Tom Waits has a song called Strange Weather where he says, “And all over the world, strangers talk only bout the weather.” If he were to write this song today, he’d change weather to pickleball.
I don’t know if it’s just because I’m a court painter but it seems like that’s all anyone wants to talk about with me.
Insert Jerry Seinfeld voice
“What’s the deal with pickleball? I bet a lot of people are getting them for their backyards.”
The answer is, “I don’t think so Jerry.” Why is this? Well, there’s a lot to put together in order to make it happen.
Insert Jersey contractor’s voice
- “Bro, you gotta get permits. You can’t just throw a court in your backyard.”
- “Bro, you gotta get a paver. Most pavers don’t want to deal with small jobs like this.”
- “Bro, where you gonna find a painter? House painters don’t do this. There’s all kinds of special paints.”
All of the above are true but I can help point you in the right direction. It all boils down to this. I am not a construction guy and construction guys are not specialty painters. By following the below advice, you can manage putting in a court, by yourself, by marrying up your paver with my painting.
Questions to ask:
1. Do you have enough impervious coverage? As in, will the town allow you to put in a court that won’t allow water to penetrate/soak into the ground? Most homeowners are savvy enough to run the numbers to see if you can or you cannot put another non-permeating surface on your property. If you can’t, and you know you can’t, it’s pointless to bring out a contractor to just, “Take a look”.
So what are the numbers for you to look up your allotment? A pickleball court is 20’ Wide X 44’ Long. The majority of courts add at least 5’ on either side and 8’ on each baseline. This makes for a 30’ Wide by 60’ Long court. That is 1,800 sqft. Check with your town and see if you can do it.
2. Do you have any setbacks? Where do you want to put the court on your property? Does your town have setbacks where you can’t be a certain distance from your property line?
Okay. So now we’ll assume you’ve passed the test and your town will allow you to have a pickleball court on your property. What do you do next?
3. Do you have an asphalt paver? This is the hardest find but the most needed one. I make your court look pretty but the paver puts down the base. They are the ones that are doing ALL of the construction. And that’s not it. They’re also doing the following:
- Pulling the permits
- Excavating your lawn
- Rolling your asphalt
Finding the right paver is a big step.
4. Where do you find a paver? There are a lot of places but here are a few tips:
- Ask your landscaper (or other contractors). They may have someone they’re already comfortable with and if there’s lawn fixing, which there will be, it will be helpful if the landscaper already has a paving contact.
- Ask your neighbors, especially if you know of someone getting paving work done or recently had paving work done. (They may offer a neighborhood discount.)
- Ask in community forums or on your social media pages. People love to share their contacts.
- If you can’t find one, reach out to me and I’ll ask ones I work with.
So you found a paver and your court is scheduled for paving. What do you do next?
5. Where do you find a painter? You call the Sports Installer, Mike Westhead, for the painting portion. I have painted hundreds of courts over the years, am located in Morristown, NJ and service NJ and some areas of NY, CT and PA. Click through this site to see some of my work.
I hope this article helped and please send me a message if you have any questions.