Can we play on the new asphalt before it's color-coated?

Ask the contractor first. The acrylic coat has to wait at least 14 days on new asphalt, and one coating maker recommends 30. Bare asphalt can take light play sooner, but fresh asphalt softens on very hot days, so skip dribbling drills and chair legs on it in the July afternoons.

Can I sealcoat my sport court like a driveway?

Not if you ever want acrylic color on it. One coating maker warns that acrylics don't bond well to coal tar or most asphalt-based sealers. A court is protected by its acrylic system instead, and an existing sealer may need to come off before a color coat goes on.

Which way should a pickleball court face?

North to south. USA Pickleball says outdoor courts should run north-south so players aren't looking straight into a low morning or late-afternoon sun, which it calls a common safety hazard. On a tight backyard lot, raise the orientation with the contractor before grading, since the pad's slope and drainage are set around it.

How big a space does a backyard basketball court need?

HomeGuide prices a half-court at 30 x 30 feet, about $3,600 to $14,400 with an asphalt or concrete base, painted surface and one hoop. Larger multi-sport half-courts run up to about 42 x 50 feet, and a full court up to 94 x 50.

Sport Court Paving in St. George, UT

Typical cost: HomeGuide's national cost guide puts installed sport courts at $4 to $17 per square foot; an asphalt slab alone runs about $3 to $7.
Pickleball size: a 20 x 44 foot court, priced in cost guides on a 30 x 60 foot pad.
Wait before color coat: new asphalt cures at least 14 days before acrylic, and one coating maker recommends 30.
Slope: about 0.83% to 1% so rain drains off instead of sitting on the acrylic.
Recoat: acrylic hard courts typically need resurfacing every 4 to 8 years.

St. George Asphalt Co. links you up with a contractor who can grade, pave and color-coat a court, from a half-court by the garage to a fenced tennis court. Tell us the sport, the space you have, and whether there is an old slab to resurface.

Sport Court Paving by Court Type

Backyard asphalt half-court with a basketball hoop and painted key beside a stucco home, desert landscaping and red rock cliffs behind

Backyard basketball courts

HomeGuide prices a 30 x 30 foot half-court at $3,600 to $14,400 with the base, a painted surface and one hoop. Bigger multi-sport half-courts go up to about 42 x 50 feet. Plain asphalt with painted lines is the cheap version. An acrylic color coat adds color and a textured playing surface, but it can't go on until the asphalt has cured.

Pickleball court with a green and blue acrylic surface and white lines on an asphalt pad behind a stucco home with a tile roof

Pickleball courts

The playing lines are 20 feet wide and 44 feet long for singles and doubles alike, per USA Pickleball. HomeGuide prices the build on a 30 x 60 foot pad, which leaves room to run past the lines. USA Pickleball also says to point outdoor courts north-south so no one faces into a low sun. Ask how and when the net posts will be set, before paving or cut in after.

Fenced asphalt tennis court with a blue acrylic surface and green surround next to a desert neighborhood under clear sky

Tennis courts and resurfacing

A tennis court is 78 feet long, 27 feet wide for singles and 36 feet for doubles under the ITF Rules of Tennis. The full fenced area is bigger: HomeGuide plans a 60 x 120 foot plot and put a new court at $40,000 to $100,000. For an old court, resurfacing is the usual job: crack repair, low spots filled, then new acrylic coats at about $0.55 to $1.50 per square foot.

Worker seen from behind spreading green acrylic coating with a squeegee across a new asphalt court

Acrylic color coatings over asphalt

HomeGuide calls a hard acrylic layer over concrete or asphalt the most popular tennis court surface. It is spread with squeegees once the asphalt has cured. Expect to recoat every 4 to 8 years. Cracks wider than 1/8 inch are filled with an acrylic crack filler first. One coating maker says never to use hot or cold asphalt-based crack filler under acrylic.

Small roller compacting fresh asphalt on a residential driveway

Why St. George homeowners and property managers call St. George Asphalt Co.

The estimate costs you nothing and commits you to nothing
Ask for thickness, base depth and tear-out on the written bid
Your job goes to one paving contractor, never a lead auction
Property owners pay nothing for the introduction

Sport Court Asphalt Prep for Acrylic Coatings

The asphalt under a court has a different job from a driveway's. It has to be flat enough to play on, tilted just enough to drain, and clean enough for paint to grip.

Cure time
Dalton Coatings calls for at least 14 days of cure on new asphalt. SportMaster recommends 30 days, under moderate sun and some rain to draw the oils out. A St. George July is far from moderate sun; asphalt driveway paving has the heat figures.
Slope
SportMaster's spec is 0.833% to 1.0% across the court. Acrylic is not built to sit under water and breaks down fast where it ponds.
Puddle test
One hour after rain or flooding the court, chalk any puddle deep enough to cover a nickel. Those spots get filled with an acrylic patch mix before coating.
No driveway sealer
Acrylics do not bond well to coal tar or most asphalt-based sealers, so a court never gets a driveway sealcoat.
Coating in heat
One coating maker says to apply in the morning when the slab is cooler, or lightly mist a hot surface first. Ask how the crew plans around midday heat.

See grading and base preparation for getting the slab flat and drained before the asphalt goes down.