What do tennis courts, outdoor basketball courts and roller hockey courts have in common? All of them were constructed by commercial concrete contractors, or at least the base construction of each court is. If your neighborhood, burrough or small town is looking to put a new sports court in to encourage healthy, outdoor fitness, and you have been charged with the task, there are a few things you need to look for in the lot you choose. Otherwise the contractors will have extra work ahead of them, and that only increases the final cost. Keep the costs low by looking for these criteria in the next outdoor sports court for your area.

Water Table Levels and Water Flow

What may look like a great empty lot to put a sports court may not look the same after a heavy rain. If the water table rises over the vacant lot because the water all flows into the lot, you do not want to select this lot. Your contractor would be forced to build up the lot with lots of soil and gravel before he or she can even lay the concrete. On top of that, the contractor may also have to install a drainage system to keep the flow of water out and away from the sports court if you wanted them to build it on this type of lot. To avoid this costly mistake, visit all of the pre-selected lots after a heavy rain before making your final selection and beginning construction.

Soil Type

Since you are looking to construct a hard, dense surface that rarely shifts, moves or sinks, you will want to select a lot that has hard, compact soil. You can take a spade-full of the soil from each lot as samples, and have your soil expert examine them. Soft, loamy or sandy soils mean that a dense, heavy concrete slab could tilt or sink if you have your contractor build the sports court on these types of soil without additional, costly supports. Clay soils and tough dirt soils are better for supporting the slab created by your contractor for the sports court.

The Right Empty Lot

The right empty lot for your sports court project should be made of dense soil and a ground surface that does not see a lot of standing water. If you can also find an empty lot that has natural or man-made (i.e., buildings) obstructions that block Northern and/or Southern winds, then everyone who comes to play on the court will be protected from wind on these sides. The ball stays in play better because the wind is not taking it, the courts do not sink because the soil is strong and thick, and the courts do not need pre-construction elevation to keep them drier after a storm.

For commercial concrete contractors, contact a company such as Burns Brothers Concrete Construction Corp.