Tag Archives: courts

Concrete Sport Surfaces

Shot Blasting Concrete Sport Surfaces | Tennis – Pickleball – Basketball

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A shot blaster is a machine that is commonly used to create a texture, or profile, on concrete.  There are various sizes of “shot” that can be used in these machines.  Shot blasters propel the shot particles, or media, onto the surface and suck it back in to create texture.  Our coating systems, and many other coatings, need some texture on the surface to create a good physical bond.  We recommend concrete being finished with a medium-broom finish, as opposed to a smooth trowel finish.  Sometimes this doesn’t happen, so the best way to get a good texture profile is to shot blast the smooth surface.

Shot Blasted Area Concrete
Shot Blasted Concrete Area

This is also a good way to “open up” the concrete and remove potential curing compounds or surface residue that can cause bonding issues.

Shot Blast Profile For Tennis, Pickleball, and Basketball Court Surfaces

The shot blast industry has a shot blast profile chart that lists various levels of texture, created by the shot blast.  It also ties each of the texture levels to a recommended thickness of coating system.  In other words, the thicker the coating system build, the more texture needed on the surface.  Our sport coating systems, based on the average thickness and factoring in multiple resurfacings over time, work well over a shot blast profile of CSP3 or CSP4.  Don’t worry, if the shot blaster profile turns out with a little too much, Acrylic Resurfacer will fill in and hide the voids.   This may require extra coats, but better to have more than less for good physical adhesion.

Shot Blast Profiles For Sport Surfaces & Courts

Where To Find Shot Blasters For Court Surfaces

Shot blasters come in various sizes and are commonly rented at equipment rental stores.  Many times, flooring contractors that apply epoxy and polyurethane (industrial coatings) own these machines.  It may be best to hire and/or subcontract this work to contractors with experience to get past the learning curve.  They usually have larger ride-on models that get it done quickly, too.

Steel Shot Abrasives For Shot Blaster
Shot Blaster on Concrete Court
Shot Blasting Concrete Court

Applying Sport Coatings on Concrete Surfaces | Specifications

To see the SportMaster engineering specification, which includes the basic steps of the process,  click on the link below.  This will open a .pdf version of the document.

Applying Sport Surfaces On Concrete

Visit our full page for more information on proper preparation of concrete sport surfaces.

Multi Sport Backyard Courts

Are Acrylic Sport Surfaces Breathable And Permeable?

Question:  Are acrylic sport surfaces breathable and permeable?

Answer: Yes, SportMaster 100% acrylic sport surfaces are breathable and classified as semi-permeable.

Acrylic Sport Surfaces for Athletic Surfacing

SportMaster Sport Surfacing systems are produced using high-quality, 100% acrylic resins.  This is the industry-standard for sport surfacing on asphalt and concrete tennis, basketball, pickleball, and many other athletic and recreational court surfaces.  One of the main reasons for this is the fact that 100% acrylic resins are semi-permeable and allow a small to moderate amount of vapor transmission.

It is important to know that this does not mean you can have poor drainage and slope on a court surface and expect the acrylic coatings to “fix the problem”.  As a leading producer of acrylic sport surfaces, we strongly recommend following the construction guidelines of the American Sports Builders Assocation (ASBA).  The ASBA maintains an updated library of publications that demonstrate the right way to build tennis, pickleball, and athletic courts, along with running tracks and other recreational surfaces.  If athletic surfaces are not properly engineered, drained, and constructed, our (and any other) sport surfacing systems may exhibit bubbles, blisters, or failure.

Multi-sport acrylic surfaces

 

Asphalt & Concrete Athletic Court Construction

The recommended slope, for asphalt & concrete athletic court construction, is 1%.  This should be 1″ fall per every 10 feet of surface, in one direction.  This is enough pitch to allow runoff of water, without creating issues for the players.  Courts will be able to drain quickly and re-open for play.  Plus, acrylic coatings do not like to be constantly submerged, or the coatings will start to breakdown and wear at a quicker rate.

It is very important to have a professional drainage plan and make sure that water coming off of the court doesn’t accumulate beneath the slab.  Perimeter drains or other drainage plans, to take the water away from the courts and into the drainage system, is necessary.  Concrete courts should also be built with a vapor barrier to prevent hydrostatic pressure, in the form of water vapor, beneath the slab.  When the sun heats up the court surface, sub-surface water turns to vapor and creates vapor pressure to escape.  If enough water builds up beneath the slab and pushes upwards, it can create bubbles and blisters in the coatings and lead to peeling.

Important Factors For Sport Surfacing Success

    • Consult an experienced sport architect/engineer
    • Hire a qualified sport construction & surfacing contractor
    • Stick with 100% acrylic primers and coating systems throughout the entire sport surfacing system.
    • Follow the manufacturers specifications and recommendations
    • Don’t cut corners on proper construction and drainage.  It will only cost you more down the road

SportMaster Tennis Court Surfaces

Multi Sport Backyard Courts, Pickleball Court Surfaces

Multi Sport Backyard Courts

Multi sport backyard courts are a great way to optimize space in your backyard, driveway, or playground.  With the onslaught in popularity of Pickleball, there has been a demand for smaller courts and combination courts to accommodate players.  In areas where the interest in Pickleball exceeds tennis, blended lines are added in another color so that the courts can be used for both sports.

Pickleball Courts with Blended Lines

 

 

 

 

 

Another option is to use your driveway for double duty, as you may already do for basketball, and add coatings and blended lines for pickleball and you’ve really got a multi use court.Driveway Pickleball Court

 

 

 

 

Playgrounds are also underutilized. Many times, there are large areas behind schools that are plain asphalt blacktop. Acrylic sport surfaces can provide a lighter, cooler surface to play basketball, volleyball, pickleball, and many other games. The lightly textured surfaces are also safer, especially when conditions are damp and potentially slippery on normal pavement.

Game Courts

 

 

 

 

 

SportMaster also makes a special color coating for higher wear areas, including areas with moderate traffic from vehicles, bikes, and more aggressive play. The system is called ColorPave, and there are a few different variations. The ColorPave system was recently used at the new Facebook campus in Menlo Park, CA, in their under-building parking garage.
ColorPave Red Asphalt Color

ColorPave is also ideal for high-wear, multi sport surfaces and driveway basketball and pickleball court areas.  Bike lanes, zoos, amusement parks, and other specialty asphalt colored areas can also benefit from a coating system like ColorPave.

If you are thinking about building a new multi sport court or have an existing pavement area or sports court, we can put you in touch with an experienced sport surfacing contractor.  They can perform a site visit to evaluate your project and provide a free estimate.  Not sure what you want, our installers can provide recommendations based on the available space you have and on your sport and activity preferences.