The work that goes into building the perfect court

By Emma Peterson.

One industry expert shares insight into how to effectively coat court surfaces.

At the end of July, The Coffee Shops® crew got an incredible opportunity – record a live CoatingsTalk out on a jobsite with the CourTex Construction crew to see them finish installing California Sports Surfaces’ CoolTop®. Not only was this a great opportunity to see the talented work of applicators in person, but Weston Ready, president of CourTex, walked us through each step of the coating process, providing valuable background and insight into how quality installations set projects up for long-term success.

Weston started by explaining the work that must happen before the crew gets to the jobsite, sharing, “Day one, we meet the customer and find the footprint that makes the most sense. To do that, we have someone on site to shoot grades with a laser and determine the elevations. Then that data gets sent to Chelsea in the office, who calculates an estimate.” Once that estimate is made, the CourTex sales team looks it over and customizes it to the needs of the individual client. Weston explained, “To be clear, they’re not trying to upsell things the customer doesn't need. They’re just really learning the person and the project to ensure that the court we build serves their needs.”

From there, it’s time to get the crew in the field. At CourTex, they run everything in-house, from the excavation and the coating to the lighting and hoops. Weston went over the installation timeline:

We start with what’s called a cut and fill, which is used to get a 1% (per ASBA standards) and 95% compaction rates. Then we put in a post-tension foundation. That has a 30 to 40 day cure time, and while that’s curing, we put in the components, such as the lighting and the fencing. Once the cure’s done, our crew gets out there and starts surfacing. Which, in short, entails patch prep, acid etch, acrylic resurfacing, color coat line primer and then lines.

While our team was out recording with Weston, the CourTex crew was actively working on the line portion of that process. Looking at their work, precision was clearly the name of the game. As Weston put it, “We don’t want to rush anything. When you’re working with the lines, you actually spend a lot of time cleaning and leaf blowing so that aggregate, insects and bugs are not on the court when we’re doing the actual painting...Timing and patience is huge.”

And it’s this careful attention that sets crews like Weston’s apart from the crowd. As he put it, “Detail's everything if you're trying to be the best at what you do and nothing's going to beat workmanship, you have to have talented people that care about their work. In my opinion, someone that cares is the main thing that's just going to separate great from good.”

Want to see Weston’s crew at work? Watch the live recording from the jobsite! You can also Listen to our conversation with Weston for more about proper sports coating installation.