Stable base - advice please

[Spragg]

Hello, can any of you lovely guys advise please....
When building a concrete base for stables do you lay flat or with a fall for ease of drainage for urine, cleaning etc.

We have a plan from the stable suppliers but it simply says the brickwork that the stables are to be bolted down to must be dead level and makes no mention of the concrete base. Help please??

Thank you.

 

[Red-1]

I take it from this that the stables are going to be wooden, and they will be designed to sit on a row of bricks. The bricks need to be level as the stable has been designed to sit on a level base.

It would be a heck of a lot cheaper and easier to lay a level base for the bricks to sit on, but you are correct that having a fall in the concrete would be a bonus for stable care. Mine are level, or even uphill a little to sweep water out. Nothing more dispiriting that spending time sweeping water uphill! I guess it would be possible, but expensive and time consuming, to have the concrete with a fall but the bricks for the base level.

My biggest tip would be to have the stables slightly higher than the surrounding ground. That way you have some flood protection if your normal drainage is compromised. To me that would be more important than a fall in the concrete within the stable.

I would double check what they mean by bolted down.

My outdoor shelter was near to an old tree stump, the tree had died naturally and been cut off before it fell. The builder who came to do the base did not want a concrete base as the area sat upon old tree roots and as they rotted the base would move and crack. My base is hard core then bricks, to allow some movement, then a rubber mat. It has not needed attention yet and has been there since 2011, and it has survived Jay doing canter-departs from the shelter. For a stable I would prefer concrete. We did not bolt the bricks down, but did add stakes and straps to ensure it would not blow away in a storm.

I would contact a builder and see what they advise for your particular situation, then run the plans by the stable supplier to be sure it fits with their specifications.

 

[JillA]

The base for the bricks needs to be level (i.e. round the outside where the walls will be) but you could have a drainage channel in the actual concrete. I regret not doing that in my barn stables, I had to drill drainage holes under the rubber matting and prior to the matting had to have really good absorbent bedding. Drainage is one thing I would insist on another time. And of course somewhere for it to drain to. My land is very level but since I had drainage in the yard and manege, I have a land drain which carries it to a ditch across the field

 

[Tiddlypom]

My stable supplier (Withington Hill) recommends a 1” fall to the front for a stable base. For 12’ x 12’ stables the concrete pad is 16’ deep. The single row of bricks goes in after the stables are up and bolted into position - this is a field shelter going up, but the the principle the same. The building is raised up on upended bricks to allow room for the later infill.

 

[Spragg]

I take it from this that the stables are going to be wooden, and they will be designed to sit on a row of bricks. The bricks need to be level as the stable has been designed to sit on a level base.

It would be a heck of a lot cheaper and easier to lay a level base for the bricks to sit on, but you are correct that having a fall in the concrete would be a bonus for stable care. Mine are level, or even uphill a little to sweep water out. Nothing more dispiriting that spending time sweeping water uphill! I guess it would be possible, but expensive and time consuming, to have the concrete with a fall but the bricks for the base level.

My biggest tip would be to have the stables slightly higher than the surrounding ground. That way you have some flood protection if your normal drainage is compromised. To me that would be more important than a fall in the concrete within the stable.

I would double check what they mean by bolted down.

My outdoor shelter was near to an old tree stump, the tree had died naturally and been cut off before it fell. The builder who came to do the base did not want a concrete base as the area sat upon old tree roots and as they rotted the base would move and crack. My base is hard core then bricks, to allow some movement, then a rubber mat. It has not needed attention yet and has been there since 2011, and it has survived Jay doing canter-departs from the shelter. For a stable I would prefer concrete. We did not bolt the bricks down, but did add stakes and straps to ensure it would not blow away in a storm.

I would contact a builder and see what they advise for your particular situation, then run the plans by the stable supplier to be sure it fits with their specifications.

 

[Spragg]

Thank you so much for taking the time to help.

 

[Spragg]

The base for the bricks needs to be level (i.e. round the outside where the walls will be) but you could have a drainage channel in the actual concrete. I regret not doing that in my barn stables, I had to drill drainage holes under the rubber matting and prior to the matting had to have really good absorbent bedding. Drainage is one thing I would insist on another time. And of course somewhere for it to drain to. My land is very level but since I had drainage in the yard and manege, I have a land drain which carries it to a ditch across the field

 

[Spragg]

Thank you very much. Really helpful.