raders and levelers - building a horse barn, need advice

[qualityhardware]

I am building a horse barn for the wife. It's going to be a simple lean to / shed row setup - post and beam with an asphalt shingle roof. Three stalls and a tack room. We don't shoe our horses, so I don't want to put down concrete as a base.

I've got a 28 hp compact tractor (YanMar) with a loader and box blade.

Need some help with grading. The barn is going to go on a 40' by 80' plot.

What's the best setup to ensure good drainage in terms of layers of gravel and soil? I'm in NC, and we have nothing but clay. It doesn't drain, period.

What's the best way to check my lines so that the plane is level and the drainage is good?

Many, many thanks.

 

[Renze]

why no concrete under non-shoe'd horse hoofs ?
I suppose you use any kind of bedding. With bedding there is no problem. If the horse is a scratcher like one of our horses is, you need to put a rubber mat under it anyhow, horses that scratch their hoofs in front of the stable door all day, will wear their horseshoes thin within 2 to 3 weeks.

 

[EddieWalker]

I like clay allot, but don't have any horses. In roads, it's just as simple matter of crowning them and haveing a path for the water to drain away. If water drains off clay, it stays hard and has very little mud.

You could get a long, strait 2x6 and put a level on it to figure out your slopes, or you could just start shaping and then turn on the hose and see what the water does.

Every time it rains, I put on my rubber boots and go for a walk to see what the water did. I find it very interesting and even facinating to follow the path of water. When it does what I want, I'm very happy. When it suprises me, I'm obsessed to fix it right away.

Good luck,
Eddie