By Alexis Grace
The investment that goes into horse arena construction is huge and so any mistakes made could be painfully costly. Anyone who’s previously paid for remediation work can attest that getting something done right from the planning stage is critical.
There are several problems that people face with arenas ranging from people gutting their arena wrong to contractors building an arena full of problems. All these problems start when planning to build one. But the good news is that they could be avoided by avowing a few mistakes. A lot of people don’t know where to start. What should one do to avoid problems in the future?
Mistakes to avoid …
Most of the problems that people face can be traced back to basic design mistake which can be categorized as follows:
- Picking the Wrong Location
When building a horse arena, the first thing that needs to be put into consideration is the location. For proper and adequate drainage, the right spot has to be chosen. The location involves checking the properties of the soil. The nature of the soil determines how much effort goes into getting the water off the grounds.
Half of this battle can be won by strategically planning the horse arena construction on a high point area of the property. One mistake that owners make is building it where they want it to be rather than putting the area’s geography into consideration.
Once the owner is satisfied that the location will work well, it’s time to move to the next step which involves draining a drainage system that is capable of coping with the demands of the area.
- Not Taking Care of Drainage
If an owner goes wrong with the location, he will spend lots of money trying to sort out drainage-related problems.
In some locations with the right fall, the owner can get away with drains along the sides of the arena to carry off the water. This works if the drains themselves have sufficient slope to enable the water to clear on its own.
One last thing to consider when it comes to drainage is where the water goes after leaving the arena. This ensures that there’s no pooling nearby.
- Choosing Low-quality Construction Materials
This is another big factor. Horse arena construction doesn’t just involve googling the instructions and following the steps.
Ensure that the right raw materials are used to do the job. Since these vary from one region to another, work with what is available nearby as long as they’ll get the job done. After seeking out the best materials locally, ensure that it’s compacted down to form a hard and uniform layer.
Choose the right material for the top later too. The product should offer great performance by allowing water to pass through while still creating an all-weather arena.
- Poor Maintenance
It’s worth investing some time and a little money in maintaining an arena that so much money has already been invested in. Get rid of weeds as soon as they appear. Otherwise, their roots will penetrate the lower layers and cause damage.
Conclusion
Trying to take shortcuts in a bid to save money is the easiest way to run into problems. This will prove to be costlier to repair as compared to doing things right from the start. Never try to compromise on location, drainage, quality of materials, and maintenance.
