Court Maintenance & Seasonal Care in Water Mill, NY

Nobody publishes an interval, and the base is why. The national guides price a hard-court resurfacing at $8,000–12,000, an acrylic recoat at $4,000–10,000, a maintenance topcoat at $1,000–2,000 and a full asphalt overlay at $20,000–40,000, and give a court a 10-to-25-year life, asphalt 15–20, but none states the years between recoats, because a post-tensioned slab in a dry yard and old asphalt over ground that saturates every winter wear at different rates. Read the cracks instead: hairlines in the colour are wear and a recoat; a crack that runs across the court and returns each spring is the base and needs the drainage fix ($4,000–8,000) first. Clay is not resurfaced; it is reconditioned every year, with about two tons of new Har-Tru per court, at $2,500–3,000.

Har-Tru if you want the surface the fork plays on and will pay to keep it; a hard court if you want to walk out and play. A clay court costs $60,000–90,000 nationally plus about $2,000 a year, is watered overnight and at midday, brushed, rolled daily in the spring freeze-thaw and reconditioned every year with two tons of new material, and it plays in light rain; the clubs here are almost all Har-Tru: SPORTIME’s 33 courts, the East Hampton Tennis Club’s 15, Montauk Downs’ 6, Mashashimuet’s 8. A post-tensioned concrete or asphalt court costs $45,000–80,000, needs a wash and an algae treatment, a recoat ($4,000–10,000) when the colour wears and 30–120 minutes after rain, and lasts 10–25 years. A junior on the tournament track wants both within reach.

You tell us about the project once: where the lot is, what you want built, resurfaced, lit, fenced or looked after, the surface if you know it, and when. We put you in touch with one licensed, insured court builder who does that work in your town, and they call you within one business day. From there it is their site visit, their quote, their schedule and their warranty. It is free for homeowners; participating builders pay us a referral fee for the introduction. We are not a builder, a tennis club or a coaching business, and we do not sell your details; the one company we send you to is the only one that gets your number. We cover 9 South Fork towns and 6 kinds of court work.