Backyard badminton, played at a real level.

Badminton needs less footprint than tennis but more ceiling-free clearance than any other backyard court - overhanging trees and low wires kill more badminton projects than budgets do.

**Common footprints:** doubles play area 20' x 44' - recommended pad 30' x 60' with run-out. Wind is the design constraint: site the court where prevailing wind is blocked or plan on barrier fencing.

Every hard-surface court we quote in Georgia is built in the same five stages. What changes between a $18k pickleball court and a $60k tennis court is the size of the footprint, the depth of the base, and the surface system on top.

1. Layout, grading and drainage The contractor lasers the footprint, confirms setbacks and access for equipment, strips organics, and cuts the pad to grade. Georgia clay holds water, so the pad is built with a 1% planar slope in one direction — never a crown — and edge drains or a French drain are added where the yard sheds toward the court.

2. Structural base 4"–6" of graded aggregate base compacted in lifts to 95% density. This is the single most important cost line on the job: a court that cracks almost always failed in the base, not in the coating.

3. Slab or asphalt pad Post-tensioned or fiber-reinforced concrete (typically 4"–5") or 2"–3" of plant-mix asphalt. Concrete is the Georgia default for backyard courts because it tolerates our freeze/thaw and heavy rain cycles and can carry a modular tile surface later without rework.

4. Surface system Either an acrylic system — primer/sealer, acrylic resurfacer, two textured color coats, then textured white line paint — or a modular interlocking sport tile court kit laid over the cured pad. Acrylic gives the classic tour look; sport tile gives instant drainage, zero recoating, and a DIY-friendly install.

5. Lines, equipment and perimeter Game lines to governing-body spec, then posts, nets, hoops or backstops set in sleeves or footings, followed by fencing, netting, windscreens, lighting and landscape restoration.

**Space:** confirm the full pad plus a safety run-out on all sides. For a modular sport tile court kit, the pad must extend at least 2" past the finished kit dimension on every side so the tiles can expand and contract seasonally.

**Slope:** up to about a 3' fall across the pad can be absorbed with grading; beyond that you are into retaining walls or engineered fill, which is where budgets move.

**Base condition:** sport tile can only go over a solid, level surface — new or existing concrete or asphalt. It cannot be installed directly on gravel, compacted stone, or bare ground.

**Existing courts:** a cracked or faded slab is usually the cheapest court you will ever own. Crack fill plus an acrylic resurface, or a sport tile kit laid straight over the old surface, both avoid new concrete entirely.

**Access:** a 9'-wide path for a skid steer and concrete truck reach. Pumping concrete over a house adds cost.

**Permits and HOA:** most Georgia municipalities treat a backyard court as an impervious-surface addition. Expect setback review, impervious-coverage limits, and HOA architectural approval before build.

**Acrylic color system.** Textured acrylic over concrete gives predictable footing for the lunging and lateral movement badminton demands.

**Cushioned acrylic system.** The comfort upgrade most private badminton courts choose, since the sport is played almost entirely on the balls of the feet.

**Modular sport tile court kit.** Interlocking sport tile with molded badminton lines. Drains fast, plays cool in Georgia summer, and can carry pickleball or basketball lines on the same pad.

- Regulation net, posts and ground sleeves - Wind-barrier fencing and windscreen panels - Cushioned surface upgrade - LED low-glare lighting for evening play - Additional game lines (pickleball, volleyball) - Courtside seating, shuttle storage, landscape surround