Have you started enjoying the fastest-growing sport in the United States yet? If so, you must have become a fan of the sport, similar to many others. People enjoy the Pickleball game by constructing, resurfacing, and transforming sparsely utilized tennis courts into pickleball courts. The process of resurfacing a Pickleball court begins with cleaning and sanding the court for the repairs first. The repairs commonly include filling cracks, fixing portions that may be holding water, and other potential repairs required.
After these repairs have been made, a heavy coat of acrylic primer with a rich content of sand is applied. After applying the prime coat, multiple coats of acrylic and colored paint are used to give a rich textured color finish. Since there is no right or wrong way of doing colors for Pickleball courts, you may opt for two or three colors for your court. Once your court is completely coated, add heavily textured white line paint to define the playing surface. Lastly, you can re-install the net posts & nets.
Does your pickleball court require a facelift?
If yes, then you must consider Pickleball court resurfacing in New England. Pickleball courts are usually painted or tiled surfaces; however, they often become worn out with time. This can cause players to slip and fall. The good news is you can opt for resurfacing services to repair the damage due to years of use. Resurfacing your pickleball court is an easy way to ensure your game stays fun and safe!
Steps Taken Before Applying Resurfacer to Your Pickleball Court
Before applying any resurfacing material to your pickleball court, the following steps must be taken first.
Cleaning the Surface –
Remove all debris, such as dirt, grass clippings, leaves, etc., from the surface before application.
Preparing the Surface –
Make sure both sides of your court have been cleaned thoroughly. Experts recommend that you clean the total area around the perimeter of your court. Thus you can ensure that no loose gravel or other items get stuck underneath the resurfacing material.
Priming –
Cover your entire court surface with a thin coat of acrylic primer. This seals the surface and thus restricts the resurfacing material from sticking to itself when applied.
Application –
Lastly, apply the resurfacing material and spread it evenly across your court. Once you finish this, wait approximately 24 hours before starting to play on the resurfaced court.
Essential Weather Conditions for Resurfacing Your Pickleball Court
Before applying any resurfacing material, ensure the weather is warm enough. For instance, if you plan to use an Acrylic Resurfacer in the spring or summer, ensure the temperature is above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and below 140. This won’t be a task in warmer areas like Massachusetts or Connecticut in New England, but care needs to be taken in colder regions like Maine.
How Often You Have to Resurface Your Pickleball Court
Another question people frequently ask is how often resurfacing is essential. Although a wide variety of factors help determine when you need to repave your pickleball court, resurfacing your court every five years is a good rule of thumb.
If your court is for a professional game or some important tournament, it’s better to resurface that court more frequently. After all, you are playing on it and spending some money on it every week or month. Hence, you may have to pay more for repairs and resurfacing every five years and make some necessary changes now and then.
However, if it’s only for your recreational pickleball games, it is not that crucial to resurface it every five years. After all, your court is not professional, and you will only utilize your pickleball court for recreational purposes.
Conditions That May Speed Up Degradation of Your Pickleball Court
The following are some of the conditions that may speed up the deterioration of your pickleball court –
Age –
The asphalt in your court tends to crack and crumble over time. The older it becomes, the more likely it is to degrade. This indicates that each time you play on it, you are putting yourself at risk for injury.
Improper Slope –
The court surface needs to be leveled to prevent water from pooling in specific areas, which can further cause the breakdown of acrylic surfaces.
Insufficient Drainage System –
Water usually tends to accumulate if there’s a lack of proper drainage systems in place. When water pools up, your surface becomes more prone to premature degradation.
Poor Installation –
If your pickleball court is not installed properly, it will likely crack under pressure.
When it comes to resurfacing pickleball courts in New England, you should contact the right company. Since it is an important job, you can entrust a professional like Pickleball Courts of New England. You want to ensure they know how to apply the material to make your court look good and last for years.
Transforming Under-Utilized Courts
One of the current trends you can see is court conversions. You can take an under-utilized tennis or basketball court, add blended lines to that court, and use portable nets. Another way of doing this is by converting that court and making it pickleball only by installing permanent net posts and nets.
The recommended minimum size necessary for one pickleball court is 30’ wide by 60’ long. (Slight variations are acceptable) Theoretically, while converting a standard tennis court, you can fit 4 pickleball courts in it.
Fencing is one of the other considerations while doing single or multiple courts. As pickleball have limited travel velocity because of their weight and aerodynamics, a single court in New England may not require a fence. A converted court or multiple courts will need divider fencing for optimal safety.
Like tennis, several pickleball courts have lighting for nighttime games. While doing a conversion, the lighting available with the existing court is usually permissible for pickleball however may require some adjustments.
If you have an under-utilized tennis or basketball court and want to convert it to a pickleball court or want to resurface your existing one, reach us at Pickleball Courts of New England.
