Came into a supply of used railroad ties that were priced right, and am thinking of using them for flooring in a loafing shed the horses usually turn into a muddy mess in the winter & spring. I'm thinking of spacing them about 6" apart and filling the spaces with sand for drainage.
Has anyone out there used ties for barn flooring? Concrete is out of the budget, and gravel doesn't do the manure spreader any good.

I don't think you will like the finished product. No matter how much care you take in laying the ties, there will be an uneven surface, with the used ties rounded edges. It won't be level enough for the horses footing or for cleaning. If possible, stall mats will work much better.(some are pricey).

had a problem once with water running down hill into the side of the barn at grandpas..the water wet two stalls on that side of the barn..i hauled dirt in till the stall floor was higher then the water flow and the water run off around the barn..don't know if this would work with a lounge barn..or keep it dry..

echoing Dead End, I don't think you are gonna like it.

There were ties on the floor in the barn when I got it. I sold them and put in a proper floor.

I've seen such flooring work satisfactorily in tie stalls where the position of the animal is controlled and where most of the manure is removed by hand. The instances where I've seen ties and/or wooden planks under ties alls for flooring, the material was placed side by side with no additional space between ties or planks. I have my doubts that in a loafing arrangement this type of flooring will be satisfactory. The freedom of movement of the animals and the use of mechanized equipment may complicate things immensely. Grady's plan is a good one, improve the drainage away from the loafing area.

ACTUALLY, concrete IS just gravel with the spaces filled up with sand and cement. I have a thin slab of about 2 in reinforced with fence wire and with a lil bit more cement and less sand to the point i have to pound the rock down. Pouring your own slab is economical where most of the time is setting up/ grading the pour. Mine I use a snow shovel on to push the poop into a pile to haul away every few weeks.

Now where the cows lay, a lil *ft by *ft sq area where I use bedding and pick out the poop I did something like you said except mine is these peeler cores, about 4 in pallet to drain away urin/water.

I wish I could find cheap local rr ties! They are like $17 in local build supply. I need to build a bridge, send me some, will ya?

ZR

When I built a new barn about 20 years ago I put good used railroad ties in the stalls. Leveled the floor then put down several inches of pea gravel. With the gravel base, it was relatively easy to level the ties when placing them. Spaced the ties about two inches apart then filled the spaces with the pea gravel. I have never had to replace or relevel a single tie . Pawing horses couldn't dig holes. Depressions were not formed in front of the feeders. If the water buckets ran over there was no mudhole formed. Stalls were easy to clean out - with or without using bedding materials. After 20 years of use they are still in good shape. It has worked very well for me and I would definitely do it again.

I think my tie stall floors are the best. Rough sawn douglas fir two by twelves on four by six and six by six stringers. up off the ground. Great drainage year round. easy to clean, makes em get off the wet in the winter here in the PNW. Sometimes I replace planks, before they look like they will fail. Had em for twenty five twenty eight years.

would cement floor covered with rubber mats be ok for horses?

Cement covered by mats would work except the mats would make them harder to clean. Horses would probablly like them with bare floors. I have used cement slab for horses w/o mats for the last 2 decades. The horses get manure on the floor and like for my old horse I had It would be bi-monthly cleaning. Manure is not bad if it is dry. Cow poop just is a mess and because of them I scrape daily when they are confined in the winter. The horse(s) stand on bare cement, no problems.
I would not finish the cement to a shiny surface or it becomes slippery.I could not do using my cheap cement with twice the gravel and I have discovered the ruff surface helps grind off the hoofs a lil, expecially for the cows and dont have to trim so often.

i built my tie stalls in a cow tie stall barn, took the cow stalls out---- i was lucky my barn has plenty of height, use the rubber mats that were under the cows, put in 8 by 8 post, i have set up so i still use the gutter cleaner thats the best part,