# Cost of muck heap construction



## LynH (1 December 2012)

I've had a quote for a muck heap made of sleepers 6m x 3m and 1.5m high on hardcore base and am gobsmacked at the price. How much have your muck heap/middens cost? 

I have a DIY challenged OH but am considering making one myself as I cannot justify the cost when we are having so much other work done. How easy would it be to construct with a little help from my friends? 

Any advice very gratefully received.


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## Polos Mum (2 December 2012)

What you ultimately intend to do with the muck?  If someone is coming to collect it, I'd seriously consider buying a trailer and ramp a 3/4 tonne tipping trailer would be £1000 (and really hold it's value) and a ramp would be maybe £100 for wood and someones time if your OH can't do it.  
It would make collection much easier and therefore you might save some money in the long run?


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## The Fuzzy Furry (2 December 2012)

I have a DIY one: hardcore bottom, fence posts rammed in on 2 sides, then 2 large metal roof sheets (begged off a mate) on 2 sides against the fence posts.
2 sleepers on the 2 open sides (again these were begged yrs ago). 
The metal roof sheets are just over 10ft long & 4 ft deep so keep the heap together (and I square the other 2 sides & tamp down every other day.)
Farmer comes 2 or 3 times a year to collect with tractor & trailer.
Does the job for me


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## LynH (2 December 2012)

Currently the guy who collects the muck uses his own trailer so I could ask him if he would collect a trailer if I bought one but I guess I'd have to pay more if he had to do a return journey to drop the trailer back. Probably still a hell of a lot cheaper than what I was quoted. 
Metal roofing sheets would be a lot cheaper and easier to install than sleepers. 
Thanks for both suggestions.


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## The Fuzzy Furry (2 December 2012)

Meant to add - I drilled small holes in the roof sheets & they are screwed into the fence posts - just along the top to stop them caving in when the heap is small. Screws can be removed for all round clearance when heap has been taken


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## Star_Chaser (2 December 2012)

shame you don't have a local allotments... bit of reciprocal makes the world go around.


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## pansy (2 December 2012)

on a small yard - bag all muck up & gets taken to the allotments - looks a bit untidy at times but no actual muck heap - bags are returned & reused x


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## meesha (3 December 2012)

I have hardcore base (on terram so doesnr sink) then marine ply screwed to fencing on either side to keep it retained, simples !..... Not sure I would fancy pushing heavy barrow up steep ramp each time, I don't generally use a barrow as heap next to yard so scoop and lob it straight on. Make sure u make it wide enough for tractor to get all the way to the back.


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## LynH (3 December 2012)

Thanks for all the replies, I think I'm going to have a go at building one myself.


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## CILLA (3 December 2012)

We are going to construct a muck heap with concrete blocks only need cheap ones and make whatever size you need will cost no more than  £200.00 . Leave open at the front to get a tractor in to empty. Our vets have a muck heap constructed from blocks and it works very well.


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## Queenbee (4 December 2012)

Polos Mum said:



			What you ultimately intend to do with the muck?  If someone is coming to collect it, I'd seriously consider buying a trailer and ramp a 3/4 tonne tipping trailer would be £1000 (and really hold it's value) and a ramp would be maybe £100 for wood and someones time if your OH can't do it.  
It would make collection much easier and therefore you might save some money in the long run?
		
Click to expand...

At our yard we just have a muck spreader which we fill up, it is then taken off and disposed of.  We don't bother with a ramp, we tip up and use a Stubbs poo scooper to lift it in, it only takes a matter of seconds to do, and I thought it would really irritate me having to do this but it's a really good system


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## LynH (4 December 2012)

All these suggestions are great and miles better than a £4500 muck heap!


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## meesha (4 December 2012)

good job I have finished my hot chocolate - I would have just spat it out in shock !!! £4500 .......  someone is having a laugh !


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## mandwhy (5 December 2012)

Goodness me 4.5k for a place to pile poo! Crazy!


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## LynH (5 December 2012)

I couldn't believe it when I saw the quote, madness.


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## putasocinit (8 December 2012)

If you make it out of bricks you could burn. it down everyday reducing the size of the muck and therefore reducing time for it to be taken away, ash on fields is also good for them.


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## Honey08 (9 December 2012)

Sleepers are not cheap, but   I built a block of four stables for that much!

Do you have to have anything, could you not just do what us old fashioned ones do, and shape the muckheap into a square?  Just fork the muck and jump about on it every day..  The farmer still takes it away, and there is no official point when it is full either.


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## LynH (9 December 2012)

Honey08, that's what I've been doing but as I'm having a small yard and arena built I thought it would be smarter to have a neat muck heap. However £4.5k is utterly ridiculous so I may stick with my freestyle pile or construct something simple myself. I dread to think how much they would want to put it on a concrete base!


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## mandwhy (10 December 2012)

Do people still do stepped muck heaps? Is that what you will do on your built area? I haven't been on a yard in a long time but in the riding school days we used to take great pride in it! I have started making my field muckheap a bit more structured with a trodden in ramp to get up it, but I don't know how practical it is to do such things with a yard's worth of bedding each day! 

I also debated making a great wall of muck, to create a handy windbreaker... I forget its poo I'm dealing with sometimes


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