Easy temporary flooring for tack "room" (extra stall)

[RhythmNCruise]

In January, I’m going to be moving my horse to a new self-care facility that will include our own little private two-stall barn. One stall will be open for the horse to come and go as he pleases (about an acre of pasture all his own), and the other I can use for tack and feed. I’ll also be bringing my own separate shelter for hay storage (long story, not important).

What would be a good temporary (and easy) floor to put down in the tack stall? I was thinking about concrete pavers (12-inch squares). Not that this would be terribly easy, but I could do it, I think.

Any other ideas?

[trubandloki]

Stall mats?

I used stall mats for years. I do have pavers now. They were not cheap or easy. Well, I take that back, they were free, someone we know was taking out a patio. But to buy them would not have been cheap.

[2DogsFarm]

If you use pavers, you need to level the ground or they’ll heave & trip you.
Less work would be pallets.
I have pavers in my chicken coop & rodent tunnels have made them uneven.
I have pallets under my stacked hay in the barn & they’ve stayed flat.

[trubandloki]

Pallets would be hard to walk on for feed and tack, unless you put a floor on top.

[RhythmNCruise]

Good point about the pavers. Probably more work than I want and more expense too.
Pallets are great for hay, but the hay will be in a different shelter. This is for my tack and feed room.
Stall mats might wind up being the way to go. Surely easy.

[SusanO]

Do they still manufacture “Mighty Lite” mats, i.e. lightweight interlocking rubber mats? If not - I have some really lightweight interlocking rubber mats I bought at Walmart. I think they are for exercise rooms. Not really sturdy but might work for a tack room for one person. And pretty cheap.

[Warmblood1]

You could do pallets and then put a sheet of plywood over the pallets.

I also think rubber mats are a good idea. You could also put those over pallets.

I think pavers would be a pain in arse to lay and too hard to sweep and keep clean.

[StormyDay]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Fleming-Supply-Foam-Mat-Floor-Tiles-Interlocking-EVA-Foam-Padding-by-Fleming-Supply-Soft-Flooring-for-Exercising-Yoga-Playroom-6-Pack-3-8-in-thick/5002069389?cm_mmc=shp--c--prd--flr--ggl--PLA_FLR_229_Vinyl-Flooring--5002069389--online--0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gbraid=0AAAAAD2B2W8_bbrltpRZe_MfN-Q61ouWu&gbraid=0AAAAAD2B2W8_bbrltpRZe_MfN-Q61ouWu&gclid=CjwKCAiAyfybBhBKEiwAgtB7flZOAvpjZuJPt_JIkmkWnEeLA4l_IfyYoouNnZtLBzEeAN73YZCRxhoC5j0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

They aren’t strong enough for horses but work well for human flooring.

[LCDR]

Temporary and easy are the two key words. For me that eliminates pavers and rubber stall mats. And if you want a smooth surface to walk on that eliminates wood pallets as well.

I would toss out temporary and easy, and approach the second stall just like I intend to keep another horse there. Spend the time and effort and money on packed stone dust topped with 3 /4 inch rubber stall mats. Consider it permanent and a gift to the owner when you leave.

[2DogsFarm]

I’ve never had a problem until the older (18yrs at my place) pallets started to break down.
But they’ve been holding 300+ stacked bales, so considerably more weight than just me.
Even with some broken places, still walkable - both by me & 200+# of mini who is allowed to self-serve from the stack.
You could put a plywood floor over pallets, even fancy that up with linoleum: sheet or tiles.

ETA:
@Warmblood1 pist d before I saw your reply

[trubandloki]

@Warmblood1

I think pavers would be a pain in arse to lay and too hard to sweep and keep clean.

This is my only complaint about my paver floor, actually. They are really hard to sweep.

[trubandloki]

@2DogsFarm, you are either far more coordinated than I am (probably) or your pallets are different than mine. All mine have gaps between the boards and no matter how hard I try I always seem to end up with a foot falling thru those gaps. Yes, they hold up well… I don’t hold up well falling thru the gaps.

[lenapesadie]

If the existing base in the soon to be tack and feed stall is at least half ass level, I’d seriously consider buying a square of cheap linoleum flooring from Lowe’s or the like and just rig the installation. Lay it down and either tack to the walls or stake it to base if it’s clay or heck even depend on your feed bins and tack holder things to hold it down. I think it would be cheaper than stall mats or gym mats. Pending you have a pickup you can transport it in I think it would be pretty simple.

[sascha]

Indoor/outdoor carpet is cheap, temporary and easy. It can be swept. I used to use it for tack stall at shows and it held up well, BUT, no idea how well it would hold up to daily use. I liked it for that because it was very forgiving on any surface - packed dirt or grass.

[avjudge]

@Warmblood1

You could do pallets and then put a sheet of plywood over the pallets.

This is what I would do. I think it would be easiest unless the current surface is flat enough to throw carpeting or mats over as suggested elsewhere, and with plywood or OSB spanning the pallets and screwed to them should give a nice smooth, safe working/walking surface.

(I have a version of this in a stall that is storing junk I need to sort. But I have cardboard boxes spread out over the pallets rather than plywood, which is enough that I don’t put my foot through and things don’t fall through. Though I wouldn’t recommend it for someplace you’ll be going in and out of.)

[2DogsFarm]

Call me: Klutz
My Size 8s don’t fit through the gaps.
I have gotten a foot into a gap when the cross pieces were broken.
And fallen from the top of the stacked bales - up to the 14’ rafters - luckily onto more bales.

[sascha]

Another choice I just remembered. Doing a thorough search should bring up reasonably priced versions of these: https://swisstrax.ca/?www_swisstrax_ca

I laid that style of plastic tile over stone dust in a giant tent. Traffic was several thousand people per day over 3 days. They pulled up beautifully and I believe went into a couple of the client’s garages/basements - they basically looked brand new after rather heavy use. I think the ones I found came from Walmart for pretty cheap.

[clanter]

cheap easy to put in and remove … painters drop cloth … they are treated canvas Harbor Freight has a 9 by 12 for $15… or put down a heavy gauge plastic or roofing felt as a moisture barrier

I have been using these as windbreaks, lifespan in many many years

Pallets all I can think of is that you create a hotel for Rats

[MsM]

I would use either indoor/outdoor carpet or yoga mat type pads. You are only concerned about human foot traffic so they should hold up.

I have foam type padding that comes like a jigsaw puzzle in my basement on the most commonly used walkway and in front of the washer/dryer. Has held up well for a couple of years there.

I actually have outdoor carpeting in my dog’s outside run. (He kept chewing on and bringing in the little pebbles from the stonedust) Has held up well outside with some patio blocks holding down the edges.

[luvmyhackney]

I would not put pallets and plywood or anything on top, sounds like a rodents prime living quarters.

I would invest in some bluestone, pack it down, then add the exercise mats that interlock on top.