Fundamenter til læskure og staldtelte
En staldbund der dræner – og ikke gør bygningen permanent
Læskure kræver fast, jævnt underlag der afleder urin og vådt strøelse. IBRAN-gitre løser det uden støbt beton, så skuret forbliver rent, tørt og – hvor det er vigtigt – stadig flytbart.
Hvorfor underlaget er afgørende
Et læskur er en lille bygning med en hård opgave. Heste eller kvæg står i det i timevis under det værste vejr, på årets vådeste jord, på det ene sted de alle har valgt på samme tid.
Lad det stå på bar jord, og underlaget er optrampet mudder inden for få uger. Gulvet bliver en blanding af mudder og strøelse der ikke kan renses ordentligt, urin har ingen steder at løbe hen og samler sig i overfladen så ammoniakindholdet stiger, og indgangen bliver det dybeste hul på hele arealet fordi alle dyr passerer igennem det.
Beton løser gulvproblemet og skaber to nye. Det er uigennemtrængeligt, så urin og vaskevand ikke har andre steder at gå end hen over overfladen og ud af døren. Og det er en permanent konstruktion, hvilket for et skur der er beregnet til at være mobilt kan være forskellen på noget der kræver byggetilladelse og noget der ikke gør.
Et gitterbund giver et fast, jævnt og renserbart gulv der dræner direkte igennem, holder strøelsen på plads i stedet for at sluge den, og kan løftes og flyttes med skuret hvis det nogensinde skal et andet sted hen.
Hvor dette fungerer godt
- Mobile og medfølgende læskure
- Faste læskure og løsdriftsbokse
- Forpladser og indgangspartier ved skure
- Kvæg- og kalvehytter
- Baser til hø- og foderlagre
- Standpladser ved rundballer og vandtrug
- Møddingsbaser og adgangsveje hertil
- Standarealer ved siden af skuret
Overblik
| Bærelag | 150-250mm komprimeret stabilt grus, mere på blød eller våd bund |
| Fyldmateriale | 6-14mm kantet graderet blanding, ren og fri for finstof, fyldt i niveau med cellernes overkant |
| Samlet udgravning | Ca. 200-300mm afhængigt af jordbundsforhold og gitterdybde |
| Dræning | Fuldt permeabelt. Urin og vådt strøelse dræner igennem i stedet for at blive liggende på gulvet |
| Strøelse | Fast, jævnt underlag der holder spåner eller halm og kan renses rent |
| Flytbarhed | Ingen støbt konstruktion. Gitrene kan løftes og geninstalleres hvis skuret flyttes |
| Designlevetid | 25 år, forudsat dokumenteret installation |
| Materiale | 100% genanvendt polypropylen, fremstillet i EU af genanvendt plast |
Mobile skure og spørgsmålet om permanens
Det er værd at forstå inden du bygger noget som helst, fordi det kan ændre hvad du har lov til at have.
Mobile læskure behandles ofte anderledes end permanente bygninger, på grundlag af at de er reelt flytbare og ikke er fastgjort til jorden. Stiller man et skur på en støbt betonplade eller bolter det fast til et permanent fundament, kan det underminere dette argument og omklassificere skuret som en permanent konstruktion.
En gitterbund er ikke et støbt fundament. Det er et komprimeret, afgrænset stenunderlag som skuret hviler på, og det kan løftes og geninstalleres et andet sted. For et mobilt skur er det normalt det mest hensigtsmæssige svar – og det mest praktiske – fordi du kan flytte skuret for at rotere arealet og tage bunden med dig hvis du ønsker det.
Byggesagsbehandlingen varierer fra kommune til kommune og afhænger af skuret, arealet og dets anvendelse snarere end af bunden alene. Er der tvivl, kontakt din lokale bygningsmyndighed inden du bygger. Det er en kort samtale, og langt bedre at have den først.
Hvilken gitterdybde?
Tallet på et gitter er en beslutning om hvor dybt det afgrænsede stenlag er. Læskure kombinerer stående dyr med lejlighedsvis tung kørsel, så vælg dybere end du ville til en havebygning.
- IBRAN®-X50 er vores anbefaling til indgangsforpladsen og til hele bunden hvor en traktor trækker skuret, renser det ud eller leverer strøelse.
- IBRAN®-X40 til selve skurgulvet hvor håndtering sker med trillebør og greb frem for maskine.
- IBRAN®-X30 hvor du lægger oven på eksisterende fast underlag, eller et niveau skal matche en tilstødende gårdsplads.
Er du i tvivl, vælg den tungere løsning ved indgangen. Det er der hvert dyr stopper, vender og står, og det er der enhver bund svigter først.
Valg af sten
Brug en 6-14mm kantet graderet blanding, ren og fri for finstof, fyldt i niveau med cellernes overkant.
Den graderede blanding betyder mere her end næsten alle andre steder. En blanding pakker tættere end en enkelt fraktion fordi de mindre sten fylder mellemrummene mellem de større, og et tætpakket underlag er et stabilt underlag: intet ruller under en hov, intet arbejder sig løst, og strøelsen hviler på et solidt gulv i stedet for at synke ned i det.
Hold stenen fin og kantet frem for stor eller rund. Løs eller overstørret sten kan bevæge sig under en hov, kvæste en sål eller sætte sig fast i en sko – og i et skur står dyret på det i timevis ad gangen.
Hold finstof helt ude. Alt der indeholder støv eller skærver vil binde, holde urin og vand i overfladen og give dig det ammoniakproblem du byggede bunden for at undgå.
How it goes in
- Choose the position carefully. Shelters want to sit on the driest ground available, with the back to the prevailing wind and the opening away from it, and with somewhere for water to go that is not the doorway.
- Mark out the base well beyond the shelter footprint, taking it out furthest at the opening. The apron outside the door is not optional: it is where the wear actually happens.
- Dig the mud out down to firm subsoil. Poached ground has no bearing capacity, and anything laid on it will sink into it over one winter.
- Lay a woven geotextile across the formation, lapping joins by at least 300mm. On soft ground it is structural, stopping the sub-base punching down and stopping soil pumping up into your surface.
- Lay and compact the sub-base in 50mm layers, to a depth that suits the ground and the vehicles that will come to the shelter.
- Blind with a thin layer of grit sand and screed it level, with a slight fall away from the shelter towards the opening or to one side.
- Push-fit the grids together, staggering the joints. Cut to line around skids, posts and the door opening with a saw.
- Fill the cells with a 6-14mm angular graded blend, level with the cell tops, brushing in thoroughly so no cell is left hollow.
- Set the shelter in position and check it sits level on its skids or bearers before it is used.
Full step-by-step detail is in our installation guides.
The apron outside the door
If you only reinforce one part of a shelter site, make it this.
Every animal using the shelter passes through one opening, and most of them stop in it: half in, half out, watching the field, standing in the same spot for hours. That doorway takes more traffic and more standing time than the whole of the rest of the field put together, and it is the first place to poach.
Take the base out at least a shelter's depth beyond the opening, and wider than the opening on both sides. Where a group shares the shelter, take it further still, because the animals that cannot get in will stand as close as they can and churn the ground doing it.
Get the falls right at the same time. Water running off the shelter roof lands exactly here, and if it has nowhere to go it will undo the work.
Bedding, mucking out and drainage
A permeable base changes how the shelter works day to day.
Urine and moisture drain down through the stone instead of soaking into bedding and sitting on the floor, which keeps the bed drier, reduces ammonia and means bedding goes further. There is no low corner collecting liquid and no wash of muck out through the doorway.
Mucking out is easier because you are working on a firm, level surface: a fork does not dig into the floor, and a barrow wheels rather than sinks. Where a tractor and bucket do the job, specify the deeper grid across the whole floor so the base takes the machine as well as the animals.
Where drainage from a shelter could reach a watercourse, ditch or borehole, check what applies to you before building. Rules on managing run-off from areas used by livestock vary and are worth confirming with your local authority or environmental regulator.
Anchoring and wind
Field shelters blow over. They are large, light, and usually in the most exposed spot on the holding.
A mobile shelter on skids relies on its own weight and its skids bedding into the ground, and a firm level base makes that behaviour more predictable rather than less. Where the manufacturer specifies ground anchors, these can fix through the base into the compacted sub-base beneath, which is another reason to compact that layer properly rather than tipping and raking it.
Follow whatever the shelter manufacturer specifies. It is their structure, and their anchoring recommendation accounts for its size, shape and exposure in a way that generic advice cannot.
Get it right first time
The one thing worth knowing: build the base bigger than the shelter.
A base that stops at the walls solves the floor and leaves the real problem untouched. The mud simply forms at the threshold instead, and everything then walks through it to get inside, dragging it onto the clean floor you just built.
Extend the base out into the field at the opening, round the sides where animals shelter from wind, and to wherever a barrow or tractor comes and goes. The extra area is the cheapest part of the job and it is what turns a dry shelter into a dry shelter you can actually reach.
Ask our engineer
Questions about depths, apron sizing, drainage or which system suits your shelter? Ask below, or get in touch directly.
Common Questions
Do I need a concrete base for a field shelter?
No, and for a mobile shelter concrete is often the wrong answer. A grid base gives a firm, level, cleanable floor that drains straight through rather than holding urine and wash-down on the surface, and it is not a poured foundation, so it can be lifted and relaid if the shelter moves.
It is also considerably quicker to build and needs no curing time.
Will a concrete base make my mobile field shelter permanent?
It can affect how the shelter is treated. Mobile field shelters are often treated differently from permanent buildings on the basis that they are genuinely movable and not fixed to the ground, and standing one on a poured slab or bolting it to a permanent foundation can undermine that.
Planning treatment varies by authority and circumstance, so ask your local planning authority before building if there is any doubt.
How deep should a field shelter base be?
Around 200mm to 300mm in total, made up of 150mm to 250mm of compacted MOT sub-base plus the grid depth, with more on soft or wet ground.
Dig out to firm subsoil first: poached ground has no bearing capacity, and anything laid on it will sink into it over one winter.
What stone should I use in a field shelter base?
A 6mm to 14mm angular graded blend, clean and free of fines, filled level with the cell tops. A blend packs tighter than a single size, and a densely packed surface is a stable one, so nothing rolls underfoot and bedding sits on a solid floor rather than sinking into it.
Keep the stone fine and angular: loose or oversized material can move under a hoof, bruise a sole or lodge in a shoe.
How far should the base extend beyond the shelter?
Take it at least a shelter's depth beyond the opening and wider than the opening on both sides. Every animal passes through one doorway and most of them stand in it, so that spot takes more traffic and standing time than the rest of the field put together.
Where a group shares the shelter, extend it further, because animals that cannot get in will stand as close as they can.
Does a permeable base help with bedding and ammonia?
Yes. Urine and moisture drain down through the stone instead of soaking into the bedding and sitting on the floor, which keeps the bed drier, reduces ammonia and makes bedding go further.
There is no low corner collecting liquid and no wash of muck out through the doorway.
Is it easier to muck out than bare ground?
Considerably. You are working on a firm level surface, so a fork does not dig into the floor and a barrow wheels rather than sinks.
Where a tractor and bucket do the job, specify the deeper 50mm grid across the whole floor so the base takes the machine as well as the animals.
Which grid depth should a field shelter use?
The 50mm grid for the entrance apron, and for the whole base where a tractor tows the shelter, mucks it out or delivers bedding. The 40mm for the shelter floor where handling is done by barrow and fork. The 30mm where you are laying over existing hard standing or matching an adjoining yard level.
If in doubt, take the heavier option at the doorway.
How do I anchor a field shelter on a grid base?
Follow the shelter manufacturer's recommendation, since it accounts for the structure's size, shape and exposure. A mobile shelter on skids relies on its own weight and its skids bedding in, and a firm level base makes that behaviour more predictable.
Where ground anchors are specified, they can fix through the base into the compacted sub-base beneath, which is a further reason to compact that layer properly.
Can the base be moved with the shelter?
The grids can be lifted and reinstated, which suits ground rotation or a shelter that changes position.
Bear in mind the excavation and sub-base stay behind, so the reusable element is the grid itself rather than the whole build-up.
Ask our engineer
Questions about depths, sub-base, edging or which system fits your project? Ask below.
