Pickleball court kits and portable courts

A typical kit comes with the tiles, the court lines already painted on and trim around the perimeter. The tiles are built from high-impact polypropylene plastic, a tough material that holds up when balls and shoes hit it, and each tile measures half an inch thick, per Blocktile.

A regulation playing area runs 44 feet long by 20 feet wide, as Greatmats explains. A complete kit goes beyond that footprint since it includes the trim and space past the lines, ending up at 26.5 by 52.5 feet once assembled, per Modutile.

Court lines are painted at 2 inches wide, the standard for the game. The non-volley zone line, the one you may not cross to smash a ball from the air, is set 7 feet back from the net, matching the USAPA rules the sport follows, according to Modutile.

Kits also build in a 1-inch expansion gap at the perimeter. Heat makes plastic swell slightly, and that space lets the tiles shift without buckling, as Blocktile describes.

The tiles clip to each other instead of being stuck down, so you can pull them apart and bring the entire court along. That portability is something a painted court can never offer.

What sits under the tiles still counts for a lot. The base they recommend is a dead-flat concrete slab or asphalt finished with a light broom texture, free of cracks and high or low spots, according to Modutile. Tiles mirror whatever is below them, so any lump in the pad shows up as a lump in the playing surface.

Worth knowing before you spend: the USAPA advises against tile courts as a playing surface, since the bounce varies from spot to spot, as Modutile notes. Uneven bounce is worth considering even for family games: Modutile notes that the USAPA does not recommend modular tiles as a court surface.

The nets sold with these courts are typically adjustable, letting you dial in regulation pickleball height, according to VersaCourt. Their tile system is also backed by a lifetime warranty with some limits.

Both tiles and rolls sell by the square foot. A common pad size is 30 by 60 feet, which is 1,800 square feet, and the DunkStar lined kit is sized to cover exactly that area. Greatmats is the source for every price listed here.

For that 30 by 60 pad, the lined DunkStar kit is priced at $5.49 per square foot for tiles only, before you pay for the pad, the net or any labour.

When your space doesn't match a standard kit, Modutile can produce custom sizes with a 3 to 5 day turnaround.

Yes, as long as you already have a solid, flat concrete slab or asphalt area to lay the tiles on. VersaCourt sells three do-it-yourself kits, and most of the work is clipping tiles into place and putting up the net.

The part most people can't handle alone is the pad itself. Getting a flat concrete slab poured or asphalt laid takes a contractor, and that stage eats most of the budget. Our price tool estimates getting the site ready and graded for one court runs $2,000 to $10,000, with the concrete slab adding $9,000 to $18,000, US average.

With the pad sorted, the tile work is simple:

1. Make sure the pad is flat, dry and without cracks, since any flaw shows through the tiles.
2. Begin in one corner and click the tiles together across the pad.
3. Keep that 1-inch perimeter gap so the plastic has room to grow in the heat.
4. Fit the border trim and bring the adjustable net up to regulation height.

Putting tiles over a new slab costs more than painting a court, since you're paying for the slab and then the tiles as well. These numbers come from our price tool for one court built on a 30 by 60 foot pad, based on US averages, with each part rounded to the nearest $100.

Inside a tile build, the tiles account for $7,200 to $30,600 of the total, while the slab, grading, lines and net cover the remainder. Costs vary somewhat by state: a single painted concrete court comes in at $11,600 to $29,800 in Iowa, while Hawaii runs $13,200 to $34,100. Texas sits between $12,200 and $31,300, and California between $12,900 and $33,300.

Already have a flat, crack-free slab? Then you skip the biggest costs, the grading and the slab, and the tiles become your main expense. Bear in mind that painting lines on a slab you already have can still cost less than covering it with tiles.