Athletic Court Frequently Asked Questions

The cost of an athletic court installation depends on the size of the court, access to the court site for equipment, the grade of the court site and any accessories.

A good ballpark range is $15,000 for smaller courts to $25,000+ for larger courts.

The major components of an outdoor court are the materials including:

Concrete – sub-base material, rebar and concrete

Tiles – the type of tile and the design elements 

Accessories – hoops, nets, lighting

The minimum size for any backyard court is roughly 26 feet x 26 feet. This size court could accommodate a portion of a basketball court but NOT a full three point line. In our experience this size is as small as you would want to build. 

The recommended size for any backyard athletic court would be roughly 4 feet wider and longer than the actual court dimensions to allow a safety area around the playing surface. 

The maximum size for any backyard court is whatever your budget and yard can accommodate. Check out our list of court dimensions here.

The most reliable way to determine if you need a permit is to contact your local city or county building department. 

The most important “regulation” related to your backyard athletic court are easements and any homeowner association (HOA) covenants, conditions and restrictions. 

You’ll want to check with your HOA directly and the County Recorder’s Office for HOA covenants that might apply to your property. 

The most common easements associated with your property include utility, access, drainage and conservation. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list but to hopefully give you an idea if an easement applies to your property. If any of the situations below could potentially apply, you’ll need to check with your county recorder’s office and local municipality or township.

Utility Easements

Power lines: These easements allow utility companies to access and maintain power lines.   

Sewer and water lines: These easements grant access for the installation and repair of sewer and water pipes.

Cable and phone lines: Similar to power lines, these easements allow for the installation and maintenance of communication lines.   

Access Easements

Driveway easements: This allows someone to use a portion of another’s property for a driveway.   

Road easements: This grants access to a property via a shared road.

Utility access easements: Provides utility companies access to their equipment across your property.   

Drainage Easements

Storm water runoff: These easements allow for the drainage of water from one property to another.

Conservation Easements

These voluntary agreements restrict land use to protect its natural, historical, or agricultural value.

Basic precautions and care will ensure that your VersaCourt surface will maintain its appearance and optimum performance for many years. These tips are not expensive and do not take a lot of time, but can do a lot to protect your investment for future use.

Maintenance Cleaning:

VersaCourt tile can be cleaned in a variety of ways. If it is an outdoor application, leaves, sticks, and trash can build up on the surface. A leaf blower can be used to remove most debris. If the tile surface is dusty or dirty then a power washer can be used – be sure to set it on a low-pressure setting and do not directly spray the painted lines. Over the course of several years it’s possible dirt, small leaves or rocks and other debris may accumulate under the tile. In our experience this is rare but it does happen from time to time. If this does occur, a leaf blower and hose are usually enough to clean up the subsurface. In rare instances you may need to unsnap the tiles to remove the debris. In this case, give us a call and we’ll come out to help make sure your court ends up clean and the tiles remain intact. 

Precautions:

Keep any kind of flame (cigarettes, charcoal grills, fireworks, etc.) away from the surface.

Keep surface free of leaves, grass clippings, or other debris. A good leaf blower works well to help keep the surface clean.

Be careful when using any type of edging tools near the edge of the surface.

VersaCourt will resist the harmful effects of rain, snow, and ice. Some color loss is inherent in the product and will not affect the quality of the surface.

Surface cleaning equipment, such as leaf blowers, will exude heat, do not to place these tools on the tile as damage may occur to the surface.

Replacing Tiles:

Tiles are replaced in a matter of seconds. Insert a hook or screwdriver into a hole closest to the corner of the tile which does not have receivers and pull up.

When people think of “sport courts” they’re typically referring to the tile systems for outdoor sports. Those types of courts are made from copolymer polypropylene. 

Copolymer polypropylene is a plastic that’s been made extra strong and bouncy by mixing different types of plastic together. It’s like combining the best parts of different plastics to create a super-plastic!

The other material used for “sport courts” is paint on concrete.

A typical installation of a backyard court will take two days. The first day is dedicated to site preparation and pouring concrete. The second day will happen several days later after the concrete has cured and is dedicated to court tile and accessory installation.

You’re seriously asking a sport court contractor if you can install a sport court yourself?

We’ll try to remove our bias as best we can. If you have experience running the equipment to prepare a site for a concrete slab that is 48 feet long by 52 feet wide and 4 inches thick, then yes, you probably could install a backyard court yourself. Heck, if you can do that, we have a job for you!

If you’re not comfortable running a skid loader, laying sub base material, setting up rebar, building the forms and using screeding, floating and troweling tools to get a nice concrete finish, then you should probably work with a professional.

VersaCourt tile systems are explicitly built to withstand the extreme weather conditions we see in Iowa. From the hot and humid summers to the sub zero temps, snow and ice of winter, VersaCourt tiles are built to hold up.

I’ve got some bad news, if you’re outside having fun playing basketball or pickleball or any other sport court game, you’re going to be creating noise. The screams of excitement from a made basket or a kill in pickleball are going to create noise. If you’re familiar with the sound of a bouncing basketball or pickleball game, the sound level will be about the same regardless if you’re playing on sport court tiles or concrete. 

If you’re concerned with noise we recommend adding fencing, trees or shrubs between the court and neighbors. In extreme cases building a tall fence or wall might be necessary.