Backyard Basketball Court Options

There are a number of factors that go into building a backyard court: Budget, local zoning laws, your property & more.  A great deal of info is available within the articles within this blog (Click Here).

You can also schedule a time to talk to me.  I’ve installed or painted hundreds of courts and can point you in the right direction.  There is no cost to the call.  (Click Here)

List of court options:

1. Asphalt pad
-Painted Lines-
The most affordable option to having a backyard basketball court is an asphalt pad with painted lines. The material costs are the least expensive as well as the installation due to cutting out the expense of having the court painted.

Some people have concerns about the durability of unpainted asphalt. It’s been my experience that as long as you don’t have large trees with big tree roots near the court you should be fine and will avoid the potential for big cracks. As for wear and tear, a backyard court will not experience the same traffic as your driveway so its longevity will be much longer than your standard driveway.

Also, if in 20 years or so you start to experience some cracking, a paver can put a 2″ asphalt cap on your court which should be reasonable affordable.

Here is an example of an ashpalt pad with painted lines in blue with several logos on the court.

-Painted Court- You can have your court painted similar to what you see on public courts or tennis courts. This, in my opinion, is well worth the extra cost. Depending upon the size of your court, you’re looking at roughly an extra $1,000 to $1,500. If the extra expense is not an issue, it’s absolutely beautiful, much like you see here with a custom New York Knicks-themed basketball court.

If budgeting is a concern, I recommend just painting the lines. You can do some very cool custom courts with custom colored lines with logos in the key as well as matching pole pads with lettering. If, however, $1,000-$1,500 is not a major concern you should go with the painted court. It looks very, vary sharp and for the amount invested in the court it’s not a huge extra expense.

2. Concrete Pads
-Painted Lines: Much like an asphalt pad, a concrete pad with painted lines is more affordable than one that’s painted due to cutting out the painting process. Also, I tend to feel they look a little sharper than asphalt. Both are bare pads but the bare concrete, in my opinion, seems to have a cleaner look to it.

I don’t particularly care for the expansion joints though. I understand the expansion joints are there to prevent cracking but it doesn’t help the play all that well. It doesn’t really kill the play though. It’s a very minor detail but you should consider the athletics and the aesthetics. The concrete looks nicer but the asphalt plays nicer.

-Painted Court- Painting a concrete pad looks very, very sharp and, like the asphalt pad, if the extra expense is not too much it;s well worth it.

3. Hard-packed Gravel w/ VersaCourt-
Many towns, especially in the Northeast, have strict zoning laws which regulate the amount of non-permeable coverage your property can have. If your town will not allow you to have a non-permeable court, than a Hard-Packed Gravel Court with VersaCourt tiles may be your best and only option.

As I stated earlier, I look at things from a standpoint of aesthetics and athletics. If you’re looking for aesthetics, sport tiles look unbelievably beautiful. If you see the video you will agree.

However, I’m not a huge fan when it comes to the other side of the equation, athletics. Most of us grow up playing on hard courts such as asphalt, concrete or wood. We’re used to playing on these surfaces and we’re used to the ball reacting in a certain way.

The tiles of a sport court are plastic and react differently. In fact, they even sound different. They have the sound of not a ball bouncing but slapping. In addition, the manufacturers even tell you to over inflate the ball to prevent potential dead spots.

Again, I recommend these if your current court is beat up and you don’t want to replace it or your town will not allow you to have a regular court.

4. Brick Paver Basketball Court-
This is a new product we are offering and it is very, very cool. What I like about it the most is it compliments your property more than any other option. Not that the other options don’t. It’s just that a brick paver basketball court really looks nice, especially if you already have paver patios.

What you get with this is a brick paver patio with the basketball court lines cut out and replaced with different colored bricks. The aesthetics of this are awesome. The athletics of it aren’t bad either.

Yes, like concrete, there are seems or cracks in it but if you choose the proper brick it’s not an issue as the gap/seem between the bricks is so small, especially with a straight-edged paver. In addition, many paver companies such as Cambridge make slip resistent bricks which will give a player making a cut much more traction.