School surface - membrane vs no membrane?!!

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kittykatcat

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Hi all, will be refurbishing a sand outdoor school in the next couple of months by adding Combi ride....however, when the school was built it was advised that no membrane was put down. 8 years on, and not being maintained (i.e. allowed the sand to become very think in places) some of the hardcore is surfacing. I have been told by people at combi ride that adding this product will help stabilise the surface thus reducing stones coming up, and i will be religiously maintaining the school to ensure that there are no thin parts...HOWEVER...just wanted some experiences of membrance/no membranes?? At the moment the school drains realy well so dont want this to change if i add a membrane....have you had experiences of hardcore coming up?? Or the membrane being exposed???? HELP!
 
We don't have a membrane on the yard I'm on and it seems fine (although it has been down so long, the base has consolidated). I know some people who have a sand school with membrane, and their membrane has been exposed all over the place. Loads of rocks have surfaced through the holes that have developed and they are having to have the whole lot redone.
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No idea about the pros and cons of using a membrane though! They were probably just unlucky
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QR- experts put membranes down, where i work is having an andrew bowen surface down and we have just had 8 rolls of membrane delivered, yes they can rip but only if not done correctly in my opinion, one of our arenas at work has a membrane problem so were getting the people who laid it to sort it out! it stops all the hardcore mixing into your surface.
 
Without a membrane,the base layer will move up into the surface layer and the drainage will sooner or later block. With a membrane and inadequate top layer or poor /infrequent leveling,the membrane will surface and tear,leading to the same problems.
 
A membrane is a must. The only reason it will ever come to the surface is if the sub-base is poorly compacted and the membrane installed incorrectly. If no membrane is present eventually the sub-base will come to the surface. It's a sieving effect really. When you sieve sand all the large particles come to the surface. A membrane prevents this. Correct installation of the membrane is one of the most critical parts of arena construction. I agree the membrane may well have come to the surface on many arenas but this is more than likely down to poor installation and subsequent poor maintenance of the surface.
 
No need for a membrane. Look in some old books - say, pre 1950. No-one used them then. A correctly constructed arena doesnt need one. I built an arena without one. The scalpings on top of the base, but underneath the top surface, was compacted down with a huge vibrating ride-on roller, to within an inch of its life ! yes, the odd stone did come up, which was picked up and thrown away. Far safer than a membrane that has risen. I heard of a horse once that pierced the membrane with a front foot when landing after a jump, and consequently broke its leg !
 
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A membrane is a must. The only reason it will ever come to the surface is if the sub-base is poorly compacted and the membrane installed incorrectly. If no membrane is present eventually the sub-base will come to the surface. It's a sieving effect really. When you sieve sand all the large particles come to the surface. A membrane prevents this. Correct installation of the membrane is one of the most critical parts of arena construction. I agree the membrane may well have come to the surface on many arenas but this is more than likely down to poor installation and subsequent poor maintenance of the surface.

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ooooh! hello mr mainland aggregates... i bought some road planings the other day from you and LOVE them! i recommended you to everyone! (ahem, commission??
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No need for a membrane. Look in some old books - say, pre 1950. No-one used them then. A correctly constructed arena doesnt need one. I built an arena without one. The scalpings on top of the base, but underneath the top surface, was compacted down with a huge vibrating ride-on roller, to within an inch of its life ! yes, the odd stone did come up, which was picked up and thrown away. Far safer than a membrane that has risen. I heard of a horse once that pierced the membrane with a front foot when landing after a jump, and consequently broke its leg !

[/ QUOTE ]The whole point of a membrane is to allow a surface to be put on top of a free draining base without blocking the drainage. Sure you can tamp down,scalpings but ultimately drainage through this will become blocked .
 
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Can I ask you how much the road chippings were?
Thanks
Kate x

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£8.50 per tonne then delivery for us was about another £3 per tonne. we got 20tonnes delivered for about £250

seriously, apart from all the hard work involved, that was the best £250 i've ever spent! the planings are sorted so they're a good size and compact really well.
i looked everywhere for them and they were the cheapest and very very very helpful (i thought my order of 20tonnes made me a good customer, and sent about 20 emails... all of which were answered politely. when i rang i asked if they did bigger orders and he told me they usually deal with thousands of tonnes at a time...)

here's the link:
http://www.mainlandaggregates.co.uk/products/40mm-Planings-(Screened)_.asp
 
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