Plywood walling and a wooden frame for a riding hall in Belgium

A new equestrian facility has opened in Limburg in Belgium. Its recently finished horseback riding arena used Metsä Wood’s spruce plywood – Spruce Ply MouldGuard – for its wall structure. The roof of the stable area was built using a prefabricated timber frame with Kerto® LVL (laminated veneer lumber).

Limburg in Belgium has been called the Mecca of European equestrian sports: several internationally renowned riders are based in its beautiful surroundings. A new horse pension with an outdoor riding hall has therefore been constructed in the Gruitrode area.

The requirement of cost-effective, sustainable and visually appealing material led to the selection of Spruce Ply MouldGuard, and fast-to-erect prefabricated Kerto LVL frames were used for the roof construction in the stable area. Design work was undertaken by Marc Symons, who runs a one-man construction consultancy company specialising in facilities for equestrian sports.

Plywood for wall structures, Kerto LVL for roofing

The walls of the horseback riding arena were built using Metsä Wood’s Spruce Ply MouldGuard, which is fast and easy to install. As the facilities required special protection against humidity, the use of a pre-treated spruce plywood product was an asset.

Metsä Wood’s Spruce Ply MouldGuard is a plywood product suitable for all kinds of construction. It is a surface-impregnated softwood plywood panel – ready to use and suitable for moist conditions such as riding halls. The treatment of Spruce Ply MouldGuard significantly reduces the risk of mould growth compared to unprotected softwood plywood panels. The resistance to mould and blue stains is up to 5 times better compared to an untreated product.

Wood products were also used for the roof construction in the stable area. Kerto LVL frames were a natural choice, as the three-pin frame is a fast-to-erect prefabricated structure. The frames were prefabricated by element manufacturer Dupac, which also delivered the MouldGuard panels.

Beautiful finish – yet a cost-effective solution

Marc Symons praises the price-quality ratio and visual appearance of Metsä Wood’s wood products. He also names these features as the main reason for choosing them: “I’m very happy with the materials we’ve used. They’re nice products that bring good results, yet the price is competitive,” he concludes.

Moreover, Symons has been so happy with the products that he has continued using them in his subsequent construction projects: “We’re now building a horse clinic, and all the woodwork material comes from Metsä Wood. I also have another company that makes wooden houses, and we also use Metsä Wood’s products there,” he says.