Just as the title says! I’m converting a dirt stall to a wash stall and am considering all options. I know that I will slope the floor so that it drains to the back so that I don’t have to deal with a clogging drain but that’s about it. Anyone with experience with stone dust, stone dust with pavers on top or anything else? Thanks in advance.
Stone dust will wash away.
If you can’t do concrete because it needs to be DIY you could try pavers on a very tamped surface plus rubber mats with drain holes.
The big thing is where does the water go? Into a drain? You need slope but I’m not sure if you can slope pavers and have them remain stable.
Stone dust will wash into your drain and clog it.
Our stone dust paths absolutely erode in winter rain.
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I’ve been at many barns that used gravel topped with rubber mats, either solid stall-mat type or the non-slip ones with the holes
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Yes, that would work, gravel large enough to drain and not wash away.
If I could not pour concrete for a wash stall I’d compact ‘stone dust’ (whatever they use for road base in your area, here it is crushed granite or M10) and then put some kind of paver on top of it.
This would probably cost more than concrete however, so unless ‘being able to remove the whole thing’ is very high on your list of requirements… I’d reconsider.
if using pavers, use the rubber ones then there is no need for mats
We have concrete pavers that are interlocking , they are shaped like a capital I , there are rubbber ones that are the same shape
One place I boarded had a “wash stall” in an open shed. They dug down to a solid base, added landscape fabric, then a lot of gravel. It was tilted towards the back where there was a trench that diverted water out to the field. They talked about adding mats, but did not while I was there as it seemed to work well.
Yes, but what’s the plan when the horse poops on that?
I have seen a couple of these wash racks, but never one that had been used yet.
You pick up what you can with a shovel or pitchfork, then rinse out the rest
That is a brilliant idea. Is there enough gap to drain between them?
Not sure how pooping on a rubber mat would be harder to clean than concrete?
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What about a french drain idea and put mats on top?
Yes but you need to fill the drains in with rock and gravel. So the surface is the same as straight gravel. Also the drains need to outlet somewhere.
OK yeah, hadn’t thought that through.
I water drains easily through the joints of our concrete pavers
Thanks much! Since I am doing it myself, pouring concrete is intimidating so this gives me some good ideas. I love the idea of the interlocking rubber pavers.
Because the manure goes through the holes down to the gravel. I was working on the assumption that we were all going to follow the OP’s request to avoid concrete.
I find that mats with holes are a huge PIA. You have to pick them up and wash under them otherwise they stop draining. This happened on my cement wash rack when I used that type of mat. Now I have solid mats and it works very well. What I can’t scoop up I rinse out.
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If you don’t have an actual (pipe) drain, you need to dig a big hole (several feet deep) and fill it with coarse gravel, before you put a surface for the horses to stand on. One of the books on building a barn (don’t remember which one) has a detailed description.
Yes, 100% this. I used to have a hastily-gravelled outdoor wash stall. I thought it would be awesome to use the holey mats for drainage. It was awful. Impossible to scoop poop, which just filled the holes and inhibited drainage. My washrack turned into a swamp, especially bad when I gelded my colt and had to cold hose 20min 3 times a day for a week. The holey mats also began to rip and shred with weather exposure, but I wasn’t too sad when it came time to replace them. I now have a concrete wash rack with solid 4x6 mats and I love it.
Concrete isn’t impossible to do yourself. My husband and I did my 4x12 tack room, using bagged concrete mixed in a wheelbarrow (use a hoe to mix and spread). We had more to do (the 12x24 grooming/feed area, and 10x12 wash rack, and aisles) so ended up buying an electric mixer that could hold 4-5 60lb bags of concrete and water. It was a job, but SO worth it!! I don’t know how I lived without it.
