Problems with arena base compaction - help!

[myblackmorgan3]

Note: Stone dust/ decomposed granite is almost $90/ton here. So gravel + fines is my only option… For those of you who used gravel as your base…

After compaction of your gravel base, especially if gravel size was larger than 1/4" - did you have a good 40% of loose gravel still on the surface, even after sitting for several weeks? I know gravel sets best if watered and left to settle, but these loose areas do not seem to have much, if any fines. Gravel size is 5/8" minus - smallest I could find until I discovered asphalt companies, after the fact :no:.

My thought is to (A): sweep up the loose bits, leaving a lot of “pitting” in the base and then have the contractor come back out with a smaller sized gravel + minus. Spread, wet and re-compact.

OR

(B) Leave loose gravel as is and hope just 1.5" (after compaction) thickness of 1/4" or 3/8" minus would be enough to allow the whole thing to be compacted properly.
I know I probably need a thicker layer but we already had to re-do the grading and now re-do the compaction, so the whole thing is turning into a nightmare.

I kinda feel more comfortable getting rid of as much of that loose gravel as I can, but it is a huge job and will leave the surface temporarily looking quite damaged.

This isn’t really a proper base - no one around here seems to do that for a private use arena, on well draining native soil. So that money went into a rock retaining wall.

The stuff causing the issue is about 1" of gravel, spread on top of the native silty loam soil and compacted together. The contractor felt that the gravel might help to bind things, keep the soil from sticking to his 10 ton roller, and could be used to fill any low spots. Sorry we did that now.

Dressage ring, so planning on no more than 2" of footing. Just private home use.

Thank you!

[ridingschoolmrf]

I was wondering where you are located that stone dust/compacted granite is almost $90/ton? Have you looked for Stone dust made of limestone rather than granite? It may be called limestone sand or manufactured sand. I was quoted $19/ton for it here in Alabama.

[clanter]

from my experience I can not see gravel being able to be compacted the same as decomposed granite which easily can be compacted into a near concrete surface

90/ton is nearly the same cost as buying 50 pound Bagged base from a Big Box Store
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Paveston…8001/100580973

[myblackmorgan3]

clanter - that would be A LOT of bags from Home Depot!

I’m in Washington State. We’re granite and basalt. I am envious that decomposed granite is so cheap elsewhere. I can see why so many arena books talk about stonedust/bluestone/decomposed granite.

But here we seem to be stuck with gravel. I just ran the numbers and had a heart attack. We’ve had a lot of unexpected glitches. But it just seems like waaay too much loose gravel to just leave as is. I can’t afford to put a proper base over what I have now. So best I can do is add a smaller gravel plus fines; re-wet and re-compact.

[CLB15]

Question ! I had always thought of gravel as crushed stone, until I had a driveway & barnyard put in with road base which all the local aggregate yards call gravel- stone + fines. Is that what was used for your base, and the rocks settled but the “fines” are still loose and floating? 5/8” minus, in a layer that’ll compact to 1.5”?

I’m weeks away from finally having my ring done and was planning to have it done the way my driveway/barnyard were, but with a layer of footing on top after the base settled. Having last-minute stresses over plans so appreciate reading the feedback & experiences of others.

[myblackmorgan3]

CLB15 Yes - gravel plus fines (“minus”). But in our case, the gravel did not all compact. I think the contractor rushed things and perhaps the fines had separated from the gravel through moving the rock pile a few times between the pit and our house, and once at our house. We had no one here who had experience with horse arenas. So this got done like a gravel driveway - that’s all the guy knew.

I looked into just sweeping off the loose gravel but to do so with any equipment would likely mess up the ground that has compacted. So we are renting a 3 ton roller for a week and doing it again, ourselves. Hoping for the best. We can’t handle a 10 ton roller like the contractor had.

If you can get cheap bluestone/ limestone dust/ decomposed granite/ screenings - that is a better way to go versus gravel. Unless you can get 1/4" minus gravel - then anything that remains loose isn’t so bad for hooves. I asked about this and was told it is not available - until I discovered asphalt companies. That’s who uses the stuff. But too late for me

[SugarCubes]

I’m in a similar situation, OP. My contractor put down a layer of 1" clean as the subbase, then a layer of minus (not sure the size, little rocks with fines) then screenings. Compacted with a 3-ton roller. I’d planned to ride on the screenings until I was positive I was happy with the base, then add sand. However, as I’m riding some of the gravel is coming to the surface We haven’t had a drop of rain since it was constructed, so I’m hoping if I keep dragging and rolling it after I ride, once it rains it’ll all pack together. It’s not bad to ride on now, but I worry about the areas where the gravel has come to the surface.

[myblackmorgan3]

SugarCubes - We just rented a 3 ton roller to see if we could do anything by re-wetting. It’s not heavy enough. 10 ton is minimum. When you say “screenings” - was that 3/8" minus or smaller?

I’ve had pros suggest things all over the place. But none live around here to do the work. Seems like here, people do it themselves and that is where we are headed. Each contractor we hired screwed up in some way - and no one really listened to what I needed - even though I repeated many times.

So, anyway, there is a consultant in Texas - Kieser. You can pay them or, for simple stuff, ask a few questions by phone. They don’t like gravel at all. But I explained to them that not everyone can get their hands on cheap rock dust - which is the premier base. They seem to feel that compacted soil is better than going with gravel, assuming you have soil that will compact well. It just won’t be “all-weather.”

So, for me, I am leaning towards trying to get as much of that rock off - leave just enough that some may have a hope of compacting into the top layer of the soil. One contractor said that we can never wet the soil enough for proper compaction by just watering from above - they actuality dig it all up to wet, and then spread and compact. But he is a road builder. I have never heard or read of anyone doing that for a horse area.

After the guy that did our poor job, the native soil was only compacted down to 2" (and he had a 10 ton roller but rushed the watering). We saw that because we had to pull the fencing out to fix all this mess. Have you checked yours? How did your guy wet things?

[SugarCubes]

@myblackmorgan3

SugarCubes - We just rented a 3 ton roller to see if we could do anything by re-wetting. It’s not heavy enough. 10 ton is minimum. When you say “screenings” - was that 3/8" minus or smaller?

I’ve had pros suggest things all over the place. But none live around here to do the work. Seems like here, people do it themselves and that is where we are headed. Each contractor we hired screwed up in some way - and no one really listened to what I needed - even though I repeated many times.

So, anyway, there is a consultant in Texas - Kieser. You can pay them or, for simple stuff, ask a few questions by phone. They don’t like gravel at all. But I explained to them that not everyone can get their hands on cheap rock dust - which is the premier base. They seem to feel that compacted soil is better than going with gravel, assuming you have soil that will compact well. It just won’t be “all-weather.”

So, for me, I am leaning towards trying to get as much of that rock off - leave just enough that some may have a hope of compacting into the top layer of the soil. One contractor said that we can never wet the soil enough for proper compaction by just watering from above - they actuality dig it all up to wet, and then spread and compact. But he is a road builder. I have never heard or read of anyone doing that for a horse area.

After the guy that did our poor job, the native soil was only compacted down to 2" (and he had a 10 ton roller but rushed the watering). We saw that because we had to pull the fencing out to fix all this mess. Have you checked yours? How did your guy wet things?

I’ve now used 4 different contractors for the two different rings I’ve had built. Had issues with all of them, but after talking to barn owners I’ve boarded with and friends with rings these all seem to be super common issues. I will say, my first ring which I thought was a disaster initially ended up being amazing after about a year of settling and being drug consistently. So, I’m not stressing too much about this one and hoping time will solve my issues! I’m just not going to add footing until I’m certain I’m happy with the base.

Screenings are what’s commonly used in my area, 1/4” and smaller screened fines, it’s often mixed with river sand as all weather footing too.