PINNACLE SPORTS – BLOG
Pool or pickleball court? Rebar or post-tension concrete court slab? 30’ x 60’ or 30’ x 64’ layout? Hoop or no Hoop?
By the time you are ready to select a court surface for your pickleball court you have certainly decided on dozens of other equally important details. In fact, by the time the sub-surface is selected (rebar concrete or post tension concrete) the playing surface has ideally already been designated as they require slightly different specifications (more info in “concrete” section below).
Fortunately, we have been building pickleball courts since 2015 (before they were cool!) and can help lay out the pros and cons of both tiles and acrylic to ensure you end up with the perfect playing surface.
Concrete – rebar or post tension?
Before we get into the specifics on the playing surfaces, it’s worth ensuring we get the first step right (and possibly most important step) – the concrete court slab. A regulation pickleball court is 30’ x 60’ (34’ x 64’ preferred) and ideally runs in a North to South orientation. The court area needs to be leveled (1% slope) and not have any water draining onto the court.
The next step is determining the slab structure: rebar or post tension?
A rebar slab achieves its strength through 3/8” (or similar) steel re-bar (typically in a 24” x 24” or 36” x 36” square pattern), however it will exhibit minor hairline cracking over time. These cracks are covered if a tile surface is selected, however they will be noticeable with an acrylic finish. A re-bar slab is specified for a tile surface and can also be an option for an acrylic finish (with crack repair expected).
A post tension slab is typically around 2x the price of rebar and is tensioned with cables to ensure the slab has very minimal to no cracking. A post tension slab is overkill for a tile court surface, however, is often preferred for a high end acrylic court. Post tension is also recommended anytime a double pickleball court layout (or larger) is planned.
To summarize:
Tile playing surface – 4” rebar slab specified
Acrylic playing surface – 4” rebar slab optional, post-tension slab preferred (2x the cost)
Playing Surfaces: Tiles – SnapSports PickleGrip
The low impact, low maintenance, ideal multi-sport playing surface
SnapSports PickleGrip is a 1’ x 1’ x ½” modular “tile” surface that is manufactured (injected molded) in Salt Lake City, Utah and interlocks with other panels to create a uniform cushioned recreational playing surface. PickleGrip was the first modular tile surface engineered specifically for pickleball and is the top performing modular pickleball surface on the market today. Note – all tile/modular surfaces are not created equal! In fact, 90% of tile surfaces on the market today are not suitable for pickleball and will perform poorly (dead spots, low/skidding ball bounce). The SnapSports PickleGrip has been in the market for several years with thousands of courts now installed across the world. It remains the preferred playing surface for a multi-purpose court and is ideal anytime basketball, volleyball, or any other activities (bikes, scooters, etc) will be used on the court due to it’s durability. A traditional 30’ x 60’ tile court can also be installed in 1 day and in nearly any weather condition.
Tile Pros:
- Cushioning & Safety – PickleGrip offers a 14% increase in cushioning over a hardcourt (acrylic) surface.
- Durability – 16 year limited warranty (3x – 5x the lifespan of an acrylic coating)
- Lack of Maintenance – the only maintenance required is a leaf blower and occasional pressure washer
- Concrete – rebar slab specified, post tension not necessary
Tile Cons
- Price – increased initial investment
- Performance – great for recreational pickleball, not recommended for highly competitive play
Playing Surface: Acrylic
The current standard and preferred tournament pickleball surface
The “acrylic” surface is a coating which is squeegeed onto a concrete slab and is the current preferred pickleball playing surface for competitive or tournament play. The primary advantage of an acrylic coating (over tiles) is the performance and preferred ball bounce. If the court is to be used exclusively for competitive pickleball, acrylic is likely the preferred surface. The finished acrylic coating is firm and quite abrasive (ideal for pickleball), however is not typically recommended for multi-purpose courts (basketball, volleyball, bikes, scooters, etc). The surface is too firm and abrasive to be preferred for basketball or volleyball and bikes/scooters can damage the coating.
Before applying an acrylic finish the concrete must be poured to specification (see sub-surface section) and must cure for 30-45 days. Once the slab has cured, there are several steps in the acrylic coating process:
- Prep the concrete: thoroughly pressure wash the slab, followed by an acid etch
- Re-Surface: Apply an adhesion promoter, crack filler, plus 1 – 2 coats of re-surfacer. The re-surfacer adds the preferred texture to the slab and helps level any imperfections.
- Color: Apply 1 – 2 coats of color (customizable, based on an approved rendering we provide)
- Lines: Paint pickleball lines (plus any other game lines if preferred)
This four step process is typically completed over 2 – 4 days and requires weather above 50°
Acrylic Pros:
- Pickleball Performance – offers a standard, expected, & tournament approved ball bounce and traction
- Cost – lower initial cost (although it has a higher long term cost due to the upkeep)
Acrylic Cons
- Pickleball Only – not preferred for multi-purpose courts (basketball, volleyball, bikes, scooters, etc)
- Maintenance Costs – re-painting of the court required every 3 – 5 years
- Concrete Costs – if post tension is selected the concrete costs can be double that of a re-bar slab
Cost Breakdown
Lowest Long Term Cost: Re-bar concrete slab + tile
Lower cost on concrete, higher up-front cost on the tiles, low upkeep costs
This is the lowest long-term cost option as the only maintenance costs (for 15 years or so) is a leaf blower or pressure washer.
Lowest Up-Front Cost: Re-bar concrete slab + acrylic
Lower cost on concrete, lower cost on initial acrylic coating, high upkeep costs
This option requires new paint (and possibly crack repair) every 3 – 5 years and has a higher long term cost than the re-bar + tile option.
Highest Cost: Post-tension concrete slab + acrylic
Higher price on concrete, lower cost on initial acrylic coating, high upkeep costs
This option will require little to no crack repair over time, however it will require the court to be re-painted every 3 – 5 years.
costs of acrlyic + post tension slab
vs
tile + re-bar slab
We hope this has served as a guide to help make your backyard court surfacing decision a little easier. Nobody every regret money spent on a pickleball court… potentially just regret on who built it and what materials were used!