Guide
The maintenance calendar.
A court or a lot does not fail all at once. It fails a little every month it is ignored, and most of the months ask for an hour of attention, not a contractor. Here is the year, for courts and for lots.
| Month | Courts | Parking lots |
|---|---|---|
| March | Walk the court after the thaw. Note new cracks, lifted edges, heaved net posts. Photograph them; the pictures date the damage. | Walk the lot. Mark potholes and plow damage. Pothole patching can start as soon as the plants open. |
| April | Sweep. Clear the drains and the swale. Trim back anything shading the court. Do not pressure-wash yet if nights still freeze. | Sweep the winter grit off; it grinds the surface under tires. Repair plow-scraped stalls and curb stops. |
| May | Pressure-wash at low pressure with a wide fan. Treat algae with a dilute bleach or oxygen cleaner, rinse well. Book repairs. | Crack filling can start when the ground is dry and days are above 50 °F. Book sealcoating; the season fills. |
| June | Resurfacing season. Keep benches, chairs and bikes off the surface; metal legs cut acrylic. Check net tension weekly. | Sealcoating season. Sections closed a day at a time; stripe as the sealer dries. |
| July | Water the surface before play on the hottest days if the club has a hose; a dark court can top 140 °F. Clear leaves and seed pods, which stain. | Watch for sealer tracking in the first week after application on very hot days. Keep heavy trucks to the drive lanes. |
| August | Second wash if the court is shaded. Check for birdbaths after a storm: a nickel under the water is fine, a quarter is not. | Repaint faded stalls and arrows if the lot was not sealed. Check ADA signs are upright and visible. |
| September | Last resurfacing weeks. Walk the court for new cracks before leaves fall and hide them. | Last sealcoating weeks. Fill every crack before the leaves come down. |
| October | Fill cracks before the first freeze. Remove nets if the club takes them in; lower them if not. Clean the drains. | Crack filling to the last warm week. Mark the plow route and the curb stops for the plow driver. |
| November | Blow the leaves off; wet leaves stain and feed algae. Pull the windscreens; winter wind rips them and bends the fence. | Tell the plow contractor: blade up over the sealer, no chains, no salt piles on the asphalt. |
| Winter | Stay off it. Do not plow a court to play; blades and salt take the surface. Snow melts on its own. | Plow damage is the lot's biggest winter cost. Note where the blade caught; it is where the spring patch goes. |
Print this page: it fits on two sheets and it is what we hand over at the end of a job.
Intervals
How often, roughly.
| Sweep and clear drains | Monthly in season |
| Pressure-wash and treat algae | Once or twice a year |
| Crack filling | Every autumn |
| Net, post and fence check | Spring and autumn |
| Court resurfacing | Every 4 to 8 years |
| Lot sealcoating | Every 2 to 4 years; first at 1 year |
| Lot restriping | With each sealcoat; sooner if faded |
| Base and drainage review | Every 5 years, or when cracks pattern |
Sun, shade, drainage and use move every one of these. The resurfacing interval article explains what moves them.
Budget
What to put in the capital plan.
Every year
Crack filling and a wash. The smallest item in the file, and the one that protects the rest.
Every 2 to 4 years
Sealcoat and restripe the lot. See the costs page for the per-square-foot range.
Every 4 to 8 years
Resurface the courts. The single biggest line; the year it is due is predictable years ahead.
Every 20 to 30 years
An overlay or a rebuild of the court base, if the first three were done; sooner if they were not.
Questions
Doing it yourselves.
Can we pressure-wash the court ourselves?
Yes, carefully: a wide fan tip, the wand kept moving, no more than about 1,500 psi, never a turbo nozzle. A narrow jet held still cuts the acrylic and leaves a bare line you will see for years. Use a dilute bleach or oxygen-based cleaner for algae and rinse until it runs clear.
Can we fill cracks ourselves?
On a lot, the pourable cold crack fillers from a supply house work for small cracks if the crack is clean and dry. On a court, no: the acrylic crack fillers and the membrane systems have to be worked flush with the surface or they show through the color and play badly. Call us in October.
What kills a court fastest?
Water standing on it, in that order: a low spot, a blocked drain, a swale that sends the lawn's runoff across the court. Second, shade and leaves. Third, anything with metal legs or wheels dragged across it. Fourth, salt and plows in winter. None of them is expensive to prevent.
Free estimates
Want us to do the October walk?
We will walk the court or the lot each autumn, fill what needs filling, and tell you in writing what next year holds. Ask for the maintenance visit when you call.
The yard
4000 East 86th Street, Cleveland, OH 44105
Off Broadway Avenue, south of downtown, ten minutes from I-77 and I-490.
Serving Cuyahoga, Summit, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Geauga, Portage, Stark and Ashtabula counties. Municipal, school, club, HOA and commercial work; residential courts by the job.