Recommendations on building an arena - cheapest way possible!!

[Popos]

I am looking at building an arena/school, 30 x 20, or we could make it 20 x 40 if we move some fencing and steal some of his field :/

Has anyone built one themselves? We have a digger we can use. I don't really know much about this or the costs, but have just had a quote on surfaces which makes so sense to me whatsoever!

Would be interested to hear from anyone about the best way to go about it.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

You have had a quote for surfaces, I assume you mean just the working surface, the artificial surface. What do you not understand? Generally you work on costs per square metre for your arena.
The main work is the levelling and drainage, fencing if required [and it usually is] is additional.
Drains to a ditch, some coarse material which has to be levelled and rolled to compact it.
There is usually a membrane.
And then the working surface. In a windy area you need something which will not blow away!

 

[Popos]

Thanks for reply

This is what the quote says, but I don't understand it!


140 Tonnes of EQ11a Pro-Grade Equisilica Sand @
£27.25 per tonne including delivery​£3,815.00

1 Load of Flexiride @ £1,750.00 including delivery​£1,750.00
THIS PRICE IS BASED ON A SHARED LOAD

​Or

Complete Surface
4 Loads of Flexiride @ £6,600.00 including delivery​£6,600.00
Sand to Go Through The Top
40 Tonnes of EQ11a Pro-Grade Equisilica Sand @
£27.25 per tonne including delivery​£1,090.00

2 Rolls of Woven Membrane @ £155.00 per roll plus
Delivery @ £50.00​ £360.00

2 Rolls of Non-Woven Membrane @ £290.00 per roll
Delivery included with the above membrane​ £580.00

4 Tubes of Membrane Glue @ £15.20 per tube plus
Delivery @ £20.00​ £80.80

 

[Tiddlypom]

Has the firm which provided the quote made a site visit?

The quote includes surface and membrane, but no drainage stone or pipe work.

If you have a digger, you can do a lot of the work yourself, as long as you know exactly what you are doing. The ground works must be done correctly, or the arena will fail.

I had one of the big firms install our 40m x 20m sand and rubber arena. It took a team of two highly experienced guys working 12 hour days, 3 weeks to build it.

 

[be positive]

Whereabouts are you? I have just been offered approx 20x 20 ton loads of surface free but it is a one day only offer, in Somerset on Monday, I am having some to top up my arena, a friend is also having some but the rest is available to anyone local that wants it.

 

[Popos]

Sadly I'm not bear Somerset!

From what I'm seeing I'm looking at several thousand with doing the groundwork ourselves?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Several thousand to do a decent job, I'm afraid. Be careful when sourcing your materials, as there are a lot of sharks out there, who will readily sell you sub standard products.

 

[cambrica]

I'm not sure where you are but most of the high grade silica sand comes from the quarries in and around Leighton Buzzard, Beds. It may be cheaper to buy direct from the quarry. Google silica sand Leighton buzzard and you can get a list if the quarries. LBsand is one that do high grade equestrian silica.
Have you got planning permission as that can add to the cost.

 

[windand rain]

It isn't possible to do a good job on the cheap
1 need a piece of suitable land
2 need planning permission at least for change of use of that bit of land
3 need well drained land and land drains
4 need a level area of well drained hard core
5 need a compacted layer of sand or small stone
6 need a good quality membrane
7 need more sand to protect the membrane
8 need a good surface which will not blow away
9 need a good fence with a sturdy easy to open gate
So not cheap and if done properly will be a huge asset done badly and you will rue the day you started as is will spoil your land and possibly damage your horse

 

[soloequestrian]

Mine would have been reasonable if we hadn't had to excavate one end and build up the other - that was several thousand pounds worth of big digger hire. If you have a relatively flat are to start with, you might be able to do it with a smaller digger. Once our area was flattened, we put in about six diagonal drains which were surrounded by hardcore. Above that is a woven membrane, then about 4" of compacted hardcore, then a fleecy membrane. My surface is 4" of sharp sand from a local quarry - silica was going to be ridiculously expensive to transport - with a good layer of shredded carpet fibre on top. My fence is just electric rope. I love the surface - it rides really well and very rarely needs grading (I've done it about twice in a year). I got the carpet from Equicon - Brennan is very helpful.

 

[TigerTail]

Have a look at this

[ur]http://www.mcveighparker.com/content/riding-arena-kit-40m-x-20m[/url]

Does your quote include labour?

 

[Marydoll]

Whatever surface you use, put in the very best of drainage its well worth it

 

[Bennions Field]

I did mine with the help of a local digger driver, the best thing i can advise is make sure you get the drainage right. We leveled the land, it was almost level anyway, and installed three land drains, appros 2ft deep, then put a woven membrane down to stop the stone mixing with the soil. On top of this around a foot of clean 40mm stone was put down, the membrane was put into the drains to line them, and the drainage pipe put in with the stone on top. This meant the surface was by this point approx 6" above ground level. On top of this was put a non woven membrane, looks a little bit like felt, and this was sealed on the seams to prevent the stone mixing with the surface. Finally the surface went on top, i have wood chips which are around 8-12" deep, the sort used on racing gallops as its only used by myself and 8 years on its still amazing to ride on . The sides were boarded round to retain the surface and we used lots of the soil that was moved originally to build up the sides so they help retain the surface. It works really well, drains very well and doesnt really freeze, or at least defrosts quickly when v v cold. I fenced it with wood posts and 40mm electric fence as my mare scratches on post and rail and smashes it very quickly! All in it cost around £7k aprox 8 years ago so not really cheap but lots less than having it done by contractors, it was very hard work and lots of hours but has been well worth it

forgot to mention, check with planners - you will probably need permission, i didnt at tge time as mine is built above ground and apart from the land drains ( you dont need permission for these) i didnt really excavate anything other than scraping the turf off. Ive been reported to the planners by my lovely neighbours but when they came out and checked they confirmed what the first planning officer said, that i didnt need planning approval . Always check first though. It helps that i also dont have lighting for it either

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

http://www.mcveighparker.com/product-listing/9/13

do not under any circumstances use an inexperienced digger driver ......... get this bit wrong and your are throwing you money down the drain . literally.

 

[Popos]

Thanks for the replies. The quote did not include any labour. I need to research this a lot!

 

[catkin]

First things first - check out planning regulations. You are most likely to need planning permission - and you can be made to re-instate to the original condition if you do without (this can cost many many times more than putting an arena in.......). There may be conditions attached too, screening with trees, restriction to private use only etc etc.

Most important part of an arena is the the bit you can't see - groundwork and drainage - these must be got right at the start. It depends upon the site how much this will cost - a level site with good access for heavy machinery will cost less than anywhere that needs extensive groundwork or where there is no access for machinery and large loads of materials.

Unless you are very lucky the costs will be 10k upward for a good quality but standard arena. It's best thought of as a long-term investment (20 years plus is not unfeasible) - it really is not worth skimping at the beginning.

 

[PeterNatt]

I have seen too many D.I.Y. arenas that have failed. Far better to get a reputable company to install the whole thing. It may cost more money but in the long term it will save a lot of heartache.