Cows & slippery concrete

powerhose

well folks the milking parlour was built 16 years ago and at the time the concrete was purposly finished with a rough finish on the surface however with the passing of time, constant traffic and constant washing the surface has become very slippery and one or two of the cows have fallen on it with disasterous results. What could be done to prevent any more cows falling on it. would there be some sort of a product which could be applied to the concrete to give the cows grip on it?? open to all sugestions

yourpics

powerhose wrote: »

well folks the milking parlour was built 16 years ago and at the time the concrete was purposly finished with a rough finish on the surface however with the passing of time, constant traffic and constant washing the surface has become very slippery and one or two of the cows have fallen on it with disasterous results. What could be done to prevent any more cows falling on it. would there be some sort of a product which could be applied to the concrete to give the cows grip on it?? open to all sugestions

Perhaps saw cut some grooves into it, but there is probably an easier way to be honest

Bizzum

There are concrete grooving services available that do this type of work.

Good loser

Bizzum wrote: »

There are concrete grooving services available that do this type of work.

This is the only way to go. See ads in IFJ.

whelan1

Bizzum wrote: »

There are concrete grooving services available that do this type of work.

we hired out a machine from the local hire place that cuts into the concrete, cant remember the name, €25 for the machine for the day and gave local lad €60 for using it , problem sorted.Think its a machine thats used for getting concrete ready when there is concrete going down on top of old concrete.. worked well ans alot cheaper than getting the groovers in.

raindodger

had the same problem cow falls trys to get up the next one walks on top of her.
Got out the angle grinder with a stone disk cut two grooves about an inch apart came on with a block chisel and cut out the piece did this about every foot and ahalf along the parlour.Best thing i ever did

Dupont

whelan1 wrote: »

we hired out a machine from the local hire place that cuts into the concrete, cant remember the name, €25 for the machine for the day and gave local lad €60 for using it , problem sorted.Think its a machine thats used for getting concrete ready when there is concrete going down on top of old concrete.. worked well ans alot cheaper than getting the groovers in.

probaly a scrabler run by air compressor?

whelan1

Dupont wrote: »

probaly a scrabler run by air compressor?

this was a thing you pushed along and it scraped the top of the concrete , was quite heavy looked a bit like a whacker plate but had blades coming out of it

Dupont

scrafier like the yoke they use before messing up resurfacing roads maybe

Askim

also called a floor plainer, used one once to take hump out of a floor, can be set to take a small bit off, about a foot wide, make sure you get a wet one, dry it makes a lot of dust.

Figerty

You Could look at rubber mats? Short term solution.

Expensive, and maybe not the best thing around a dairy farm. But maybe you only need to make a small areas safe.

Craggy Island

Hi all. I had a thread on here last year on the same problem. Title was 'Dangerously slippy slats'. Had various replies. I didn't come to a conclusion about it yet( though I should have.:(..). Met a Man at the ploughing from concretegrooving.ie I think it was called. I saw some photos of jobs he did. I'd have to see some of the slats he did coz with the photos he had of them, it was hard to tell if the cut done across the slat took a chip out of them or not. Could leave a rough edge for cows to walk on for the winter if a job wasn't done right.

Bizzum

Craggy Island wrote: »

Hi all. I had a thread on here last year on the same problem. Title was 'Dangerously slippy slats'. Had various replies. I didn't come to a conclusion about it yet( though I should have.:(..). Met a Man at the ploughing from concretegrooving.ie I think it was called. I saw some photos of jobs he did. I'd have to see some of the slats he did coz with the photos he had of them, it was hard to tell if the cut done across the slat took a chip out of them or not. Could leave a rough edge for cows to walk on for the winter if a job wasn't done right.

I assume you considered rubber on the slats? Is it the cost that is prohibitive?

Craggy Island

Yes Bizzum, it would be an ideal solution to the problem but it's for dairy cows I have, and with the existing difficulty of trying to get cows to lie on cubicles and potential teat damage from getting walked on, it wouldn't be a runner in my situation.

Muckit

Are you not looking for trouble cutting or messing about with slats??

I'm no structural engineer, but cutting into them is surely weaking them and could induce stress cracks.

Craggy Island

I think the general method I heard mentioned is a 5mm deep cut and 8 mm wide. I would certainly be concerned about the surface being hard on cows feet,however the slats are gang slats and apart from being slippery, look like new. I wouldn't be concerned about structural damage myself( though I could be wrong). I'll see if I can find the link to the previous thread from last year. There were opinions that you could brush in a chlorine water solution, to roughen up the surface, and then powerwash it.

Craggy Island

This is the link to the old thread.
.http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70026202

John_F

ring up your slat manufacturer and see is it safe, i know a farmer that done this and manufacturer told him go ahead. god a fella to grove it and other concrete (Jimme C), floors were done inch by inch squares and slats were done with oe cut parallel with the long holes in the slat. he said if he went across the length of the holes it would chip, he kept in a bit from the edge of the slat also to prevent chipping.ring up a few groovers and see what work they have done around the place! theres a different machine for tractor v cattle slats.

jeff greene

Craggy Island wrote: »

Met a Man at the ploughing from concretegrooving.ie I think it was called. .

I met him too, he is to come and give me a quote. Its all solid floors I'll be doing though

whelan1

jeff greene wrote: »

I met him too, he is to come and give me a quote. Its all solid floors I'll be doing though

OUT OF INTEREST HOW MUCH IS HE? we did the milking parlour , collecting yard and 5 bay cubicle shed ourselves in a day with the machine we hired out

jeff greene

whelan1 wrote: »

OUT OF INTEREST HOW MUCH IS HE? we did the milking parlour , collecting yard and 5 bay cubicle shed ourselves in a day with the machine we hired out

I'll PM you when he comes, in a week or two he said.

just do it

Dupont wrote: »

probaly a scrabler run by air compressor?

Whealan1 - Does this look like what you used?

5-Head Concrete Scrabbler
Scrabbler is powered by tow-behind air compressor. Can remove up to 250 square feet of concrete per hour. Approximate weight is 120 lbs.
Ideal for:
• Removing spalling concrete
• Roughening surfaces for new overlayments
• Reducing high spots
• Creating wheelchair access ramps
• Removing epoxy
• Creating slip-resistant surfaces
• Texturing parking garage ramps
• Removing loose or deteriorated concrete

The power of google:)

5live

whelan1 wrote: »

OUT OF INTEREST HOW MUCH IS HE? we did the milking parlour , collecting yard and 5 bay cubicle shed ourselves in a day with the machine we hired out

I was talking to him too and 4 euro a square meter he was quoting iirc

whelan1

just do it wrote: »

Whealan1 - Does this look like what you used?

5-Head Concrete Scrabbler
Scrabbler is powered by tow-behind air compressor. Can remove up to 250 square feet of concrete per hour. Approximate weight is 120 lbs.
Ideal for:
• Removing spalling concrete
• Roughening surfaces for new overlayments
• Reducing high spots
• Creating wheelchair access ramps
• Removing epoxy
• Creating slip-resistant surfaces
• Texturing parking garage ramps
• Removing loose or deteriorated concrete

The power of google:)

yup thats it, thanks , wasnt as modern as that but did the job