DH and I are looking at a small farmette with many outbuildings - one of which is roughly 40mx20m pole barn (that’s 60 by 120 for you non-metric folks - think small dressage arena). It’s tall (they’re currently storing combines in there) and has a compacted clay floor.
What are your best guesses on cost to convert it into a personal use indoor arena? I am thinking we’d need to add footing and sloped kickboards - anything I am missing?
(I realize it’s probably going to vary quite a bit according to the part of the country - we’re in the Upper Midwest, aka the land of never-ending snow - but any guess would be appreciated before I try convincing DH he needs a new project 
).
no clue but I was in construction for many years, this type of project whatever the estimate is multiply it by at least 2.5.
If the estimate has a lot of hope and promise…then use at least a 3.5 multipler to get the more realist project cost
Few id any new commercial construction projects ever come in on time and under budget…and that is a completely professional project
I assume but it is not stated that the building is clear span? with no sidewalls?
I’m just curious why a barn in the Midwest is measured in meters instead of feet? In know that’s not germane to the topic but it just seems odd.
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While many indoors have sloped sides, it is against physics and causes many falls.
Think about it, the sides slope so the rider’s legs are not apt to get hit on straight sides.
What the sides now do is, if a horse happens to step on the sloping side, it will trip and fall against that wall, being way more apt to hit and mash the rider’s leg.
Have seen it happen, happened to me a few times, one of those ended up with a broken leg, when cantering a newly started colt under saddle that missed the turn a bit and hit the wall in the turn and, yes, slipped right into the wall, my leg pinned there.
I think that more today are making straight sides to indoor walls, for what I see, something to give a second thought.
As for footing, what do you want there?
Standard around here for indoor is on packed dirt, well packed, adding 2" to 3" of fine, triple washed sand.
That works well for most any riding anyone wants to do in there.
You do have to keep it watered to keep dust down, but not so much it compacts too much.
If that doesn’t seem enough, you can always add 1" more to it.
Ours measure 2" to 3" all over and rides great, don’t have any sore or strained horses and they seem to like to work here very well, really going all out to perform without resistance.
Get a yard stick and add thin strips of color tape at 2", 4" and 6" that you can use to measure all along, hitting the dirt hard pan and be sure there is around the " you want in there.
Any more than 4" begins to be too deep in a hurry.
2" to 4" doesn’t seem enough, until you put it down and walk or ride in it, then it is plenty.
Get a yard stick and add thin strips of color tape at 2", 4" and 6"
need a meter stick…then mark at 5cm/10cm/15cm
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True dat. ^^^
We keep our stick hanging right by the arena, so anyone can check.
Big hit with little kids and grown-ups too.
I started riding in the in the early 80’s. Never met a sloped rider guard until years later. They always scared the crap out of me. When it came time to build my own indoor, I didn’t give it a second thought. Straight sided rider guard all the way. In a relatively narrow indoor like yours, it might make even more sense as you’ll lose less width to the guard.
As for footing, if you are in the Midwest, you’ll need to consider two things; dust and freezing temperatures. Sand is often the least expensive footing option, but it cannot be watered in the winter lest it freezes. So you are left to deal with dust which only increases as the years go by and the sand breaks down into finer pieces. There are things you can add to sand footing to keep it from freezing when watered but these chemicals can be rough on the horses skin and you’ll probably want to make sure you have the means to wash legs after every ride year round.
The gold standard (in my opinion) is all weather footing; a mixture of sand, wax or silicone, fiber, rubber etc. It doesn’t freeze or get dusty. And it last years and years. But it is expensive. You might be looking at mid to high five figures for 3" installed. And that is the footing alone, assuming your base doesn’t need to be altered.
This would be my advice. Contact a couple of nationally or regionally recognized footing companies. Have them come in and give you an assessment for your situation. Ask them tons of questions. Can you use the existing base? If not, why not. Have them quote you options from least expensive all the way up to the gold standard and have them list out the job by line item; i.e., what materials are to be used, how many tons, what equipment is to be used, the days/hours of use and the cost. Your jaw may drop when the quotes come back, but you will have some great free advice for your situation and you’ll have a “real quote” in hand. I.e. these companies aren’t likely to run over budget as they do these projects every day.
Next I would talk to BO’s in my area and ask what companies they have used for their arenas. Usually there is a local excavator or footing company in the area that gets a lot of business for good reason. Have the local excavators and/or footing companies come in and give estimates as well. By this time you should be well informed about the amount of material needed and the cost as well as the labor/cost of equipment. Make sure the local guys plan to use a laser for any work. Once the quotes start coming in, you’ll have a sense of what to expect price-wise. You might be surprised. Sometimes the bigger companies can actually get the job done at a competitive rate and they often stand behind their work more so than the local guys. Best to explore all routes; local, regional and national firms.
One other thing to consider in your situation is lighting. Will you be using the facility at night and is the current set-up going to provide you with the appropriate amount of illumination? What about over-cast days? Are the light fixtures safe for agricultural use (i.e. dust and so forth).
Finally I would consider ventilation. Are there large doors at each end of the building to allow for ventilation during the summer? Might be an amenity you can put off for a while, but something to keep in mind.
Lots of things to consider, but certainly very exciting times; embarking on the possibility of owning your own farmette!!
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As far as I know the reason arenas are more expensive is because different construction is needed to have no poles. They are probably load bearing polpoles and cannot be removed.
I didn’t read that it had poles in there, assumed it was a clear span building, why it was being considered for an indoor arena?
I’m a non-metric person generally, but giving an arena size in meters definitely means more to me than feet precisely because of the dressage ring comparison.
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Thank you guys! Lots of great food for thought here!
The building is a metal pole barn (not clearspan) with side walls and no weight-bearing poles in the middle.
Excellent point about the slopped kickboards. Most of the ones I am familiar with are slopped where your leg as a rider is and then slop back towards the wall - like in the attached photo.
And yes, I am currently living in Minnesota but, originally being from Europe, I always seem to compare buildings to dressage arenas (or soccer pitches! ).
“Bluey-While many indoors have sloped sides, it is against physics and causes many falls.”
Having ridden in many indoors with sloped walls, I have never seen that happen. I suspect it has to do with the degree of slope. It needn’t be much of a slope.
The one pictured looks pretty dramatic,
