Tennis Court Surfacing & Repair: Recommended Tools And Equipment

The tennis court surfacing and repair industry is very unique.  Tennis court surfacing and repair can be accomplished with a relatively low investment, in comparison to other trades.  The right tools and equipment can help a good contractor achieve a quality tennis court surfacing job, in a safe and timely manner.  The following list contains both necessary items and optional items that make the tennis court surfacing and repair process easier, quicker or cleaner.

1. Truck : Preferably, a flatbed truck with side racks and a hydraulic lift gate for loading and unloading surfacing material drums. A trailer that is low to the ground can also be utilized for transporting drums to the jobsite. Court surfacing materials can be mixed on the trailer, without removing heavy drums.

2. Drum Cart : Heavy duty 2-wheel cart for moving drums of court surfacing material. A good drum cart has a sliding hook and secures the top of the drum, to keep drum secure on cart.

3. Mixing Equipment : For Tennis Court Surfacing and Repair Materials

a. Agitated tanks – SportMaster Color Mixing Machines

b. Electric Drill: 1 ½ HP or larger, with long paddle mixer (approx. 30 inches) to reach bottom of

drums.

4. Blower : At least 5 horsepower for removing debris, prior to surfacing.

5. Edging tool : Billy Goat Grazor, Little Wonder Pro Edger, or weed wacker to remove vegetation around court, and prevent from hanging into the court, prior to court repairs and surfacing.

6. Line Taping Machine : Dispenses masking tape for line painting, after surfacing coats.

a. Striping accessories:

i. 2” to 3” paint roller & threaded handle (or paint brush)

ii. Good quality masking tape (approx. 8 rolls per tennis court)

7. Scrapers : Wide scrapers for scraping the court surface before and after each coat of surfacing material is applied, (SportMaster Super Scraper).

8. Broom : Stiff street brooms for cleaning.

9. Sport Application Squeegee : For tennis court surfacing material application.

10. Patching Straight Edges : Available from SportMaster in various lengths (always use straight edge wider that area in need of repair). Steel screed, for patching/leveling low spots (bird baths) on court surface.

11. Shovels : For picking up excess surfacing materials from court surfaces.

12. Two 100 foot Tape Measures : preferably steel, same make and model.

13. Chalk Line : For line/striping layout.

14. Chalk or Soap Stones : Markings.

15. Clean Empty Pails (5-gallon) :

a. For mixing court surfacing materials and patching mixes.

b. For transporting patching, repair, and surfacing materials.

i. SportMaster “Sealer Wheeler” is also helpful for transporting court surfacing material

onto court during application process.

c. A smaller (approx. 2-gallon) pail is helpful for dipping into drums and splitting repair and

surfacing materials, when mixing with drill and paddle mixer.

16. Masking Tape :

a. For marking corners of playing areas on two-tone courts, to preserve existing lines and

eliminate having to layout lines from scratch, after surfacing.

17. Roofing Paper (rolls) : Tape down at the end of a tennis court insert to collect extra surfacing materials, for ease of removal by shovel.

18. Tarp : For mixing area on jobsite and entry area to courts. Prevents drips and splatter of surfacing and repair materials from getting on the ground.

19. Empty Drums :

a. Clean drums for mixing court repair and surfacing materials

b. Extra drums for cleaning tools and collecting wastewater

20. Rags : For cleanup and to fill Net Post Sleeves prior to surfacing (prevents filling sleeves with coatings).

21. Other Tools & Equipment :

a. Wrench and Socket: For opening/closing lids on drums.

b. Water Hoses & Spray Nozzle: For dilution & cleaning.

c. Garden-Type pump sprayer: For spraying Acrylic Adhesion Promoter (on new concrete

courts) and good for misting hot court surfaces in front of application, to cool surface.

d. Pressure Washer & cleaning supplies: Tri Sodium Phosphate (TSP) for cleaning

detergent, and bleach to remove fungus, moss & mold, when needed. Visit

www.sportmaster.net for maintenance and cleaning manual.

e. Water Source: Make sure locate/secure on-site water or bring clean water for pressure

washing, cleaning, and dilution of repair and surfacing products.

f. Power Source: Make sure to locate/secure on-site electric or bring a generator to power the

drill for mixing court surfacing and repair materials.

g. Pail Openers: For efficient opening of pails.

h. Trowel/Putty Knife: For application of acrylic trowel grade crack fillers and repair products.

i. V or U-shaped Squeegee: To apply Acrylic Patch Binder mix into cracks and areas where

surface repair is needed.

j. Box Cutter: Use to open boxes, cut pour spouts on jugs, etc.

k. Wire Brush: Helpful for cleaning surfacing materials that are dried on tools, and to remove

stubborn vegetation in cracks, prior to repair.

l. Work Gloves: Hand Protection

m. Dust Mask: Use for air safety when pouring silica sand into surfacing materials.

22. Caution Tape : Secure the courts after application to prevent premature usage and tracking of

sport surfacing materials.

 
                      For more information, visit http://www.sportmaster.net/tennis.shtml