Hi, this is my first post here. I searched for other posts on my topic and didn't find much. I want to build a badminton court in the backyard. Right now we just have the net on grass but it gets muddy and I also need to level the ground and would then need to re-seed and wait a year before it would be playable. So, my initial idea is to get some of this "outdoor sports tile" such as found on http://www.gamecourts.com/Default.aspx?PID=3 (select "tile" from the popup) to lay right on the leveled ground. I would put a weed barrier fabric down between the ground and the tiles since otherwise the grass would just grow up. Is this a good idea, or is there a better way? Obviously getting a poured concrete court would be better but the cost of the version above will be about $2K which is about the max I would consider paying. It will also not be a lot of work on my part, the ground is fairly level already and I can probably get it level in a few hours of hand labor. Scott
Looks alright for purely recreational play . For competitive play looks like an accident waiting to happen
If its not going to work, what drawbacks do you see and what should be used instead? Or is it not worth building a court outside to begin with because of wind, etc? This is intended for competitive play. Scott
it depends on the level of "competitiveness" you are talking about. most serious badminton players will laugh at the thought of playing badminton outdoor. sometimes we complain that the drift indoor is too much, outdoor will be unthinkable. unfortunately merely mentioning that you plan to play outdoor will probably mean you will be branded as an overweight American who doesn't understand what "real" badminton means and plays the American form of backyard badminton thinking it is properly competitive. we apologize for that. anyway, back to the flooring. even at the local club level, the amount of abuse the floor gets from players running, dashing and jumping around is quite immense. we have seen local gym floor that are padded with wood (sitting on top of concrete foundation) being pressed down over time. that's how much abuse these floors get. if you use those plastic tiles only supported by a layer of soil, it will become an uneven mess very quickly. it is not going to work. you need a more solid foundation.
It's very hard to judge without seeing and trying these tiles in real life but my initial thought was the surface of those tiles have ankle sprain written all over them imo in the case of competitive badminton. And this tempo is not what I would call competitive badminton speed -> http://www.stigamecourts.com/multimedia/tennisvideo.html Maybe you can check them out as well if they aren't the same, saw something about sample tiles. In any case they/it does at least look good in the backyard . That sti website has a (very limited and therefore useless?) court desinger feature as well http://www.stigamecourts.com/designer.html
Thanks guys. I looked at the site I linked above and they mention something about how to put it down over dirt which I had missed before: http://www.gamecourts.com/ClientFiles/GameCourts/Assets/UserFiles/file/CompactedBase.pdf - their idea is to use a layer of gravel over the ground and compact the stone with one of those mechanical compactor machines. if it gets off level it can be re-leveled by adding/removing rocks in the bad spots. So, I would guess with work you could probably keep it level. The surface would definitely play differently than a gym floor and they don't mention how different it would be so thats a hard one for me to guess on. I confess I don't know much about badminton but my kids are playing serious badminton at school and its for them. We already notice the problem with wind on our current cheap setup and I think thats the main thing I am concerned about.. will have to pay more attention into how many truly windless days we have. There is a badminton club where I have taken them but its halfway across town and only running one day a week. Scott
a few local clubs down south uses the indoor style of the tile in warehouse converted clubs. the tiles are laid on top of a concrete foundation and it has been in use for many years. these are reputable clubs where some of the best players in the country/world regularly attend. the outdoor ones with lots of holes i have to admit is probably never tested. the problem i can see are the issues with grip and tripping. there are a lot of heavy lateral movement in badminton and not sure if those provide enough support. the biggest issue you will have is the wind. what feels like no wind outdoor would be consider unplayable when it comes to badminton. however, since you have already played in your yard before, you should already have a good judge on whether this is a worthwhile investment. a proper badminton court is 44'x20' and with boundary you are probably talking about around 50'x22'. that will end up around $3k in investment just for the tiles alone and you also need to do the foundation work. it would be pity to see all these go in vain spoiled by wind. so nice to see a dad who'd go out of his way to provide his kids with a proper sports environment.
i think its a good idea to build a outdoor if u have the space in fact here in singapore there are many outdoor courts with concrete flooring built by the govt below public housing for public to use FOC. one come one use, you need to bring your own net though. but the problem here is the external factors such as rain, wind and slippery flooring which is not ideal for higher level of playing. your own health safety is also at risk, they is a possibility of injuring yourself if the floor is not flat or due to slips on wet floor. beside that the cost for building one is quite high and puts everyone off. its quite a courageous move for you to have the thoughts to do one. Cheers
The wind is blocked on three sides which makes things better, and I remember often not noticing any wind at all. But, this was just playing for fun, my kids are only recently into more serious playing. Anyway if the goal is practice a little wind will not end things, its not like I plan on running tournaments in my backyard I think I am going to chew on it for a bit and see if it is worth the $3K expense. I have three kids and the youngest is going to be around for another ten years so thats $300 per year. Plus there is a good probability it will not get used for kids losing interest or whatever. If I do go ahead I will post some pictures here and describe how it is working out. Scott
I think your best bet is to hire a professional company to do the court. Granted, doing it yourself may save you some money, but at least you'd be assured of quality and longevity if it is installed professionally. I would look into DecoTurf; I know they do mainly tennis courts but also deal with multi-sport courts, etc. Should be able to find something for badminton.
Hello Scott, how is it going? I am quite interested to know this topic, as I am planning to build one hall at my yard too probably a few years later. But that would be a indoor hall. Don't know how much it would cost me. Haha...
