Our most important advice

We cannot possibly stress this strongly enough – MUDGRIDS are designed to be the sub-base and base in one, then THEY NEED A GOOD LAYER OF TOPPING if they are being used for animal traffic.

As we all know, animals can and do on occasion lose their footing on ANY surface, be it mud, grass, concrete, hard core, or anything else, and all that any of us can do is try to minimise this risk as much as possible. The surface of the slabs is designed to be slip-resistant, and the texture is similar to roughened concrete. 

For the topping, you can use sand (quarried sharp sand is our preference)Animals moving on and off the slabbed area will carry mud etc onto the slabs. Care should be taken to monitor this. Mud by definition is slippery.

We recommend at least 1 bulk bag per full pallet of slabs, ideally two or more (especially if you want it to be deep enough for playing, rolling, lying down on.) It is money very well spent, and usually lasts for a long time. It’s totally natural, and improves the drainage. We top ours up every year or two, as needed. This is dependent upon rainfall and gradient of the land.If your slabs are bare, and you have animals on them, please seriously consider adding a topping as recommended… it really is worth it.

Which sand should you be using on top of your MUDGRIDS in a livestock setting?
Washed Fine/Soft Sand or Quarried Sharp Sand. A topping should ALWAYS be laid on top of our slabs and we usually recommend either washed soft/fine sand, or sharp sand.  We have used both here on our trial/demo area for years without problems. 

We had already been warned against any type of recycled sand because it can contain contaminants such as pulverised bricks, and sometimes glass - obviously very dangerous.

So, when not buying washed soft/fine sand please specify Quarried (NOT recycled) Sharp Sand and explain that it is going to be used as footing for animals. We recommend adding AT LEAST 1 bulk bag of sand (quarried sharp sand is our preference) per pallet of slabs, more if you want it to be deep enough for rolling, lying down, and playing on.

It’s money well spent. Sharp sand tends not to wash away as quickly as fine/soft sand, as the particles are rougher and bigger/heavier.