Lakeside Sport Court Build With a Foundation Done Right

A sport court sounds simple enough - pour some concrete, paint some lines, done. But when the property is on the water and the ground has natural slope and grade changes, the planning that happens before the first bucket of concrete is mixed is what separates a court that plays well from one that fails in a few years.

Here's what we were working with on this job. A beautiful lakeside property with a large home and plenty of space for a court - but the site prep required serious gravel work, proper drainage pipe placement, and careful grading to make sure the slab would sit level and shed water correctly. You can see the landscape contracting side of this job is just as involved as the concrete work itself.

We brought in our CAT track loader to move material and get the base dialed in. Large natural boulders line the perimeter, drainage fabric and pipe are laid before anything gets covered, and string lines are set to confirm the grade is where it needs to be. None of that is optional on a site like this. Skip any of those steps and you're looking at cracking, heaving, or standing water down the road.

The finished slab comes out smooth and flat - exactly what a sport court needs. Whether it's basketball, pickleball, or a multi-use setup, the surface has to be consistent from edge to edge. That only happens when the foundation work underneath it is done right from the start.

Jobs like this are where the combination of concrete work and landscape contracting really matters. One crew, one plan, and the experience to handle both sides of the build without cutting corners on either.