# Bottom bales



## pengs68

I built a 60 x 80 metal building with crushed stone floor 3 years ago. I am storing small square bales of grass hay in it. The first year i stacked bales on edge on pallets and 90% of the bales were spoiled on the bottom edge. I figured the ground needed a year to dry out after it was built so I went back to pallets and 30% of the bottom bales were spoiled the second year. This past season I put down 4mil black plastic sheeting then pallets and I'm back to about 75% spoiled bales. I thought the plastic would help but not so much. It was a damp wet August thru October here in NY. Anybody have success keeping bottom bales from spoiling? I hate to just leave the bottom bales in every year. Thanks!


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## JD3430

Pavement


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## pengs68

My neighbor just did pavement. I want to avoid that cost right now, but maybe in a few years.


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## r82230

I got a shed that my Dad had built over 50 years ago, with a dirt floor. There is good drainage all the way around building. The only moisture that's ever got inside the building is snow, rain or manure falling off tractor or equipment tires (plus a possible adult beverage heading for recycling ).

Needless to say you would think that this floor would be dry by now. Nope, if I don't put down a couple of inches of straw (or old hay) the bottom bales will have mold on them EVERYTIME. This seems to happen usually within a week or so. :angry:

I'm in the asphalt crowd now for hay storage. 

I have had success with pallets on the dirt floor (and on concrete floor), but you didn't it seems. Were your pallets solid on top (very few or small gaps) perhaps?

Larry


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## KS John

My floor is what we term "fines" 1/8 or smaller fines from the gravel quarry. Usually cheaper than gravel and when it gets wet it will set up like cement. I put down pallets and use a grapple to stack square bales, so they are not even on edge. No spoilage so far.


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## JD3430

Most any building with a wet floor that did NOT have a "pre-existing condition" (springs, or built over a low spot), usually have moisture infiltration from the roof.

Do you have gutters and downspouts? Are the downspouts piped well away from the exterior walls?


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## rjmoses

Check your drainage. My SWAG is that maybe you don't have adequate drainage around the outside to move water away from the building, so down and under, popping up inside.

You can verify this by seeing if the center bales tend to be OK. If the center is OK, that means runoff is probably getting inside. You might need to install a drain tile around the building.

I put 4" of 1"- two feet wide around my tarp build to wick runoff away.

I use 3"+ inside over waste rock as my flooring.

Hope this helps.

Ralph


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## broadriverhay

I put 6 mil plastic down on dirt floor then I keep I covered with several inches of hay. If I don't keep a good layer of hay down it will mold. Each year I just recover the plastic to ensure a thick layer and I have no issues.


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## Hayjosh

The trick is to leave some chaff. You're tempted to want to clean it up after all the hay gets cleared out at the start of a new season, but don't take it all out. The chaff that falls into the crevices of the pallets seems to keep all the mold and moisture down. My bottom bales have not been spoiled for several years.


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