The cost of resurfacing a tennis court

Over time, ultra-violet light will damage the surface of a Tarmac tennis court. At the same time, a lack of regular brushing and moss killing will also degrade the surface.

Before we resurface an old court, the surface has to be cleaned. The options available to you when resurfacing a court will depend upon its age, how flat the surface of the court is, the extent of weed growth and the presence of any loose chippings.

AGE FIVE TO TEN YEARS TEN YEARS OR OLDER (Good Condition) TEN YEARS OR OLDER (Poor Condition) TEN YEARS OR OLDER (Disrupted Foundation)
Comments You can opt to re-cover the court with a new hard surface or to use the existing court as the base for a synthetic carpet. There are two options available. A court in good condition will have a flat surface, no visible weeds, little moss growth and limited loose clippings. There are three options available. A court in average condition for this age will have a surface that is still flat with some weeds. It will be mossy, have limited chippings and only some root damage. There are two options available. After ten or more years, a well-worn court may have a bumpy surface. Weeds will be growing through the court. There will be holes in the court and root damage. A court in this condition has to be rebuilt. This involves laying a new stone foundation to a depth of 100-150 millimetres, to which new edgings must be added. There are two options for the surface of the rebuilt court.
Option 1 Repaint the court surface with Pladek. £3,000 - £4,000 + VAT. Clean, binder coat and paint. From £3,000 - £4,000 + VAT Resurface with macadam and Pladek. From £19,000 - £25,000 + VAT Reconstruct with new foundations, new edgings, new macadam surface and painted with Pladek finish. £32,000 - £41,000 + VAT.
Option 2 Lay a synthetic surface over the existing macadam court. From £19,000 - £23,000 + VAT. Resurface with macadam and Pladek. £19,000 - £25,000 + VAT. Lay a new macadam base and then add a synthetic surface. £33,000 - £37,000 + VAT. Reconstruct with new foundations, new edgings, new macadam base, lay a synthetic surface. £43,000 - £52,000 + VAT.
Option 3 Lay a synthetic surface. £19,000 - £23,000 + VAT.

Resurfacing a tennis court - choosing tarmac or carpet

Our synthetic carpet sports surfaces such as Savanna, Sporturf, Omniclay and Tenniturf surface provide an ideal medium for resurfacing old courts. Laying a carpet over your old court is a very attractive alternative to conventional tarmac resurfacing, which calls for a minimum of 30 tonnes of hot tarmac, and the presence of big rollers and tractors in your garden.

Full height and half height tennis courtt obelisk fencing by AMSSSynthetic carpet offers a host of benefits. It looks good, it’s easy on the joints, it grips when it’s damp, and it’s suitable for other sports too.

Maintenance is simple, even on courts that are prone to moss, algae or bird droppings because you can pressure wash at full pressure. We offer a full tennis court cleaning service - to see more about this, just click here.

Installation is easy too, with no need for heavy lorries and equipment in your garden. Synthetic carpets come in rolls of fabric and 25kg bags of mineral dressing which can be carried in. This is especially helpful when the original access used to build the court has been lost through plant growth, hard landscaping, and later construction. In contrast, resurfacing with hot macadam calls for the macadam to be reasonably near to the court.

Not all old courts are suitable for macadam resurfacing. Grey-green grit courts were never built to take the heavy rollers that are needed to lay hot macadam. Similarly, old macadam courts that are not strong enough to take a roller on them can be resurfaced with artificial grass.  As an added benefit, a synthetic carpet insulates the foundation and will reduce the effects of freezing on an old or ash base.

Old courts were made without geotextile weed barriers underneath them. It's because of this that weed growth can be a real problem with old macadam tennis courts. Laying a synthetic carpet over an old macadam surface will protect the court from frost by insulating it - and will repel weeds.

The solid nature of synthetic carpet allows it to be laid without raising the concrete or brick edging from the perimeter of the court. If required it can be laid over the edging up to the fence. The net post sockets will not need to be raised if they are in good condition. We simply adjust the posts to give the correct net height.

Overlaying an old Macadam court with a synthetic carpet makes a lot of sense.  If an old base needs to be replaced to take the heavy loads imposed by laying a new macadam surface, it can be far cheaper to simply clean the surface, patch any rough areas and lay a carpet straight on top. Furthermore, a carpet doesn’t need repainting after seven years. This means that after seven years, you will have paid no more for an artificial grass surface than you would have done for Tarmac – and you’ll have had seven years playing on a far better surface.