Preserving Hard Courts For Home Recreation

While some home owners go to the expense of having asphalt tennis courts and/or basketball courts installed for their personal use, concrete is the only material option for others. Sometimes the equipment used in building an asphalt court simply cannot be used due to an inability to access the site. There are pros and cons to using concrete in place of asphalt as well as products that can be used to improve the playing surface. Concrete coatings are versatile tools that will help protect the concrete while also giving you more options for customizing the court’s appearance.

Standard Concrete Courts

The standard court is made with a four-inch base applied over a sub-base. A plastic sheet is usually placed over the sub-base to act as a barrier against moisture below that could otherwise be drawn into the material. While concrete coatings can protect the material from exposure to rain and other weather conditions above, moisture from the ground can also cause damage by becoming trapped inside the many channels of the porous material.

A primer will be applied to the concrete once it has cured to act as a bonding agent between the concrete and the protective coating. Normally, the court will be flooded with water to determine if there are any variations in the level of the court. If so, these will be filled prior to applying a resurfacing product and then the coating is applied on top, usually one that is made of acrylic. Several layers of coatings are typically applied with the last two being the ones with the colour. There are many types and colours of concrete coatings available today so that you can choose the colours you want on your court.

If you spend a lot of time playing on a standard concrete court, you will find that one of the cons of using concrete is the impact they have on the body and your joints. To prevent associated aches and pains from occurring, a cushioned court can be used instead. To do this, a rubberized cushioning product is applied between the layers of resurfacing product and the two layers of colour Concrete Coatings. In spite of the cushioning requiring as many as nine coats of the rubberized product in addition to two or three coats of heavy rubber granules and as many as six coats of fine rubber granules, the added investment of time and money is worthwhile if the court will be used a lot.

While the various materials used to install a concrete tennis/basketball court in your home will give you a variety of options for customizing the colour and creating a smooth, level court that will assist in play quality, no other material is more important than the coating that will protect the concrete from the weather and the constant impact of play. There are good quality concrete coatings available on the market today which will form a durable barrier across the surface of the court to extend the material’s life and reduce the need for repairs.