Sport Court? (Austin, Atlanta, West: skateboarding, house, buyers)

[Dr.Mom]

Well, DH has fallen in love with the idea of having a sport court in the backyard after seeing a few of them at resale homes in Austin. These are not at all popular in our neck of the woods, so I'm completely unfamiliar with them. Do they require much maintenance? Are they expensive to install? My fear is that we settle on a house that doesn't have one so we spend $$$ to have one installed and then it just sits there unused. Do you think that they're used often enough by the families that have them in order to justify the expense? And no, we don't have any teenaged boys (just DH) .

[hoffdano]

No kids that want one? I think it is crazy to put one in just for your husband. Who is he going to shoot baskets with? Who to hit a tennis ball with on a too-small non-standard court?

Maybe a realtor has a different perspective, but I think it will hurt your resale overall by eliminating the group of buyers that aren't the least bit interested in one.

[10scoachrick]

I know of one family that uses theirs extensively, but they have 6 kids!(Back in Atlanta, BTW). It was a full/compact tennis court(Mom and Dad played) that was re-striped for other sports.

If it's not installed over a dead-level base, there will be voids that will at least affect the bounce of whatever ball you use AND, at worst, could result in a knee injury when someone steps on an area that 'isn't there'.

Unless they have made some improvements in the materials, a fall on the court usually removes a fair amount of skin .

I guess it might depend on DH's planned use(or lack thereof ).

Watch out for impervious cover limits if you look to add one.

[Dr.Mom]

We have three little girls (all under age 7), so they would probably ride bikes on it. Seems like they could do that in the driveway though. Back in the day, DH used to play basketball but not so much anymore. We would probably use it for tennis, but I don't have much spare time (see the 3 kids above), so I don't think we could justify the cost.

[austinnerd]

Cost to install range from the mid thousands to well into the ten's of thousands depending on size, accoutrements, etc. The courts themselves are fairly low maintenance, but some of the other stuff can wear out from exposure, rust (e.g. nets, posts, etc) over time.

Your last question can't be answered by anyone other than yourself and your DH. It may sit and and never get used, or your DH might go out and shoot some hoops every day and have his buddies over twice a week for games. Don't know how anyone here can know which end of the spectrum you are likely to fall into. The court material itself can be pulled up and then resold if you grow tired of it, but the concrete pad that was built to put the court on top of will obviously remain (or need to be dealt with).

[Dr.Mom]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

I know of one family that uses theirs extensively, but they have 6 kids!(Back in Atlanta, BTW). It was a full/compact tennis court(Mom and Dad played) that was re-striped for other sports.

If it's not installed over a dead-level base, there will be voids that will at least affect the bounce of whatever ball you use AND, at worst, could result in a knee injury when someone steps on an area that 'isn't there'.

Unless they have made some improvements in the materials, a fall on the court usually removes a fair amount of skin .

I guess it might depend on DH's planned use(or lack thereof ).

Watch out for impervious cover limits if you look to add one.

Are impervious cover limits restricted to the central Austin area or do they extend to the more suburban areas as well (eg: Westlake, Cat Mtn, etc.)?

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by Dr.Mom

We have three little girls (all under age 7), so they would probably ride bikes on it. Seems like they could do that in the driveway though. Back in the day, DH used to play basketball but not so much anymore. We would probably use it for tennis, but I don't have much spare time (see the 3 kids above), so I don't think we could justify the cost.

My daughter plays basketball so just because you have girls doesn't mean that bball is out. Don't forget things like roller skating, skateboarding, etc. Depending on the configuration of your house's driveway (e.g. sloped) vs the traffic on the street vs your visibility from the house to either the driveway or backyard, it may be easier or more practical for you to have the kids in the backyard doing those activities instead of in the driveway. You can also get a "hitting wall" setup so one person can hit tennis balls to themselves if he's really into tennis. Of course whether or not it's worth the cost for those "advantages" is your call.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by Dr.Mom

Are impervious cover limits restricted to the central Austin area or do they extend to the more suburban areas as well (eg: Westlake, Cat Mtn, etc.)?

They can be anywhere and the exact numbers differ by area and zoning. Best thing to do is contact the city about specific locations.

[mark311]

I would really like to have one myself. However, my finances and my house just aren't setup for it. It sounds like your three daughters could really get some use out of it as well as your husband. Tennis, basketball, and volleyball are all great sports for girls to learn. This is Texas where sports are probably a little more important than where you're from. I would definitely use it if I had one. It might also help your house be the hangout house for your daughters' friends. It's always nice to have your kids at home more as they grow older (ie. you know where they are).

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Dr.Mom

Are impervious cover limits restricted to the central Austin area or do they extend to the more suburban areas as well (eg: Westlake, Cat Mtn, etc.)?

Just a little( ) background on the watershed/impervious cover regs. Something the size of a tennis court would most likely need approval(bigger than many home foundations!). Here ya' go:
City of Austin - Watershed Ordinances: A Retrospective