Hey all!
I have a grass arena I want to put real footing in. The arena is lazer leveled and has good drainage, but I want to put in some real footing. Rubber chips, probably. Do I still need to put down a base? I am in Florida, sandy soil if that changes plans
Thanks
No answers yet… maybe someone knows?
Yes you do need to put down a base - otherwise your new footing will just mix in with the soil and thus defeat the purpose of, and reduce the quality of the footing. Each type of footing has its own installation parameters, so best to check with the footing manufacturer/distributer.
The soil is compacted down though, and it would not need to be releveled or torn up.
How is this any different from a base?
My neighbor just put an arena in and their base was just compacted dirt. So can’t I just skip that step?
I hope I am not coming off as rude, I am just curious!
Thanks!
If money is no object, I’d ask who put in nearby arenas you like and get a consultation/estimate. I bought a farm post-divorce, so couldn’t afford to do it “right” but farm had old outdoor with geotextile, compacted soil, and grass had grown over it. I could afford sand, and now happily realize I may never need “real” arena - just more sand as it ages. But I’m not in FL, so again, budget permitting, I’d get local, professional eyes on. That said, mine works just great;)
[QUOTE=LilyandBaron;8852603]
If money is no object, I’d ask who put in nearby arenas you like and get a consultation/estimate. I bought a farm post-divorce, so couldn’t afford to do it “right” but farm had old outdoor with geotextile, compacted soil, and grass had grown over it. I could afford sand, and now happily realize I may never need “real” arena - just more sand as it ages. But I’m not in FL, so again, budget permitting, I’d get local, professional eyes on. That said, mine works just great;)[/QUOTE]
I don’t have oodles of money to spend, I was hoping to get the whole project done for under 5k, which probably will just cover the footing cost! I was told rubber chip won’t pool water, so I was hoping to just throw some down… But I also would hate to have to tear the whole thing up.
The old owners put in a really lovely grass arena, but it rains so much here I am terrified of tearing it up, or worse, slipping and falling! I have already slipped, I don’t want it to happen again!
Hopefully I can do something similar to what you did 
It’s interesting on the forums - many say you MUST get a pro to install - but then lots of us chime in that our cheap-o arenas work just fine! I knew I couldn’t afford too much, but HAD to ride, or moving horses home would not be worth it. I’m perfectly content. I didn’t go too deep - have 1.5" coverage. I figured that would erode at some point, and worst case, I had kind of sandy/grass which was better than the nice grass that I was terrified of tearing up or slipping on. I figured I could add sand as needed, or just let it erode if it was a dismal failure and start from scratch. I spent less than $3K and love it.
I have three horses at home in work, so just me using it and maintaining it. Biggest issue has been grass wanting to grow back - I use the poor man’s T3 as needed - a yard rake from TSC on the 3 point hitch of the tractor. I drag with a harrow weekly, too. I don’t foresee doing anything but adding sand periodically at this point! Good luck!
