Tennis Courts - cost of a personal court

[william7gr]

Originally Posted by tennisdad65

You should be able to find cheaper lawn mowers that will suffice for grass tennis courts. If I had a decent size backyard, i would definitely build a grass tennis court myself, instead of the 20-40K it costs for a clay / hardcourt. Grass courts need lots of time and effort, but so worth it, and it would be so nice and easy on my aging body.

I think that a green mower would be a little overkill for a tennis court too but I wasn't sure.

[stician]

anyone have clay, hard and grass in their backyards/compounds? surely someone does

[Benefactor]

Originally Posted by william7gr

If it is the same as a golf green mower the cheapest John Deere one I saw was over $7000

Golf greens are cut SUBSTANTIALLY lower than a grass tennis court ever would be...so I'm not sure if it's the same mower.

[Habsfan]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Back in the 'old days', when my mother was growing up in Queensland, despite a serious lack of funds, it seemed as though every other property had a tennis court. All it required was a bit of ingenuity, some hard work and a willingness to take functionality over aesthetics. I see no reason why you couldn't do the same today.

Mainly they used dirt courts (it being very hot year round in Queensland) but the process was similar. Find a suitable spot, strip it, roll it, mark it and play.

Yes, the bounces wouldn't have been perfect but who cares? I'm sure most of us have, at one time or another, played on courts where the surface hadn't been laid properly, that were cracked or maybe even on a bit of an angle BUT we put up with it because we were just happy to be playing tennis.

If you're interested in the Classic Clay, have a read of equinox's opinion in this thread (post #26) http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showt...sic#post626324

As he plays mainly on en tous cart (Australian dirt courts), he has a very good base of comparison.

The cost to have a clay court installed professionally is discussed throughout. Too pricey for me. However, Andrew D. and a few others discussed the option to install it yourself, if you have the time, will and can afford the basics. From my understanding, a lot of the cost is labour. I intend to supply as much of the labour as physically possible.

I'm located in Eastern Ontario, Canada, near the Great Lakes. Moisture isn't an issue here. Further, the house purchased has two drilled wells. One of which is not being used and can supply 4L/minute. It could be used to water a clay court.

Last Friday, we had our backyard graded. I asked to have a 60' x 120' court base graded to zero degrees facing N-S graded in the process; with the premise that a tennis court might be installed. No compaction was done and there is no drainage tile/piping installed. The land is elevated about ~ 1 m above the water table, so I am hoping drainage will not be an issue. Cedars surround the court, so wind will not be an issue.

There's an excellent article published by Kenneth Welton, Building Clay Tennis Courts. It was written back in 1929. Yes, it is a little outdated, but the engineering principles could not have changed that much. Is there anyone out there that could provide professional advice on the next steps after the base has been laid?

[mctennis]

It's not so much the actual cost of the court. Depending on where you live the maintenance of the court can get you. If you live in the Northern part of the USA the weather takes its toll. I see courts all the time broken, cracked and uneven. Think long about your decision.

[Habsfan]

Yes, I agree with you to think long and hard about the decision. I also agree with you that the weather does takes it toll on the courts in the north. However, poor construction seems to the reason for this. Local asphalt companies are asking 15K for the asphalt - nothing else. And most of the asphalt courts in the area are cracked and wavy, even the club I'm playing in. And they paid 25K three years ago to have it re-surfaced by a "professional" consultant.

Anyhow, I will consult with another club in Belleville that has four clay courts in regards to 1929 document quoted. I'll post the outcome in the next few weeks.

[Habsfan]

Originally Posted by gmonfils

Har-Tru courts generally cost less then hard courts. In fact if you are doing it yourself then har-tru is the least expensive. Tennis Magazine had an article several years back on one of there writers who built there own court and the price breakdown and how to, etc.

Hello, I was looking over the monthly issues of Tennis Magazine from the present to 2004 and did not see the article you were referring to. Any idea what month the article was published in?

[NickH87]

Can I just mow my lawn and play in my backyard as is??? I am 21 and have space, but not the money...

[Bud]

Originally Posted by NickH87

Can I just mow my lawn and play in my backyard as is??? I am 21 and have space, but not the money...

Try it and report back

[Smitty7712]

I want to see this thread continue

[TennisNinja]

One of the recent Tennis magazine articles talked about how much time/money it spent to maintain a real grass court. Not pretty.

[Fedace]

How much a GRASS court cost ?? if you already have a grassy big backyard ???

[new_tennis_player]

Originally Posted by Fedace

How much a GRASS court cost ?? if you already have a grassy big backyard ???

Paint the lines and put up a net.

Originally Posted by new_tennis_player

Paint the lines and put up a net.

Wont work. It will be crap. Im make my parent build me a court when move south to like TN,VA,NC.

Use astroturf

[bertiefactor]

Originally Posted by Parker512

Wont work. It will be crap. Im make my parent build me a court when move south to like TN,VA,NC.

Hahaha. You go to your mum, "hey mum,if you would like me to continue living under the same roof then you are obliged to build a tennis court for me"

Thats what im aspiring, a house with a tennis court and a swimming pool for cooling down after strenuous session of bashing balls mayb 15 yrs time

[aceX]

Lately I've been dreaming of an indoor court... tennis anytime any weather...

[dman72]

I would think leveling the ground and then putting down astroturf would be a cost effective means of building a court. Just be careful how cheap you go on the astroturf, because some of that stuff is worse than falling on concrete. Not nice to bare skin.

[cork_screw]

First, how big is your backyard that you can fit a tennis court? My god. Secondly, I thought texas was pretty good about having good court access like here in California. Here in california, we have a tennis court on almost every block all across san diego. I hear texas is also a huge tennis state that's very accomodating.

[indyfob2008]

After seeing this thread, I am just curious... How much does the average racquet club member (entire family) spend on court fees/membership/transportation over a lifetime? (playing 3-4 hours a week, for 25-35 years? Anyone have numbers from your own personal experience? Is the cost of building your own court an investment that could actually save you money in the long run?

so your own court (build + maintain) vs. a lifetime of club fees/court time/transportation? Which is higher?