# Hairline cracks on tennis court concrete?



## bellbound (Jan 27, 2014)

We recently moved into a house and we have a tennis court, and recently I have noticed several small hairline cracks that I do not think were there previously, please see attached picture.

1. Is there a way to fill these cracks?
2. If they are not filled will these eventually grow wider?
3. The tennis court is green, please see attached image. Anyone know if this is just concrete painted green or if it is some special type of concrete?

Thanks in advance!


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## kok328 (Jan 27, 2014)

Is this an indoor tennis court?
I believe that's concrete with a special mix of green coating.
The best you could do is caulk it up to prevent water from coming in if it's an outdoor court.
This would very tedious, you will be on your hands and knees and control the application so it goes in the crack and not anywhere else.


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## bellbound (Jan 27, 2014)

It is an outdoor court.

1. Where could I get this type of green coating for covering scratches?
2. What type of caulk should I get?
3. If water gets into the cracks, what will happen?
4. Is there anything that could be causing these cracks or is just normal? Could any type of bikes, trykes being ridden on the court cause this?

Thanks!


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## nealtw (Jan 28, 2014)

http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/maintaining/repairingcracks.htm
The paint could be anything from latex to epoxy
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/qa/qapaintdeterminetype.html


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## bud16415 (Jan 28, 2014)

First and most important is what climate do you live in? Water alone can cause damage but when water freezes it expands with great force and opens the tiny cracks. Then there is a freeze thaw cycle and it keeps growing. Riding a bike on the surface did not cause this. And it is common to get cracks like this for a number of reasons. 

You said you just got into the home and I&#8217;m assuming the previous owner built the court? The paint / coating looks fairly fresh and it could have been painted getting ready to sell the property. The crack could have been sealed before and will be an ongoing repair. How do you plan on using the court? I&#8217;m pretty sure there are special surface coatings for traction etc. just for these types of surfaces. The cracks are very fine right now and tight. Maybe a more elastic coating would do the job. I would call in a professional that deals with court surfaces and ask their opinion.


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## kok328 (Jan 28, 2014)

I think I need to correct myself, aren't tennis courts typically asphalt?
An unstable base and an insufficient thickness is what could be causing this issue aside from just normal settling.


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## nealtw (Jan 28, 2014)

kok328 said:


> I think I need to correct myself, aren't tennis courts typically asphalt?
> An unstable base and an insufficient thickness is what could be causing this issue aside from just normal settling.


I guess Bud and I just saw this question and went with it.
some special type of concrete?


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## bud16415 (Jan 29, 2014)

Tennis courts can be grass, clay, asphalt, concrete or any other material a ball can bounce off of and a person can run on I believe. There are a lot of new surface coatings for sports surfaces that have some level of rubbery properties to them. Running tracks are becoming really shock absorbing. That was my reasoning behind at least contacting a pro for their advice or do some substantial searching on line and see what the latest is. Many people that buy homes with a court end up not using it for that reason many also have basketball hoops up. Or just a place for kids to ride bikes around. I could understand wanting to keep it up for resale value kind of like a swimming pool. I think if these are avid tennis players they would easily ask their local pro what&#8217;s a good home surface finish and does it seal small cracks. It&#8217;s a specialized field of work IMHO.


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## bellbound (Jan 29, 2014)

I live in Southern California. It doesn&#8217;t rain here much, though some water from the sprinklers do get into these areas. The previous owners left some roller that you attach a hose to an it rolls across the court to clean it -- we used it once because it requires so much water to clean the court. I'm now glad that we haven't used it more. 

We do not use the court for tennis, though we have tried it a couple of times. We use the court for our dog to run around, for roller blading, and for kids to run around, ride bikes, and we have a basketball hoop.

I have no idea if it is asphalt, concrete, etc.? I guess I need to get someone over to take a look. I&#8217;m concerned with besides resale value, just the damage that could result and make it less usable for the types of things we want to use it for.

Thanks everyone.


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## BridgeMan (Jan 30, 2014)

A specialty firm that deals with sports event surfaces should be able to help you.  If the cracks are reasonably tight (I suspect they are wider than hair-line, as a human hair is only 0.003" wide, almost invisible from 5' away), they could possibly be sealed with a low-modulus coating (meaning it remains somewhat flexible after curing) that would also provide a general surface treatment.  If they are wider, possibly a low-modulus epoxy injection system could be used to fill them, followed by completely coating the entire surface.


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## slownsteady (Feb 12, 2014)

I think priority one would be to learn the difference between asphalt and concrete. Not to be smug or anything like that, but not knowing the difference could be an invitation for some contractor to sell you anything he wants. At least some knowledge of the problem is a good way to arm yourself.

I'm pretty sure you can tell the difference between concrete and asphalt if you just take a good look at it. You walk/drive/live on these surfaces all the time in daily life. If it turns out to be neither, then you have a real serious tennis court on your hands, probably built by real serious tennis players. If the court is only going to be for the kids & dogs, you may not need to do anything until you are ready to resell.


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## itsreallyconc (Mar 15, 2014)

i don't know of any conc courts because there would have to be joints OR the conc will crk on its own,,, the ball landing on a crk/jnt would deflect the intended ball path & both players would get angry   tennis players are the most anal athletes i ever met as everything's got to be perfect - gimme a horseshoes player any day,,, court paving's a specialty - even to the hot mix.

that coating is an acrylic - avail anywhere, even on line,,,


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## havasu (Mar 15, 2014)

I don't know. In So Cal, there are many concrete courts referred to as "sport courts".


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## bud16415 (Mar 15, 2014)

We have them in north pa also. They saw cut them and fill the slot with something. And many have cracks. 


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## itsreallyconc (Mar 15, 2014)

i'll be damned - never knew that,,, all the ones we built OR played on were either blacktop tennis court mix w/acrylic coatings OR clay

where in no PA ?


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