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  Discussion on Tack room lighting and installing stall mats
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Member:
lkb8190

Posted on Sunday, Jul 6, 2008 - 2:03 pm:

Help please! I'm doing some major renovations to a barn with indoor arena. Two projects I have questions about are tack room lighting and installing rubber stall mats.

The tack room is apx 12x15 and currently has a ceiling mount fixture, just a single bare bulb. I'd like to change out the fixture but I'm not sure what to change it to - fluorescent saves electricity and puts out brighter light but don't really like the look of it - anyone have ideas or suggestions?

Second is the stall mats - the stalls are built out of pine 2x12s, and I'm having to replace all of the bottom row. I'm also putting in stall mats, and am considering putting the edge of the mat under the bottom board and sort of 'trapping' the edge so they're not so easy for the horses to paw at and pull up. Has anyone tried this? I've been trying to think of any drawbacks but haven't come up with any so far - if you do, please let me know! Will be difficult to undo once I've done it that way!

This is the first time I've re-built a barn, so I'll appreciate any suggestions, thanks!
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Sunday, Jul 6, 2008 - 3:24 pm:

Our tack room is about that size too. I have an old wagon wheel light fixture that takes 5 bulbs, all fluorescent bulbs. Got the light fixture for around $5 at a 2nd hand store. Have a daughter that leaves lights on everywhere, so it's cheaper not to use regular bulbs.

I put a couple the longer fluorescent lights under my cabinets, all left over from our old kitchen before we remodeled. These are the under cabinet ones that are around 15-18 inches long. Nice for temporarily up close work, like reading labels. You can mount these on the walls too if you don't have any cabinets.

There are so many types of lights to pick from; and even fluorescent isn't that awful with the options.

I don't have stall mats in the sense most people think of, rather it's nylon type flooring, a paper mill salvage product. I have boards around the edges, on the wall, to hold it in place. Every year or 2, I take it up to relevel the ground under it, and pressure wash the flooring so it drains again. If you don't think you need to left the mats up, I would tack it down pretty secure as I've gotten a few places with edges loose from them pawing and it's not too safe. Of course it's not the horses that stumble, but me!
Member:
paul303

Posted on Monday, Jul 7, 2008 - 12:02 am:

The trick with stall mats is to install them perfectly in the beginning. The footing underneath must be able to drain, be compacted, and level. We used pea gravel, then stone dust ( or "screenings" or whatever your area calls them ). Our natural base is clay and sand. We leveled that first, then rolled it. Then we added about 4-5 inches of pea gravel, and rolled it ( to compact it ). On top of that was about 4" of "stone dust" ( or whatever your area calls it) and rolled that, then wet it, and rolled it again, and wet it one more time and rolled it. The mats were then installed and trimmed to fit tightly....Within the stall walls. We have had to do some tidying of the mats two times ( in four years ). Just roll the mats back and level or add some stone dust. Very easy to do....but maybe not so easy if your mats are "tucked under" your stall walls. We did a neighbor's barn like this in the nineties, and he ended up doing his aisle also because he liked it so much. One year, he had something dig tunnels under the mats, and it was a simple task to roll the mat back and fill the area. If the subsurface is leveled and compacted enough, and the mats fit tightly, they should hold up pretty good. If you ever need to adjust a mat, not securing it under the stall walls will make the job very simple.

As for the lighting, I'm a fluorescent fan. I have a sink in my tack room, and use it for many things, including cleaning tack. The more light, the better.
Member:
muffi

Posted on Monday, Jul 7, 2008 - 12:23 pm:

I have Florecent tube lighting in the Tack room and a window - No problem for me with those lights
I also have Rubber Mats in the stalls they are all perfect fit 12 * 12. IE. the mats abut each other, no overlap. I do what Lee did -
I put in what they call in N NM - cRUSHER fINES. aka Base Course, but a rock/dust product that once you roll and water then roll again it gets pretty hard - but it does drain. the mats are on top of this material in the Barn in the stalls only.
I have had these matts inthe stalls for 2 plus year - never have they picked them up, but they are not stall bound - they sleep in there (some times) and eat in there and run in when it's raining. they move a little - so I have to clean out the dirt, hay and shavings from near the doors - it seems to pick up under the mats there. no biggie - I clean them up and re-move them in place like once every 6 months.
in the summer I do not use shavings now (this has been discussed a lot in previous posts) and it keeps the Barn Really Clean during the summer. I will load the shavings back in there come cold weather when they want to 'snuggle down' to sleep inside. but other than a small amount of wear from their shoes they are almost brand new in appearance and I will definatly do this again if I ever build again! I love the matts.
Member:
erika

Posted on Monday, Jul 7, 2008 - 5:29 pm:

I'm doing my tack room currently too and have been wrestling with the lighting issue. I also hate florescent. I am doing a combo of decorative lighting and hidden floods on the ceiling (they light the ceiling, but you don't see the fixture or glare). Note that with all the dirt and dust, I'd choose either a sealed light or one that's easy to clean. I am told that our local code requires sealed lights because of the flammable nature of hay dust.

As for mats, use the large, heavy ones and you shouldn't have a problem with staying put. Mine have been down for almost 20 years with no shifting or problems.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Monday, Jul 7, 2008 - 6:25 pm:

My husband just put tube skylights in his garage. They are wonderful!! I have no idea of the cost or their correct name, but they are tube that go from the outside of the roof to the inside of the ceiling and they let in a lot of light totally eliminating the need for lights except at night. I'd love to have some in my tack room, and for that matter in my living room and front hall. They might be worth looking into for your situation. Although I'm sure they cost more than lights up front, they'd save a lot in electric bill over they years - unless of course, you use your tack room a lot at night.
Member:
lkb8190

Posted on Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 - 5:10 pm:

Thanks everyone, some really good suggestions here. I love the solar tubes, Sara, but I don't think they'll be practical in this case - there's a hay loft above the ceiling, the actual roof is another 15-20 feet above that. It would be a lot more expensive initially to install - but I will check into the feasibility. I am putting one in the kitchen, though! Otherwise I will probably end up using a 4' fluorescent fixture - and should probably have both anyway, for night time use.

As for the stall mats, I'm working on the leveling right now, hope to get the mats in in a couple of weeks - I think that I will try tucking them under the edges for now, there will be a lot less trimming to do that way - and if it doesn't work the way I hope, I can re-do them when I eventually have to straighten them out! Thanks again!
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