HOW TO MAKE A CLAY
TENNIS COURT
By R. N. HALLOWELL
The Whole Process, from Getting
the Level to Putting Up the Backstops
O F all clay-gravel tennis courts built
probably one-half prove failures,
due either to an improper prep-
aration of the foundation, which results
in the heaving of large stones to the sur-
face during the winter, or to the fail-
ure to add a sufficient amount of bind-
ing material to the surface, which re-
sults in cracking and crumbling.
A tennis court of the clay-gravel type
consists of two layers, of which the lower
is the foundation and the upper the sur-
facing. T h e former is made Up of large
stones, medium stones, and sand mixed
by the action of water and by rolling
to form what road builders call a water-
bound macadam. The latter is com-
posed of sand and clay mixed with
shovels and spread over the foundation to
form a playing surface.
The question that confronts each in-
dividual or club that proposes to con-
struct a court is not only what will it
cost, but what degree of service will it
give when completed? Will it with-
stand the rigors of winter and present
a surface free from stones the follow-
ing spring? Or will it crack and heave
under the action of frost and of alter-
nate freezing and thawing and ultimate-
ly present a surface as full of stones as
a New England potato field?
Some contractors, some clubs, and
some individual owners build with a
thorough knowledge of each step neces-
sary to secure splendid results; but the
majority, because of lack of experience,
build in almost the same careless fashion
in which one would fill in a ditch. As a
matter of fact, the average contractor
doesn't do a half-dozen tennis-court jobs
in the course of a lifetime. The experi-
ence of the average club is usually lim-
ited to five courts or less, and the private
owner rarely builds over two. The re-
sult is that most courts are constructed,
not according to well-established prin-
ciples of tennis-court design, but accord-
ing to the haphazard specifications of the
contractor or club or private owner. Not
infrequently, after spending three weeks
to three months in mixing materials,
throwing them on the surface, and cart-
ing them off again because they will not
bind, it is found that, if the game is to
be played at all, it must be in a quarter
to a half inch of sand.
The problem, then, is to present a few
simple rules for the construction of clay-
gravel courts which can be followed
easily and which will insure satisfac-
tory results. These rules and practices
are illustrated by the experience of a
tennis club located in a city in one of
the Eastern states which recently con-
structed a court, hiring the labor and
teams by the day and arranging to have
one of the members purchase materials
and superintend the work.
For the club court a well-drained site,
sixty feet by one hundred and twenty
feet, was chosen, its long axis running
north and south. It was decided not to
begin construction work until late in
May as it was believed that the spring
rains would retard movements and add
to the cost. During the previous sea-
son the club was on the lookout for
building materials; so that they gladly
allowed a contractor who was resur-
facing a nearby street to use their land
as a dumping ground for about seventy
[563]
564 OUTING
loads of the materials he was removing,
which consisted of stones and gravel,
the stones varying from two inches in
diameter to pebbles. The club saw to it
that the contractor did not dump on the
area it was proposed to improve, but ten
to twenty feet off at one side.
The previous season the club also lo-
cated, a mile away, some very fine bind-
ing clay that had been excavated in the
course of the construction of a sewer.
This clay had been thrown into a vacant
lot and had become the property of the
owner of the lot. After consulting a
soil expert, whom they paid ten dollars
for his services, to determine whether
the so-called clay was actually clay and
not very fine bluish sand which has no
binding property whatever unless very
wet, they purchased twenty loads at fifty
cents per load, to be carted away by them
at their convenience. They were now
in a position to build the court, having
secured the proper materials for the
foundation and the surfacing.
Haw Deep to Dig
The first step of the club member in
charge of the construction was to secure
the services of a civil engineer to find
the grade or elevation of the bottom of
the foundation so as to determine to
what depth excavation must be made be-
fore the materials that were to compose
the court were put in place. The engi-
neer drove fourteen stakes on which the
grades were marked, locating a stake at
each corner of the court, and the ten
remaining at intervals of twenty feet
along each of the longer sides.
The stakes were about two feet in
length and two inches square and were
driven at least one foot into the ground
to prevent their being knocked out of
place. On them the engineer marked
the elevation of the bottom of the foun-
dation layer, making provision for a pitch
of one inch from each of the back lines
to the net. Knowing the elevation of
the foundation, it was possible for the
member in charge to find the elevation
of the top of the court without further
assistance.
The same day the engineer set the
stakes, two pair of horses with drivers
were engaged at six dollars per day for
each pair to operate drag scrapers to re-
move the earth from the tennis-court
area down to the elevation of the foun-
dation. A strong laborer was also se-
cured at two dollars per nine-hour clay
to load the scrapers. On putting the
scrapers to work, it was discovered that
the material to be removed consisted of
a good grade of loam which went down
to an average depth of eight inches. This
loam was carefully saved and later sold
at one dollar per two-horse load. A man
with wheelbarrow trimmed up the ex-
cavation at the comers and along the
sides where the scrapers could not oper-
ate conveniently. Beneath the loam a
few inches of gravel had to be taken off
before the foundation was reached.
A horse roller was now set to work
on the foundation and at the end of two
days it was hard. If a six-ton tandem
steam roller could have been secured
for this work, the foundation might have
been further compacted.
While the scrapers were making the
excavation three large screens of one-
inch mesh had been borrowed from the
contractor who was furnishing the teams,
and six men were hired to screen the
gravel dumped on the land the previous
season. The stone which resulted from
the screening process was now carted on
the court in a dump cart which unload-
ed from the bottom and spread to a
depth of between seven and eight inches,
after which it was lightly rolled to ren-
der it comparatively smooth and true
to grade.
Here it became necessary to purchase
a half-dozen loads of crushed stone of
one-half to one inch diameter to fill
the voids which existed in what had al-
ready been put in place. The stone pur-
chased was distributed evenly over the
surface excepting an area one foot wide
along the line of the net, which was
to serve as a drain. A half-day's
rolling was now sufficient to prepare
the foundation for the final process
in the construction of a water-bound
macadam.
In completing the macadam two men
with wheelbarrows distributed the sand
which resulted from the screening al-
ready described over the court, excepting
 HOW TO MAKE A CLAY TENNIS COURT
of course the area along the line of the
net, in thin layers while the watering
and rolling were continued. At the end
of about three days the operations of
adding sand, watering, and rolling re-
sulted in a surface so hard as scarcely
to show the imprint of the horses' shoes.
The rapid formation of a good, water-
bound macadam was aided by warm,
sunny weather.
Shortly before the completion of the
foundation the binding clay which had
been purchased was carted on the j o b ;
the sun dried it out so rapidly that when
ready for use it crumbled to powder. A
one-inch layer of the clay was now spread
over the existing surface, well wetted so
that the roller would pass over it with-
out "picking up," and thoroughly rolled
with the idea of working it into the
foundation as far as possible in order to
create an agent which would effectively
bind the surfacing still to be applied to
the foundation.
Sand and clay in the proportions of
three parts of the former to one of the
latter, previously shoveled together and
thoroughly mixed, was spread over the
existing surface to a depth of three
inches, wheelbarrows being employed to
cart the material.
At this stage of the construction the
greatest care was exercised to see that the
surface was being built up at all points
true to grade. While the mixture of
sand and clay was being spread a line
was stretched from stake to stake across
the court and the true elevations ac-
curately determined. A hand roller was
drawn lengthwise and crosswise and the
surface slowly compacted. When the
September OUTING is the Fall Shooting Number. A big feature
is Mr. J. P. Cuenin's "With the Canvasbacks of San Pablo", includ-
ing some of the best duck pictures we have seen in many a day
565
surface was comparatively firm it was
sprinkled lightly, allowed to dry, and
then rolled, this operation being repeat-
ed a dozen or more times. Again the
lines were stretched between the grade
stakes and any hollows or ridges that
had developed were filled in or smoothed
out. The watering and rolling processes
were again repeated till the surface was
hard and true to grade.
The surface of the court was now flood-
ed and smoothed over several times with
a board two feet square and about two
inches thick, rounded at the corners so
as not to cut into the dirt. A long han-
dle attached to the board gave the con-
trivance the appearance of a mop. When
the surface was again dry it appeared
rather light colored; in order to over-
come this difficulty a light sprinkling of
very dark brown sand was added and
rolled in, producing a satisfactory shade.
Holes for the wood net posts were dug;
and in order to insure their standing
straight they were sunk three and one-
half feet and blocked at the bottom by
means of several heavy boards about two
feet in length, which were spiked into
place. When the gravel was thrown
back into the post holes it was thoroughly
compacted.
The ten-foot fence that surrounded
the court was built of second-hand gas
pipe about two inches in diameter and
of chicken wire with a two-inch mesh.
The posts were placed ten feet apart
and were set four feet in the ground in-
side vitrified tile drain pipe and grouted.
The plumber who put up the fence cut
the pipe and threaded the joints on the
job.