Surface for a field corner

[Widgeon]

I'm thinking about making a standing area in the corner of our bit of paddock; we have access to more or less infinite woodchippings so my plan is to level the area with chippings, top it with grass mats (cable tied together), and then spread sand / gravel / crushed limestone on top, contained by a timber lip of a few inches, held in place with short uprights. It's just for one horse and a few sheep so doesn't need to be industrial strength (so to speak).

For the topping - what's best? I need this to be theoretically non-permanent to keep the landlord happy, so no whacker plate etc allowed. I can use anything sold by MKM, so that's sharp sand, mixed sand and gravel, gravel, or "limestone crusher run".

Any thoughts? No worries if not, there's bound to be people on one of the various track system Facebook groups who can help.

 

[Tiddlypom]

If landlord is happy I’d wheelbarrow limestone crusher run onto the area, rake it level, roll it with an hand roller, add limestone dust, roll again followed by a thin topping of coarse sand, roll again.

It’s what we’ve done successfully here. It stands up well to horse loafing, gateways and light vehicle use.

I wouldn’t bother with grass mats. I lifted most of mine up.

 

[PeterNatt]

The only way to create a good hard standing area is to get the soil removed to a depth of about two feet and then put in a heavy duty liner followed by graded lime stone and then covered with fines. That will last for years.

 

[blitznbobs]

Mud mats — then you can pick them up and take them with you if you have to
Move or sell them again

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Grass mats are a waste of money, they will sink and rot. I speak from bitter experience. Mud control mats are brilliant and you can lift them to sell on if no longer required or to take with you or just to put in another area.

 

[blitznbobs]

The only way to create a good hard standing area is to get the soil removed to a depth of about two feet and then put in a heavy duty liner followed by graded lime stone and then covered with fines. That will last for years.

I used to believe this - then I bought a pallet of mud mats - totally revolutionary tbh

 

[ycbm]

The only way to create a good hard standing area is to get the soil removed to a depth of about two feet and then put in a heavy duty liner followed by graded lime stone and then covered with fines. That will last for years.

No it isn't. I've done one myself with grit washed off a road into my yard, one with bought in stone, and seen plenty of others done simply by dumping in more stone until the stone stops sinking into the mud.

Though as above, mud control mats are a great option these days and a friend has resolved a welly deep gateway area with them.
.

 

[Widgeon]

Thank you all! Mud mats are not an option I'm afraid, for the area I want to cover I'd be looking at thousands of pounds. But I can get crushed limestone for under £50 a ton. @Tiddlypom that sounds like exactly what we need so I will go with that approach and (as a couple of you have said) not bother with grass mats.

I should say that the ground is not actually muddy, I just want to future proof it a bit and give me somewhere dry underfoot to tack up.

 

[Widgeon]

I've done one myself with grit washed off a road into my yard

The ultimate dream. Top Wombling there. I can only hope to achieving such upcycling myself one day.

 

[TGM]

I would worry that if you use wood chippings to level the area they will quite qucikly rot down and become swampy, causing the grass mats to sink into it.

A better option might be to use Mud Control mats if the budget allows, these are rigid, so don't buckle into soft ground like the normal grass mats too. Most people just level the ground before laying with a rake or similar, but you could use gravel or sand to fill any stubborn craters if the area is really poached. Sand is the recommended topping, but if you are planning to feed hay on the area then you might want an alternative topping around the hay feeding area. (I just use waste haylage on my MC mats).

 

[Widgeon]

I would worry that if you use wood chippings to level the area they will quite qucikly rot down and become swampy

Yes this is a really good point so I think I'm going to steer away from the initial idea and do what @Tiddlypom has done. Unfortunately budget won''t stretch to mud mats, and I think trying to lay them on the surface we have might result in homicide.

 

[ycbm]

The ultimate dream. Top Wombling there. I can only hope to achieving such upcycling myself one day.

I lived at the bottom of a ¼ mile of road with a broken and gritty surface and every time there was a storm I got a delivery of up to 5 barrow loads of small stone right in front of the stable doors, a few feet away from where I wanted to create a hardstanding. It was fetlock deep in mud when I started and almost completely dry when it was finished.

I also made 30m path 1m wide with 6 tons of cheap stone from MKM and some scalpings from where our yard was resurfaced.

Before I splashed out and concreted it, I turned a Muddy yard with a broken drain leaking into it into hardstanding that worked for a year using scalpings

The first two worked brilliantly for years and were still working brilliantly when we left.
.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Don’t use wood chip! Whatever you do! Yes it’s great at first but what an absolute nightmare when it rots, which it will!
We were so lucky that we have access to machinery to have been able to scrape it all back up but even then it was a disgusting mess to find a home for and I will never ever use the flaming stuff again!

 

[Gloi]

Don’t use wood chip! Whatever you do! Yes it’s great at first but what an absolute nightmare when it rots, which it will!
We were so lucky that we have access to machinery to have been able to scrape it all back up but even then it was a disgusting mess to find a home for and I will never ever use the flaming stuff again!

100% agree with this .horrible stinking wet mess.

 

[Widgeon]

Noted, thank you! We'll wheelbarrow it through and use it in the garden then.