What Goes Into the Price of a Pickleball Court?

Somebody calls us up and says they want a pickleball court.

And we can help determine the costs, but it’s not as straightforward as you might think.

Two courts that look the same from the road can be thousands of dollars apart once we walk the site. Only upon a site visit and thorough understanding can we actually put together a number for you.

And it starts with one question…

Are We Surfacing, Converting, or Building From Scratch?

Before anything else, we need to know which of three situations you’re in.

The first is an existing slab. The concrete is already there, and it just needs surfacing.

The second is a conversion, where you’ve got an old tennis court and you want to turn it into pickleball.

The third is a brand new build, where we’re starting from dirt.

Can We Even Get to the Court?

Site access sounds boring until it’s the thing blowing up your budget.

If it’s a private residence and the court is going in the backyard, we have to figure out how we’re getting concrete back there. A lot of the time that means a pump truck with a long hose. Do we have to take a section of fence down to get equipment in? Is there a tight gate, a slope, a soft yard? All that plays into the cost.

A site where we can pull right up and work is going to quote differently than one where we’re hauling everything the long way around. Same court. Different access and different price considerations.

Is There Water Access Nearby?

This one catches people off guard.

We need water for a lot of the job. We use it to mix paint, clean our equipment, acid wash the surface to prep it, and a handful of other things throughout the process. With most homes, water’s right there, so it’s a non-issue.

But on some of our municipality and community projects, there’s no water source anywhere nearby. When that happens, we have to rent what’s called a water buffalo, basically a big portable water tank, to haul our own water in.

Water also plays a part in how we figure out what shape an existing surface is in, which brings me to the next thing.

Where Are the Bird Baths?

On an existing slab or a conversion, we flood the court with water on purpose.

We do it to find the bird baths. A bird bath is a low spot, a depression in the surface where water pools instead of draining off. By flooding the court, we can see where the water sits, and circle those spots with chalk. Then when we’re prepping and repairing, we know exactly where to go to level things out before we ever put color down.

Sometimes we don’t even need to flood it. We can swing by after a heavy rain and assess the court ourselves. Either way, the more low spots we find, the more leveling work there is, and that is accounted in the price.

How Does Drainage Look Around the Pickleball Court?

Drainage is mostly a new construction conversation.

When we’re building new, we look at how water moves around the spot you’ve picked. If your court is sitting at the bottom of a hill, that matters. We don’t want water running underneath the court, we want it running around it. So we might build French drains, or we might elevate the court so the water has somewhere else to go. We’re solving that problem before we pour, because it’s a lot harder to fix later.

On an existing court, you can usually spot a drainage problem by the cracking and the slope. At that point we’re doing what we can to slow down future water damage. Most of the real drainage planning happens on new builds.

How Much Prep Does It Need?

Prep is where the job-type really separates.

On a brand new court, the big prep step is acid washing. We’re cleaning out the pores of the fresh concrete so the acrylic surfacing actually grabs hold and sticks. We wash it, rinse it, let it dry, and then we’re ready for color.

On a resurface or a conversion, the heavy prep is fixing bird baths, filling cracks, cleaning the court to ready it for surfacing. We want the playing surface as level as we can get it before any color goes down, so that’s where a lot of the work is distributed.

Once prep is done, the finish work runs the same on all of them. Two coats of acrylic resurfacer or sport paint, and then striping is the last step. The court you walk away with looks finished, but the part you don’t see, the prep (or repairs) is accounted for.

What Repairs Are Needed On Pickleball Courts?

This is mostly a resurfacing and conversion question, and cracks are the headline.

Cracks are the biggest repair item we deal with. When we quote a job, we try to estimate the linear feet of cracking so we can price it right. And here’s something people don’t expect: it’s the labor that drives that cost, not the materials. The materials to fill a crack aren’t that costly. It’s the hours of prep, depending on how deep the crack runs and how much work it takes to do it right.

Beyond cracks, there’s a whole tier of stuff we look at:

• Does the net need to be replaced?
• Are the net posts heaving up out of the ground?
• Does the fencing around the court need repair or replacement?
• Does seating need to be replaced?
• What about the lighting?

Sometimes the budget only covers the playing surface, and that’s all we touch. Other times somebody wants the whole court restored, and we’ll price out all of those surrounding pieces too.

How to Best Determine the Price for A Pickleball Court?

Most Pickleball Court Contractors or Constructions companies will tell you the same thing we’re saying here. A site visit to assess where your court is (or where it should be) is the most accurate measure of how to determine the price of a pickleball court.

If you’re in Omaha, Lincoln, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, or any other areas in Nebraska or Iowa- we’d be happy to take a look.

Please give us a call at (402) 590-5600 or email build@endurancecourts.com