age if the manège I am thinking that there may be no drainage at all ? In its current situation there is a ditch running along one side and it looks like its been built up, so it's higher than the surrounding land on one side. I Have googled loads and I can't find anything about chalk being used as a base, so I am thinking perhaps it is very very old sand ? It's very white... I have I no idea what it is and even using a pick axe I couldn't get through it.. So whatever it is it's pretty solid. Also the property is on Weald clay so not chalky soil ! My main worry is stones coming up to the surface but I didn't see any stones underneath.
 
Bosworth said:
TO be honest i would not want an arena with a surface membrane as they seem to always come up. What you have sounds like a blinding layer of chalk? which should work fine. I would go and see it in torrential rain and see for yourself. Weeds are not a problem, I have an arena that was green when we bought the property. i simply harrowed and levelled and harrowed and harrowed and the weeds have now gone.
Click to expand...

Thanks bosworth I guess it might be but no way to know what's under the chalk ? I have read horror stories about membranes is I gues s they're not always needed.. Good food for thought I guess !
 
hi think the the chaulk is probably lime stone, which is cheaper to put down than other stone. i don't know about draining other than pop over when it is raining or ask if you could put the hose on it.

as i understand 1/2 the battle with arenas is getting planing permision so if you have one even if it is not in perfect condition is better than not having one on site.
 
i dont have a membrane in my manege and it works really well. why dont you (if you get the property) spray the weeds off, level the surface and use it for a month or 2 and see how it holds up? at least there is an existing manege, so worst case scenario is dig it out and start again! at least you dont have the hassle of trying to get planning permission.
 
I agree with HollyandIvy - its probably limestone. I think you will find that a lot of older arenas that have stood the test of time for decades are actually better than some of the newer ones. Cross your fingers that it rains heavily soon and go and see it?

If you were in our area, you would struggle to get planning for something that you already have...
 
Thanks guys. The problem is that the surface is way too thin to ride on it at present so I wouldn't want to test it with one of mine ! Will have to wait for rain I think...the vendors do say it drains pretty well and only ever puddles in one corner after heavy downpour but it's still far from ideal. Thing is I don't want to spend thousands on a new surface only to find out it needs ripping out and starting again! Ideally if it's that broken I would like to resite it and use the old manege for lunging or even all weather turnout. I can't find anything on limestone menages either does anyone have one ?
 
You could speak to Martin Collins and someone will come down and take a look for you. I got my sand through them when we built our arena and it was several pounds cheaper than our local sand quarry and MC guarantee that the sand is the correct one for arenas.
 
Maybe invite someone like Martin Collins to assess and quote you 2 figures: what HAS to be done and what IDEALLY COULD be done. On the strength of the latter you may be able to negotiate the house price down a touch, and thus afford to do more?
 
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