Har-Tru or Red Clay Tennis Court?

[USS Tang]

I want to build either a har-tru or a red clay tennis court. Which will be easier to do in terms of procuring materials? Which will be cheaper to build? Which will be easier to maintain? How do I get started?

 

[Babolatboy]

That's a tough thing to build... You are going to be running a high bill just from the concrete slab that is gonna go under neath it (unless your lucky and have hard ground where you live) here in the south soft courts have concrete beneath them bc the ground gets soft a lot. If I HAD TO GUESS synthetic clay is going to e cheaper...... Hope this helped a little

 

[Ramon]

Red clay is cheaper. Har-Tru is easier to maintain, but it's still a major pain in the you-know-what. You have to have sprinklers, sweepers, line brushes, and rollers.

I grew up having to help maintain my dad's Har-Tru court that he built on his property. I hated it. I think that if you work for a living, it's not worth your time to do it. I will never build a clay court for myself unless I had enough money to pay other people to maintain it.

 

[mikeler]

Red clay is cheaper. Har-Tru is easier to maintain, but it's still a major pain in the you-know-what. You have to have sprinklers, sweepers, line brushes, and rollers.

I grew up having to help maintain my dad's Har-Tru court that he built on his property. I hated it. I think that if you work for a living, it's not worth your time to do it. I will never build a clay court for myself unless I had enough money to pay other people to maintain it.

Are you sure the red stuff is cheaper? Seems like there are so many Har-Tru courts here in the USA that it would be less expensive.

I actually helped build 2 Har-Tru courts and had to maintain them for a year. You are correct, it is a big pain to maintain.

 

[maxpotapov]

If you ever played on har-tru and red clay, then why doubt? With such a difference in terms of playability, it's not even a question of cost.

 

[GS]

Do a Google search and check out ClayTech. It's an artificial clay surface that just slaps down on a hardcourt (with its expensive glue). You even have a choice of red or green!
A single claycourt is too much trouble to maintain, unless you're rich.

 

[neverstopplaying]

Do a Google search and check out ClayTech. It's an artificial clay surface that just slaps down on a hardcourt (with its expensive glue). You even have a choice of red or green!
A single claycourt is too much trouble to maintain, unless you're rich.

I was going to post the same thing as this poster. For a private court, you're much better off with an artificial base under a thin layer of clay. I play all summer on a "Nova Pro Clay", which I believe is the same tech as Clay Tech. Clay Tech brand is from the HarTru people.

Maintenance is much less. You only have to water before playing and pass the sweeper between sets, or when you're done. Always offers an even playing surface. Base is about 12" of crushed 3/4 gravel, so no concrete. Much less watering. Then fine gravel, then an artificial carpet with a glue/sand mixture. Top surface is the same clay, either red of HarTru. You can vary court conditions (speed / bounce) by the amount of clay surface and size of the granules. Plays identical to full thickness clay.

Only downside is initial cost.