Flooring Update 20090
January 28, 20090

Sand Bedded Barn Floors
Do’s & Don’ts

  • SAND BEDDING:
    • Sand works exceptionally well in the stall.
    • Some sand is constantly kicked into the aisles and because of its abrasiveness, helps provide traction.
    • Two things stand up to sand – CONCRETE & GROOVING
  • SAND BEDDED BARNS:
    • Slope floor in the direction of the manure flow – minimum ½ %, more is better.
    • The concrete that arrives from the plant is formulated to engineered standards. The drier the concrete the stronger it will be. When it is watered down it greatly reduces the strength of the concrete and you don’t get the quality of concrete you paid for.

Do not put a textured finish
on concrete floors IN sand bedded barns!

  • Common textured finishes
    • Jitterbug
    • Rake
    • Broom
    • Anything done to roughen surface

  • In six months to two years for the same reason that sand is the number one ingredient in a buffing compound, the sand on the floor will buff the floor as smooth as glass…whether the surface has been textured or not.

  • The cows turn 90 degrees to go everywhere in the barn….into the stall, to the feed bunk, to the water trough at the crossover, etc. With any texture on the floor, and fine sand…the floor acts like a fine grinding disc on the cows’ hooves. With coarse sand…the floor acts like a coarse grinding disc…Result is sore feet.

The best solution is to finish your floors
properly in the first place!

  • Pour cow traffic floors early enough so that they age 90 days before cows go on the floor…or
    apply a sealant on freshly poured concrete as soon as you can walk on it. (By the way, you should be able to walk on it with your bare feet…your cows do.)

    Applying a sealant does two things
    • makes the new concrete stronger by sealing the moisture in
    • More importantly; forms a micro film layer that separates the hoof from
      the high ph of new concrete.

PH of new concrete is 12, the ph of lye is 13 which will definitely cause alkaline burn. Anyone who works around concrete knows about alkaline burns. If your hand is in wet concrete you get a tingle, if you have a cut or sore on your hand you feel the pain of an alkaline burn…newly poured concrete affects the cow’s hoof the same way.

  • Slope concrete in the direction of the manure flow.

Sand bedded barn floor finish is as follows

    1. Pour concrete as dry as possible
    2. Screed off concrete, and darby out screed marks…or equivalent finish. (All other types of bedding other than sand, …broom finish…no stones sticking up.)
    3. Anything more aggressive is too abrasive to the cows’ hooves.
  • Grooves are needed for long-term traction. Diamond Pattern Machine Cut Grooves ½” wide by 3/8” deep, provide the best long-term traction and acts like a drainage bed…tile drained in two directions at 4-inch centers. This is important because keeping cows hooves dry is critical in maintaining healthy hooves. Cut 2 ways, grooving provides a sharp edge for traction, holds the sand in place and the grooving is below the flat floor, which resists wear.

  • Customers tells us culling due to lame cows in new barns can be reduced from over 15%, the industry average, to less than 3%.

TWO WAY DIAMOND PATTERN CUT GROOVING
GIVES THE LONGEST LASTING, SAFEST, CLEANEST,
And
DRIEST FLOORS

Studies have shown that if the hoof gets wet, even for one hour per day, it is equally detrimental as 4-6 hours of being wet per day.

Dry hooves = healthy hooves

Flooring Update 20000
February 22, 2000

gcg inc. can now cut a diamond pattern into slippery rubber belting. If it's cut one way we can also cross groove it for extra grip.

 

Gripping News - Slatted Floors Get Slippery Too!
September 1, 1999


By Fred Black

More dairy and beef farmers are coming to the conclusion that it is just not acceptable for their cattle to be slipping on slatted floors. Slatted floors rely mainly on surface texturing for traction. These floors can become a problem as they get polished from hoof traffic. Where there is still some surface texture grooving in one direction only will greatly improve traction. With long core slats the floor is essentially grooved 1 way and needs diamond cut grooves running between 90 degrees and 45 degrees to the slots, to provide traction in all directions.

Dairy farmers with alley scrapers on slatted floors will find that the polishing action is greatly advanced. On these floors or sharply sloped slatted holding areas, or anywhere the surface of the slat is not providing traction in any direction, cutting grooves in a diamond pattern (2 directions) is necessary. This will provide maximum traction in all direction, even on 8% sloped slatted holding areas!. With the grooves cut in 2 directions the hoof is provided with anti skid protection in all directions.

With several years experience in grooving slatted floors g.c.g. confidently states "the 1/2" wide x 1/4" deep grooves cut with diamond blades into the high quality concrete of slatted floors stays square and sharp, providing maximum cow comfort and traction for the life of the floor".

Vern Foley or Fred Black can be reached for further information at 1-888-447-6684 (toll free) or visit us on the web at www.cowcomfort.com Call for references in your area.

 

Call for pricing, references in your area and availability at:

1-888-447-6684 toll free, Fax 519-843-1656