Building my indoor arena -Tips/Help wanted

[Duncan]

So I’m in the process of pricing everything out and getting started on an indoor arena. I have a few questions for anyone who is lucky (and crazy) enough to have taken something like this on.

1. can the arena structure be built prior to the footing being done? I live in a very cold climate and have the option to save a bit of money if the arena is built in the off-season for the builder, meaning this winter. But I don’t yet have the footing done, will this create issues? It will be going in an area that is basically grass/pasture and I expect that the process for the footing will be that the ground will need to be dug down, filled with gravel and then compacted, and then sand added to the top. Obviously this can’t properly be done on frozen ground so will have to wait for summer.

2. do you have any tips for lighting to use or not use? Particularly for cold, cold, cold climates? Recommendations for types of doors?

3. ANY other tips are welcome and appreciated. This process is expensive and daunting and I would love to hear tips from others that have experience with this.

4. if by chance you are in manitoba, I would love to hear opinions on builders to use or avoid or any other tips for an indoor arena in our frigid climate.

Thanks!!

[caper]

You need footings first for a structure. If you’re in Manitoba I think your out of luck. I think you would have to wait for spring thaw.

You like have much to do before that. Like securing your building permit for whatever type of building structure you are putting up. They will need engineered drawings to get a permit.

[Tom_King]

footing and footings are two different things. You want to build the building before putting the footing down, but the first thing done when building is the footings.

[melhorse]

The drainage around the building and slope of the base should go in first. Then your building and footing last. I built my arena and then added the footing and it has been 15 years of adding/taking away footing, adding drainage and all kinds of issues. You will want at least 20 feet around the arena to be sloped if you expect any snow. A large bank can cause a huge mess inside the ring come spring! For what you will save-trust me it is not worth it to put the horse in front of the cart.

Do not use HPS or fluorescent lights in the cold. LED is pricey but you will save in hydro bills over the years and they have such a nice light. One tip-add clear roof panels along both or all sides to add good day time and dusk lighting. I have gone with geothermal heating in the tack room, viewing room, washroom and feed room-great investment that paid for itself the first year!

[JannieC]

I had my base done prior to having my indoor built. When the structure was finished, I ordered the sand, planning on having the dump trucks carefully spread it on top of the base. Didn’t happen. The trucking company said they would not accept the liability involved with spreading the sand underneath my fluorescent lights. So each truck dumped their load outside the ring, and I had to put it in, bucket load by bucket load with my tractor and spread it. I would try to find truckers that would safely work inside your ring. I am remembering all this now, I lived in fear of the carpenters dropping nails on my base as they were hanging from the rafters. I did a lot of work with a magnet after they finished. The lights I ordered were from a company specializing in equine facility lighting. They designed a layout to provide 100% coverage. PM me and I will look up the name. Special lights, more expensive initially, but they save electricity in the long run. I got extra roof strength to handle snow. I live in Central Virginia, so not too cold. I probably could have saved a lot of hassle and stress if I had had a contractor to manage the whole job, but I did that myself to save money.

[fjordmom]

Best advice I ever got was from a friend who was a few years ahead of me in the process. She said, “be patient, take your time.” Get all your ducks in order. Know what permits you need and what engineering drawings are required, etc. (We are in the upper Midwest and need extra snow loading by our county’s code requirement. Those lumber yard pole barn packages don’t actually meet our county’s code.)

Put base down the spring/summer of year 1. Make sure it is packed, graded and drained properly. Let it sit open (no building) for at least one winter, better yet a full year. If it heaves or you have other problems, they will be easiest to correct without a building in the way.

I did take her advice, but was lucky to have no problems at all. Well, except the guys drilling the well drove over one corner the morning after an all night rain. They paid for the repair.

.

Spring of year 2 the arena was built over the settled base by the same fabulous contractor that had already built my barn. Sand footing was brought in and leveled by local gravel contractor.

We did put clear panel around about 3 foot of the top of the side walls and also have a clear ridge cap. Everyone comments about how it is just like being outside in the daylight. Worth every extra dollar the material cost. I was lucky to find gymnasium lighting from a local building rehab outfit, so it was a very small fraction of what it otherwise would have cost. With the clear panel though, I have hardly turned on lights in my arena in the 6 years I’ve owned it. From my barn I use lighting by Orion West Lighting and love it. Another friend uses their lights for her arena. It’s more expensive than the run of the mill big box lighting fixtures, but we both would highly recommend them. Instant on in our cold winters and very energy efficient.

Take the time and spend the money to do it right the first time. You will not be sorry.

Good luck and enjoy.

[workin_onit]

I think the majority of builders now require a level base to start the building. After the building is complete, you will add another layer of base and then the sand. Work with a good electrician and they will guide you for lighting. Since our building is private we went for a few less lights and it is plenty bright with very little shadowing. Also, we moved the horse stalls into one end of the arena. The old barn is now used for hay storage, which we desparately needed. The horses love their new barn and it is much easier to ride in inclement weather, no walking outside

[SonnysMom]

I live in PA. The base of most of the indoor is below grade. You walk down a sloped ramp from the driveway. The door at the other end walks out to the grass. There is a French drain system around the indoor. The one end of the indoor the side doors are almost waist height and the dirt comes right to the top. The roof is insulated but the sides are not. Each side has 3 oversized garage door and the walk-out end without the ramp has a really huge garage door. This provides a lot of breeze and light in the summer.
Being below grade and having the roof insulation helps keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I notice a HUGE difference in temperatures between this indoor and other local ones that are similar construction but not insulated and not below grade.

[pony_baloney]

Choose your sliding door placement wisely for catching the breeze. Maybe end doors and on the side too?

I rode in one years ago with the plastic panels that weren’t clear and they were great. Then they were replaced with clear ones…horrible! You were totally blinded when the sun was setting.

Are you installing a sprinkler system? Sound system? Do you need storage at the ends or corners for jumps, seating, tools?

[2DogsFarm]

Learn from my Fail & do not get fluorescent fixtures unless they are enclosed.
I picked them over halide both for the Instant On & lack of annoying buzz.
The tradeoff is they are temperamental about humidity & the open fixtures - set at 16’ joist height - are impossible for me to clean or replace blown bulbs.
I do highly recommend the translucent eavelight panels, along with same for skylights.
I have both, and as long as there’s daylight no lights are needed to ride.
I also have 12wX16h sliders on all 4 sides of the indoor (including where arena attaches to barn).
I can open some or all to bring in more light & to take advantage of breezes/airflow.

[Color_of_Light]

Look at lots of arenas in person first if you can. Most people are proud of their arenas and would love to show them to you. Ask what they like, what they’d do different, take notes. Figure out drainage, lights, how you will ventilate your arena first before you build it (we kept adding on types of ventilation…would have done different if we knew better…).

We excavated our huge pad early summer, baked all summer, laid gravel on road, parking, around building area. Building went up in fall, rains came. When building finished, it was muddy mess on inside, ruts, water. Took almost a year to dry it out, recompact, level, lay down base after that. Was just over a year from erecting building that we could start putting down footing.

Lighting: really with we’d done differently. Wish I had solar!! Between arena lights, running well and sprinkler system, water heater…bills can really add up. Many arenas are very happy with 8 ft fluorescent. Inexpensive to run. My electrician was just telling me about LED fluorescent and how they are PENNIES to run. Light fixture is more expensive, but sounds worth it. Also, run switches so you can turn on every other light, or turn on all lights.

Sprinklers: definitely figure this one out! Sprinklers are so complicated to get great coverage. If you can do underfooting water system, do that. Make it yourself.

Insulation: Insulate if you can, especially the hot/sunny side. Will make difference in long run between running exhaust fans…$$…and having a too hot arena that you can’t ride in in heat of the day.

Arena groomer: investing in a groomer that is appropriate for your footing makes life easier and saves you money in the end.

Manure disposal: if you’re adding stalls, plan for manure disposal. Concrete flooring, roof covered bins that you can dump into from above are great. Also ventilation system to add air into manure pile, to speed up composting.

[mjs8]

If you’re in a cold area where the ground heaves due to freezing, keep that in mind when choosing doors. We have sliding doors that join together in the middle over a catch at the bottom. The ground has heaved enough that the door gets pinched between the overhead track and the ground below, making them impossible to open. Last winter we were unable to use the arena for over 1 month because we could not budge the doors. I think having a channel of pea gravel or something at the base would be helpful, it could be easily moved around if the ground below it heaved and the doors should still slide on their tracks. Better yet would be in install overhead garage type doors that don’t get bothered by the ground heaving at all. Just a thought…

[cherham]

We just completed our new indoor last spring. We live north of Toronto so heavy snow is a concern here. As with our previous arena we opted for a 4 foot swing in door high enough to accommodate a rider on horseback. We also have electric insulated roll up garage doors (20 feet height) to accommodate large tractors. We installed three of these on three sides. The electric doors can be operated by remote controls so if you are riding outside and wish to come inside you simply push a button on the remote. We opted for a steel roof this time around and found a product that I believe 3M makes. It is a very thin liner that is installed on the steel panels during production. It is a little more expensive then steel itself but has the added benefits of sound insulation and removes any possibility of condensation that might occur in an indoor. Additionally the steel roof does not expand or contract during temp changes. Great product!

[alfonsina]

[QUOTE=SonnysMom;8431992]
I live in PA. The base of most of the indoor is below grade. You walk down a sloped ramp from the driveway. The door at the other end walks out to the grass. There is a French drain system around the indoor. The one end of the indoor the side doors are almost waist height and the dirt comes right to the top. The roof is insulated but the sides are not. Each side has 3 oversized garage door and the walk-out end without the ramp has a really huge garage door. This provides a lot of breeze and light in the summer.
Being below grade and having the roof insulation helps keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I notice a HUGE difference in temperatures between this indoor and other local ones that are similar construction but not insulated and not below grade.[/QUOTE]

Sonnysmom – Your semi-below ground indoor sounds fascinating. Have never seen or even thought of such a entity. Do you have any photos you could post (or pm to me)? I will be building in quite a cold climate and would like to consider your idea.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

[QUOTE=mjs8;8433191]
If you’re in a cold area where the ground heaves due to freezing, keep that in mind when choosing doors. We have sliding doors that join together in the middle over a catch at the bottom. The ground has heaved enough that the door gets pinched between the overhead track and the ground below, making them impossible to open. Last winter we were unable to use the arena for over 1 month because we could not budge the doors. I think having a channel of pea gravel or something at the base would be helpful, it could be easily moved around if the ground below it heaved and the doors should still slide on their tracks. Better yet would be in install overhead garage type doors that don’t get bothered by the ground heaving at all. Just a thought…[/QUOTE]

Another idea is a concrete footing across the bottom span. First it allows you to get a good seal, even with two gigantic doors. Second, then you can put in a hook and tightening system, so when you have strong winds the doors are actually locked together, on the outside and on the bottom in the middle. Third, it keeps the footing in and the horses don’t mind walking across it (brush it like you would for a wash stall). Hers is several feet wide.

My friend added this to her indoor after strong winds buckled her gigantic end doors the first year.