Mud in Front of the Barn issues

[Complete Turf Care]

I don't like the river rock. Being round in shape it does not lock in place. The it gets coated with dirt and gets wet you have slippery rocks.

I agree. I suggest the landscape fabric, then 2-3" of something that won't move easily. Limestone works good. Or you could try to find some decomposed granite at a landscape supply place or a place that sells landscape rocks and stones.

 

[tcreeley]

Our two horses enter the barn through the same door we do. Their feet mix the sawdust, manure, in with the dirt and it can get pretty thick. There is a slope to get into the barn and a crosscutting drainage slope fifteen feet from the doorr as well. It still gets mucky.

I find the solution is to start with sloped dirt base, gravel on top of that. The horses add the manure, drag sawdust, and mix it. The rain and snow keeps it moist. - What I do is rake it down to the gravel (like cleaning the barn), and scrape it with the bucket 3-4x a year. Every few years I add more gravel.

This is the entrance to the barn- about end of June. Couple of years without fresh gravel.

 

[3930dave]

Building up enough rock may do it for you Eddie, but you may still have cleanout issues ?

That area isn't that big.... what about starting by scraping it clean, then building something like a 4x4 PT frame for that area, covered with expanded steel mesh ? Or frame with steel, if you have some lying around....

Add appropriate hookup points on the frame so that once material starts to build up towards the mesh, you can just pull the whole frame clear with a tractor ?

Mesh opening size ? May depend on how small the goats hooves are.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Sand will soak up a lot of mud.

 

[tcreeley]

There is a source of water and liquid (urine). That will just collect and stay there unless it can run off. I'd suggest creating a sloped area ending in a transverse ditch (filled with stone) to transport the water/liquid away from the area). Otherwise it will just stand there soaking in.

Maybe lay PT lumber on its edge on the sides of the interior and the exterior of the barn and fill the area between the walls with clay dirt to create the slope to the outside and then cover with gravel. The ground should slope away from your barn. Using PT wood between your barn and the fill/gravel will protect your barn from rot and allow you to buildup the slope so water/liquid runs away from the barn.

 

[ededic]

Save yourself the agony and the hassle over many years to come. Concrete. Be done.