Tag Archives: repair

How Do You Paint A Tennis Court?

If you ask any professional house painter they will tell you, “In hard times, everyone is a painter.”  But if you have ever hired a professional house painter, you will see that they make the job look much easier and better in much less time than the average home owner.  Hiring a professional tennis court painter, or sport surfacing contractor, is the smartest move you will ever make!

Just because it looks like paint and kind of smells like paint, doesn’t mean you apply it the same way.  Tennis court coatings are heavy-bodied and fortified with specialty sand and aggregate.  So, how do you paint a tennis court?  The only good way to apply these coatings is with a specialized tennis court application squeegee.  Using a paint roller on a hot day, in the full sun, on coatings that hold up to 15 pounds of sand per gallon can make a real mess.  Plus, if you’ve never applied coatings with a squeegee, you are in for a not-so-good surprise.  Especially, if you are attempting to paint a two-color court.  Experienced tennis court resurfacing contractors may paint anywhere from 50 to 400 tennis courts in a season.  They have plenty of practice and have the skills to squeegee two different colors that are only separated by a 2″ line, without going over into the other color area.  Not to mention, multiple coats within the same day.

Over the years, many do-it-yourselfers have attempted to paint their own courts with a variety of results.  The vast majority will never do it again and even needed to hire a professional surfacing company to fix their attempt.  Here is just a short list of reasons why it is cheaper and easier to have an experienced tennis court contractor paint or resurface your tennis, basketball, or sports court:

  • Tennis court contractors buy concentrated coatings in large volumes and have better pricing on materials than DIY.
  • Sport contractors have all of the necessary tools and experience to do the job right and quickly.
  • Court contractors also have a specialized line taping machine for layout of straight and curved lines, prior to striping.
  • Most sport contractors have a variety of methods and systems for crack repair, including installation of patented membrane repair systems which require factory training.
  • Construction alternatives: If standard acrylic repair materials cannot address the repairs, tennis court construction companies can offer more permanent repair or reconstruction.

If it is time to paint or resurface your tennis, basketball, or pickleball court and you are looking for a qualified sport surfacing contractor, contact us.  We can put you in touch with experienced installers that can provide free estimates on a professional and affordable court repair, resurfacing, or construction project.

 

What causes bubbles or blisters on a tennis court surface?

Bubbles and blisters on a tennis court surface, or other coated sport surface, are fairly common.  This is usually a result of improper tennis court construction or malfunction of the drainage system. When sub-surface water becomes excessive and is not properly drained away from the court, it can breathe through the slab in a vapor form and create hydrostatic pressure under the coatings.  This pressure builds more in weaker surface areas and creates a blister or bubble.  When the blister is raised, water vapor stretches the coating film and slowly breathes through to escape.  After most of the water pushes through, blisters usually lay back down and disappear until the next rain or precipitation event.  It’s important to note that excessive watering (sprinklers) around the court edge can also lead to blistering problems.  That being said, it’s very important to minimize accumulation of water beneath the court slab.

bubbles blisters pickleball court surface
Bubbles or Blisters on Court Surface

How Do I Get Rid of Bubbles and Blisters on a Tennis Court Surface?

In order to take care of the bubbles and blisters, long term, you will need to do some investigating.  Start by making sure any and all drains around the tennis court are free of debris or anything that would prevent proper flow of drainage water.  You may want to enlist the help of an architect or excavation professional in order to evaluate the current drainage system and see if it was installed properly, or at all.  If the court substrate is concrete, you must ensure the following:

  • Was a vapor barrier installed beneath the court when poured?
  • Are there perimeter drains that can take the water away from the court when it runs off after a rain? (Important that water is intercepted on all side of the slab, to prevent water beneath the court)
  • Was the concrete allowed to cure for 28 days, prior to coating?
  • Was the concrete surface acid etched to neutralize the alkalinity and balance the PH?
  • Were any curing compounds used on the concrete?
Court Surface Edge Drain
Surface-type drain – good for the low court edge

 

 

 

 

 

The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) maintains construction guidelines for asphalt and concrete tennis court and sport surfaces.  Ensure that the construction of the court meets their guidelines and find out from the tennis court builder if they followed the ASBA recommendations.  This may help you figure out why the blisters are occurring.  If you are still not sure what to do, feel free to fill out the contact form on this page and we can put you in touch with a SportMaster recommended, tennis court builder.  They can perform a free site visit with you and provide feedback and estimates for repair, resurfacing, or re-construction. You can view our Engineering Specification for Athletic and Recreational Surfacing on our SportMaster site.

Tennis Court Blisters
Tennis Court Blisters