Lee Tennis | Questions

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1. What are the most common types of algae problems?
There are over 15,000 species of algae. The most common are blue, brown, black or green. Algae grows in area's that are damp to wet with little or no surface agitation, and low maintenance area's.

2. When do I apply Moss Buster?
Moss Buster is applied to moss anytime during the growing season. Saturate the moss. Remove the moss once it has died and turned brown.

3. When do I use calcium chloride? How much do I use and how often do I apply?
Calcium Chloride is used to absorb moisture from the atmosphere and help retain that moisture in the court surface. Use calcium anytime during the warmer/drier part of the season when you normally run your irrigation system. At the end of the day's play, brush the court and apply 50-100 lbs of calcium on the court surface with a spreader. Water the court with half the amount of water normally applied at night. Resume normal maintenance procedures the following day. Typically one calcium application every 1-2 weeks. during the summer months is adequate to keep the surface in prime condition and reduce the amount of court maintenance required.

4. When do I use magnesium? How much do I use and how often do I apply?
Magnesium Chloride is used to absorb moisture from the atmosphere and help retain that moisture in the court surface. Use MAG anytime during the warmer/drier part of the season when you normally run your irrigation system. At the end of the day's play, brush the court and apply 50-100 lbs of MAG on the court surface with a spreader. Water the court with half the amount of water normally applied at night. Resume normal maintenance procedures the following day. Typically one MAG application every 1-2 weeks. during the summer months is adequate to keep the surface in prime condition and reduce the amount of court maintenance required.

5. When do you use pop-up sprinklers vs. impact sprinklers?
Advantages of Pop-ups: Less expensive then Brass impacts. Less susceptible to the effects of wind. Can be installed below court surface and rolled, and brushed over during maintenance. Less dangerous to player, no sharp edges. Stay in adjustment longer. Easily changed form nozzle size to nozzle size. Great head to tail coverage on water throw. Impact: Less likely to clog or jam. Long lasting (brass). Easier to adjust throw.

6. Do the tapes on my court need to be replaced every season? What's the life expectancy of line tapes?
No, line tapes don't need to be replaced every season. However, it needs to be part of your daily maintenance cycle to try and get two years of use out of the tapes. Line tapes tend to rise up and accumulate surface build-up underneath them due to the loosening from a freeze thaw cycle. Line tapes also get worn and very slick with normal wear from play, maintenance, and weather. This can present a serious hazard to players if not replaced annually. The amount of play and climate that the tapes are in determines the life expectancy. New tapes should be replaced every other year if not every season from a risk management perspective.

7. What is the advantage of using open mesh windscreen vs. closed mesh windscreen?
An open mesh screen allows more wind through. This is valuable if you live in a high wind area because it puts less pressure on the fence. Some also prefer a little wind getting through because its cooler. It is also cheaper than closed mesh screens.

8. What are minimum number of light fixtures I can use on my personal court to have sufficient light?
A residential court owner can have four lights, two single lights located in-between the service line and base line on each side of their court to have a sufficient amount of light to play tennis. It's recommended that they go with three lights per side for a more quality lighted game of tennis.

9. Why should I play on a Har-Tru Court vs. Hard Court?
Har-Tru allows for the player to slide into the shots, this dramatically reduces the amount of injury causing stressing to occur in the lower part of the body when compared to a hard (asphalt, concrete) court. The court is also much cooler during the hot summer months. From a developmental approach, Har-Tru slows the pace of the ball down as it bounces. This forces longer rallies and makes the player think their way through the point more. The slowness of the game also makes it more enjoyable for the recreational and senior player since they are able to get to more balls and play longer into the day.

10. What is the base of a Har-Tru tennis court?
Typically, the base of a Har-Tru court consist of a stable, well-graded, porous, crushed stone material. There are guide specifications available for perspective builders. Some bases, such as cocina (Florida material with coral and shell in it) and soft, water soluable limestones that will actually re-calcify over time and become impenetrable for water. These materials should be avoided. Feel free to send in potential base samples for us to look at and approve. Typical construction uses a two layer system. The top layer made of crushed stone screenings (1/4" to dust) and a sub-base layer of larger, well graded, stone (3/4" to dust).

11. Should the steel bristle drag brush be used for daily maintenance or only a few times a week? What is the effect?
The steel bristle drag brush was designed to provide increased agitation on the court surface. This helps algae, moss and weeds from taking hold. It also creates extra sliding material for hard-packed southern courts, Sub-irrigated courts and indoor courts. On these three types of courts it should be used daily in place of a conventional drag brush. On convention courts it can be used daily but because it agitates, or loosens, more of the playing surface it may create more dead material. It may be better on conventional courts to use it more sparingly; 2-3 times per week.

12. What should I do to winterize my (Northeast) HT court for the winter?
The basic closing procedure entails the removal of nets, line tapes, nails, benches and windscreens. Remove any foreign debris from the surface. Brush and roll the court several times. Have a qualified irrigation specialist blow out the above ground irrigation system with an air compressor to prevent any lines from freezing. If your sprinkler heads contain anti-drain valves, remove the heads for the winter months to prevent freezing and cracking.

13. What are the necessary application tools / equipment to use to build a court?
Many homeowners have built their own courts over the years. Typically, basic carpentry tools, a surveyor's level or laser level, screed rails and a straight edge, rakes, shovels, and lutes are the key tools needed to construct your own court. Tennis court construction professionals will use laser guided graders to improve both quality and efficiencies during construction. We can supply the homeowner with information on building their own court or refer them to a professional.

14. How many bags of material do I use to top-dress my court?
A minimum of two tons of Har-Tru tennis court surfacing on conventional courts, and one ton of Hydro-Blend surface on sub-irrigated tennis courts. With two tons being the minimum, the maximum is four tons on conventional courts, and two tons on sub-irrigated courts. It's recommended to put the surface down in one-ton applications while watering and rolling after each application for best results. The directions for applying the material are printed on the bag.

15. Which roller should I purchase for my court or club? Which is best for what? How many courts?
Our catalog has a comprehensive chart that makes roller purchasing easy and accurate. Power rollers with steel drums in the front and rear can be used for construction and maintenance. Tow rollers and rubber tired power rollers should be used only for maintenance. We manufacture both split and solid drum rollers. While the solid drum rollers are less expensive, they are designed to roll only in straight lines (NO TURNING). If they are turned on a Har-Tru Court, there is a good chance that the surface will tear, shift, or roll over itself. If you want to roll in ovals, a split drum roller is a much better and safer choice.

16. Does my court need to be top-dressed every spring? How much material does this require?
Yes, you should budget to top-dress your tennis court with the recommended amount of surface annually (See question 17 for recommended amount of surface to use for top-dressing). By top-dressing your court annually, you replenish the material that is naturally lost to wind, rain, and normal tennis play. By not top-dressing your court annually with the recommended amount of surface, you will reduce 1’’ of compacted Har-Tru that’s recommended, thus increasing the potential for low-end drainage problems.

17. On really hard indoor courts which scarifier should I use? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Court Devil, Court Rake & Scarifier.
The court devil and court rake are preventive tools. They can be used daily or weekly on indoor courts to help prevent them from getting too hard in the first place. The scarifier is best used at the beginning and end of the season to break up hardening that has already occurred. As preventive tools the primary difference between the rake and the Court Devil is that the Court Rake grooms the court while lightly scarifying. If one uses the Court Devil they will need to sweep the court afterwards before it is ready for play. The Court Rake and the Court Devil will probably not be very effective on a court that is already very hard. It would be better to break it up using a scarifier first and then use a Court Devil or Court Rake.

18. What is the minimum thickness of clay required per court? Is it the same for both HydroCourt and above ground irrigated courts?
During construction, a 1” of compacted Har Tru or HydroBlend in recommended. This recommendation is backed by the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) as well. To achieve a 1” compacted layer; the standard 60’x120’ tennis court will require 40 tons of surfacing.

19. How many tons of clay would make up for 1” of Har-Tru, HydroBlend, or Red?
Har-Tru – 40 tons, HydroBlend – 44 tons, and American Red – 37 tons

20. What are the differences in maintenance routine on Har-Tru Court vs. HydroCourt?
The answer depends on where the court is located, the time of day and the amount of play the court is getting. As a general rule, the HydroCourt requires about 50% less maintenance and 50% less water than the regular Har-Tru court.

21. Why does “dead material” occur on court? Is it safe to just throw it out?
“Dead Material” can occur for a variety of reasons and it completely normal occurrence. When water and wind work to erode the surface away form a Har-Tru court, the smallest particles ( 1/64” and smaller) wash or blow away. This leaves the larger particles on the court since they are heavier. These larger particles cannot bind back to the rest of the surface since the smaller particles that lock them together are gone, and over time accumulate on the surface. This “dead material” should then be scraped up and removed from the court. Like all of the Har-Tru material, is nothing more then a totally natural, green crushed stone. It is completely safe, and can even be mixed into flower beds or compost piles to add minerals and help with drainage and over-compaction.

22. Do I need to hire a contractor with a laser grader to help build my new court? What other options do I have?
Laser technology and its use with grading equipment have helped modernize the tennis court building industry. Courts can now be graded accurately to within ¼ of an inch, an 80% improvement over previous tolerances. Additionally, it takes only 1/8th the time to build a court. Because of these advances, most larger and reputable tennis court contractors either own laser guided grading equipment of sub-contract the laser grading out. That being said there are still builders out there who construct without lasers and do a good job at it. It is also possible, with help from Lee Tennis Court Products to build your own court. It is not very complicated and just takes some time and planning, and of course hard work.

23. What it the formula to figure how many ty-wraps are needed to put up my windscreen?
For 6’ windscreen: Figure Length times width times 2 divide by 12 equals total ty-wraps needed. For 9’ windscreen: Figure length times 3 times width times 2 divide by 12 equals total ty-wraps needed if using on center tape.

24. Can you mix Rainbird and Nelson sprinklers?
You can, but it is not recommended. It is hard to balance the system with different heads. The nozzles on one brand may be different than the nozzle on another brand even though the sprinklers are the same size.

25. Customer is putting down damp material with a spreader and pulling a drag brush over it, should the surface be watered before it’s rolled?
Yes, always water. This helps the material bond. Remember brush-water-roll.

26. What is the difference between the 4 different line tapes we carry?
The only difference is the textures. Added texture is designed to keep ball bounce consistent with a bounce on the Har-Tru surface.

27. When should you use copper nails?
Copper nails are for courts with a cinder base. Cinders are a by-product of the coal industry that were used for tennis court base a long time ago. They react with steel and aluminum nails causing them to deteriorate.

28. When should I use 2 ½” nails vs. 3” nails?
Use 3” nails on courts with sub-surface irrigation. They hold better on courts that receive little rolling. The 2 ½” nails work also, so typically we will recommend 3” only if they have had a problem with the 2 ½” holding in the past.