Another way to take up a small space when stall is not exactly mat dimension is to put down a piece of treated wood cut to about the size of the open space. A 1 by 6 by 12’ for the space you need to fill should work. Then the stall mat abuts a solid “wall” and, as others have mentioned, horses’ hooves don’t actually reach the wall. You will have to replace the board in time, but treated wood should last for many years and getting a new piece shouldn’t be difficult.
@mvp I went w interlocking because it seemed logical that there would/should be less mat movement or chance of a matt coming up and out and being annoying and needing work. I made sure the stall was flat and where the tabs join was easy to snap in (meaning perfectly flat). I also cut my mats around posts to be sure they would be held and then used the strips on the outside.
AND the jigsaw is so easy but you do need a few things in place. Either long boards on each side (and you push DOWN on the jigsaw) OR short blocks if I was cutting something short like the square around a post in the corner.
How soon are you doing mats?
Thanks for sharing all that info.
So did you still cut these mats a bit “big” so that you had to pound the interlocking edge down? And you cut notches out of the mats near the post, rather than laying it flat to the inside of the post? Then you put thinner strips to the outside of that, between that mat and the wall (so narrower than the width of the post)? Sorry, I can’t picture what you describe 
I’ll be at this point in my build in the next 6 months or so.
buy a bag of quickcrete. mix it with water in a disposable bucket. Oatmeal consistency. Pour it in the space between mat and wall. use something like a length of board to smooth out the top.
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Pretty much all yes. I’ll get you pictures. The interlocking mats sit in the middle of the stall and the mat strips I cut were on the edge. BUT, Lorilu presents an easier idea yet? It sounds like it. I also received a PM of someone suggesting I use a board along the outer edges but my husband nixed that idea.
The reason i wanted the stalls to be 12x12 on the inside - before I built my barn I co-oped in a small shedrow style barn. The stalls were supposed to be 12x12 but in actuality they were 11 x 11.5. They were too small for big horse. So when I got ready to build my own barn I didn’t want to go down to the barn when they were framing it and find out my stalls were smaller than 12x12. My barn is has a 16 foot wide hallway so I am sure the extra width came off there. I would have loved 12x14 but 12x12 worked out better with the wash rack and feedroom and the hall width.
I put in the mats after the stalls were done and you can remove the walls between the stalls if you wanted to.
So if you took out one of those walls, what would the floor be like beneath it?
The floor would have crusher run ( screenings) because the mats do not come all the way to the edges of the stall. The big stall has one large connected mat so if I divided it into 2 12x12 stalls it would have a mat under the wall.
mvp: funny…back in the beginning of this thread, I was explaining exactly that! the wall(s) that divide my stalls are metal ‘tracks’ then filled with wood boards. Those tracks can be removed and re positioned if you wanted to have a double stall, (or in my case) make a one smaller / for a mini, etc…if your build will allow it YES. 100% prep the entire ‘no interior walls’ run of packed , even, level footing FIRST. then, put in your continous row of interlocking mats over the entire run. you will have very limited cutting if any and the walls do secure your mats even more. Whatever ‘changes’ you may make to your interior spaces in your future, you’ll always have no gaps continuous mats.
side note: I held onto the link FOREVER of a member’s barn build where her builder made ‘slideable’ walls with pins. It was INGENIOUS. mine couldn’t adapt the idea but I really wanted that! I’ll try to search that up, its been quite awhile!
member was on it fast! I couldn’t even search my own threads…hahahahahaha…man I suk. anyway I just thought: this was brilliant, but ? also may be something to consider in a new build with wall /interlocking mat options … https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/168017-trying-to-find-the-thread?331366-trying-to-find-the-thread=&highlight=sliding+stall+wall
My builder also pushed back and I don’t have many regrets in my build but that is one of them. Removable walls and creating a big run in area along with a big lean makes so much sense. Why not always create more flexibility and options when you’re building? My lean is 12’ and I wish I’d gone 14’ now - why not. That too.
Paddock W…I think you should be nice to yourself! I can PROMISE you…never one person would not have at least a few things they wished in hindsight they’d do different! I think your posts indicate you really tried to review all as best as you could FIRST. thats the best advice we can give em! the things I thought out intensely and stood my ground on…(hahaha) I am still very happy with! the things I was never even considering as intently as I should have! I wish I"d done better on! Where it makes me shake my head most is : people who have a gazillion choices on how to do things. I had a TINY property. I had an existing ‘boat shed’ I was adapting for a barn! I had only 300 ft. ‘frontage’ for the whole width of the property. where my fences / gates/ hay barn/ wash rack/run in/etc could go was SO limited. so…made it work for the property best I could. but MAN if all of those options were available to me to make multiple choices on? Thats so much EASIER to get what ya want! that kind of build makes a big difference! (and I envy them!!!)
my removable walls are made of 2x8x12 boards. They slide into a channel made of 2x2s with a space in between for the boards. I take them out from the top - one side has “shorter” channel so I can get the board out. The board on the bottom is PT.
