<p>We’re considering buying a house that has a tennis court (I can’t believe I’m even writing those words, but the price of the house may be too good to pass up). The current owners just refurbished the court, so it looks brand new. We have absolutely no experience with this, and are wondering what the annual maintenance costs on a tennis court might be. We would play occasionally, but we’re not going to be having tournaments in our back yard, so the court wouldn’t get much wear. </p>
<p>There’s lots of advice on the web about building a court, but very little on what it takes to maintain one. So I appeal to the Parent Cafe, where all questions, from serious health crises to frivolities like this, get answered!</p>
<p>I could be wrong on this but I don’t think they require too much maintenance. At our local court they replace the nets every so often but the actual court itself usually seems to have minimal wear and tear.</p>
<p>Before we moved, we lived on a street with a shared tennis court. The 13 member homes of the tennis association paid annual dues, which covered insurance, and grass mowing. The remainder went into a fund to pay for maintenance when needed. In our 13 years there, the court was resurfaced once. Since we were in CT, the net was taken down every winter, which helped keep down the wear and tear.</p>
<p>Growing up our neighbors had one that we used all the time and I think they resurfaced it once while I lived at home so maybe once every ten years or so. If there is a backboard that might take a weather beating… Nets wear out faster if left outside in the winter. Put the net up in the spring and take it down before winter.</p>
<p>Is this a concrete hard-surface court, or a clay court? That makes a big difference. Clay courts require continual maintenance, but are less expensive over the long run. Hard courts have virtually no maintenance in the short run but need resurfacing if they crack – and that can be a major expense.</p>
<p>actually I expect in 10 years there will be better pervious surfaces that will allow for better drainage and won’t require maintenance.
If there aren’t big deciduous trees nearby with shallow roots, you may be good for a long time.</p>
<p>I bet it is a lot less maintenance than a swimming pool!</p>
<p>Perhaps you could take a picture of the court after a rainstorm. You would get an idea of the dips in the court this way.</p>
<p>One other issue that you might not have considered is access. If you have a tennis court at your home, you may get inquiries from friends, neighbors, relatives and others asking you if they can use your court for tennis. You might also have kids trying to use it for skateboarding and street hockey.</p>
<p>Tennis is one of those sports where injuries (outside of repetitive stress) are uncommon but other activities like skateboarding can result in injuries and, perhaps, owner liability.</p>
<p>If you have your own tennis court, some kind of shaded bench/table/water dispenser is nice to have so that folks can relax between breaks in the shade. It can also provide a place for visitors to put their gear.</p>
<p>erhaps you could take a picture of the court after a rainstorm. You would get an idea of the dips in the court this way.
or drop a bunch of bouncy balls
I think it sounds really fun- as long as it didnt bump your taxes up too high.
I think it could even be more fun than a pool- it is a lot less to maintain,
you don’t have to wear a swim suit
grandchildren can play out there with much less worry than a pool.
and did I say you don’t have to get half nekkid to use it?</p>
<p>We had a house with a tennis court for about five years. No maintenance that I remember. It was great. The kids rode their tricycles on it (it was a long time ago); DH’s blood pressure dropped because someone came over to play with him pretty much every day; DH and I learned to play what I called “cooperative tennis”–he was so much better than I was that the goal was not to win separately, but for the two of us to get the ball back and forth as many times as possible. Our best score was 21, if I remember correctly; I was always the one who missed a shot, even though he always gave me easy shots to return.</p>
<p>My youngest went to preschool at a community center that had a tennis court ( it was also next door to where H’s grandparents used to live- which was kinda cool)
The kids rode the trikes & other wheeled things on it - it was great cause it was much safer than the street and more fun than the driveway.
boy that was a long time ago.</p>
<p>Thanks, although I had to laugh when I read this: “Step by step procedure on how to resurface you own asphalt tennis court. Doing it yourself is actually quite easy…” For some people maybe; not us!</p>
can play out there with much less worry than a pool.