Rebuilding the courts at Kintbury 2010
Here's a short history of how our courts were rebuilt in 2010.
Jan 25th. Work has now started on rebuilding all three courts at Kintbury Tennis Club. The project has been a long
time in the planning, backed by furious fund-raising (of which more later) and a lot of soul-searching, time and
effort from the leaders of the project.
Our biggest problem was realising that we didn't just need a resurface job. We needed to relay all three courts
because the material under the current surface had crumbled away and our courts had deteriorated beyond the point
where anyone was happy. A simple resurface would just have meant that we got the old problems back again within a
few years. 
And none of us wants to see more cracks like the one shown here.
So our old courts had to go. The
contractors, AMB Sports, came in on the morning of January 25th and started by taking down the fencing and the
old net posts and nets. We also realised that the porch on the club house would be in the way of the new fencing,
but more than that, that it is badly rotten and would probably need replacing soon anyway. So, we plan to take
the porch away too (if we are allowed to do so).
More significantly, we are going to remove
the bank between
courts 2 and 3 and level off everything. This will remove a feature that threatened us with closure when West
Berks Council paid us a visit a year or so ago.
Jan 30th. In fact, the bank has already gone!
So has any real semblance of a playing surface!
The photos opposite were taken on the afternoon of Saturday January 30. You can see that the process of levelling
off has started.
Feb 1st. The chair of the parish council has agreed to the
complete removal
of our porch. It was so rotten it made sense to get rid of the whole thing rather than repair it.
Maybe some time in the future, when we have the money, we can think about replacing it somehow. In the meantime,
removing the porch has raised the cost of the overall project but we think that it had to be done.
Feb 8th. As you can see from the photo alongside,
the levelling off process is almost complete. This surface has to be approved by the surveyor we have appointed to
act on our behalf, before a membrane is applied and then a further level of hardcore goes on top. By the time
we are done, the surface will be raised a few more inches, meaning we will step up onto our new courts.
I guess the new courts will be a step up in every sense of the word. Somewhere under this layer are the cables
that feed the floodlights, encased in ducting just in case we ever need to get at them, and also we have paid a
bit extra to ensure that the drainage is good.
The photo on the
right shows where a drainage channel will be constructed.
Feb 11th. Things are moving on apace. The brick kerb is being laid around the court perimeter,
and the porous membrane has gone on top of the levelled surface. You can see the roll in the picture to the far
right. On top of this membrane will go a layer of loose stone, as shown. This will be levelled off, and the first
layer of porous tarmac will be applied.
The playing area is being increased
as a consequence of this work and that means we've had to get rid of the porch from the club house, which used to
protrude into the courts (you may recall).
Feb 23rd. It is starting to look like a tennis court now that the team has come in with its high tech
machinery to lay the tarmac. The first layer has gone down today, leaving space for a final layer to go on top.
A laser guidance system is used on the heavy roller to ensure that the level is as good as it can be, and the
guys have had to work quickly to create and seal the joins because of the very cold weather. You can just about
see the gap between the tarmac and the top of the red bricks at the back of court three.
You can also see the tarmac on top of the stone
layer in this photo, which looks across from court two to court one. I was standing where the old bank used to be.
The various layers that
have been built are also shown below.
I'm not sure what this hole is for, but it does show the layers!
The fence posts have also gone up along with the new gate posts, two at the clubhouse side and one at the car-park
end. The holes for the net posts have been sunk and capped off so that the tarmacing can continue.
I think one picture more than any other illustrates the difference between the new courts and the old, and it is
this one taken at the back of court 3. The
workman is levelling off the cement that basically protects the structure at the back of the courts.
(I resisted the temptation to add my initials or a hand-print). You can see how high the new surface is being
built compared to the old.
Mar 2nd. As of today, nothing is happening. The courts look great but the workmen have gone. Basically, we need
some warmer weather (oh, my, after the coldest winter for about 30years, we REALLY DO need some warmer weather) so
that we can lay the top surface of tarmac.
It is anyone's guess when spring will come, but we stay hopeful.
The fencing is up,
albeit that it needs to be tightened in places, so the courts are starting to look like proper courts.
March 9th. Today AMB Sports informed me that they plan to start laying the top layer of tarmac tomorrow. In truth,
it is still colder than they would like it to be, but if the courts are to be ready for handing over by early
April then the work has to be done sooner rather than later. There's a chance that temerpatures will rise a little
by the end of the week so that's what we are hoping for.
March 10th. It's all started again as promised.
The team arrived this morning to lay the top layer of tarmac to a depth of 40mm.
The photos don't really show how thick the layer is but the guys tell me that they often work to a depth of
30mm, whereas we have invested a bit more to go for 40mm. The final tolerance over the whole surface should be
6mm, i.e. there shouldn't be dips and bumps of any great significance.
It looks almost old fashioned
to see the tarmac being laid by hand,
and levelled off with a huge metal post (basically a RSJ) being dragged over the top, but you have to believe
they know what they're doing! Of course, the vibrating heavy roller does the main work. Then at the end of the day
there's another piece of kit to bring on to the courts, which basically makes sure the joins are good and the
6mm tolerance has been met.
Getting all this equipment in and out of
the courts is a bit of a problem.
Unfortunately, the guys working today had to remove one of the fence posts in order to get their machinery onto
the courts. It will be replaced of course! There will also be quite a lot of work to do to restore the grounds
around the courts. You can see what a mess the machinery has made of the area between the football pitch and the
tennis courts.
There was also need to build a temporary bridge
between this ground and the courts, and it too will have to be removed once the work is finished. It's a pity
in a way, but of course, the ditch is needed to help with court drainage, albeit that it is also a trap for the
occasional tennis ball. For now, the bridge will stay in place until the tarmac has been laid, but that might
only be for another couple of days.
The workmen reckon that they can
lay one and half courts in a day, so they expect to be finished by Friday. It all depends on getting deliveries
of tarmac on time, and as you can see, there is an empty space here where a heap of tarmac will be once the next
delivery arrives.
Mar 11th, and the top layer of tarmac is
pretty well finished. In the two photos alongside, the workmen are laying tarmac into the corner by the clubhouse.
The heavy roller is levelling off the last bit by the entrance. In truth there is a little more to do as the
tarmac stands high of the surround bricks in places, and also, the last bit of levelling off needs to be done so
that we have our 6mm tolerance all over.
As noted above the work to lay the
top layer is largely done by hand, using a RSJ to set the level. Here you can see the RSJ waiting for action.
It stands on top of the underlayer, and the sharp eyed amongst you might be able to detect that the top layer is
complete at either side of the photo.
Mar 19th. AMB Sports tell me that they have cleared the site today. Basically, that means the heavy duty work is
finished. The courts still need to be painted and marked out, and net posts and nets will have to be erected.
Following inspection by the LTA surveyor, there's a little remedial work still to do on the top surface to level
the edges against the brick kerbs, but otherwise that's it. Apparently the fencing guys returned just to tighten
things up a bit so that is all done too. Now we await a prolonged period of drier, warm weather (15 degrees is
ideal) so that the paint will dry. We reckon it will be a couple of weeks from now before the painting starts.
Many paragraphs ago we mentioned
that we had removed the porch from the clubhouse. It meant that repairs were also needed to the soffits and gutters, and we took the opportunity to repair the tiles too. So let's hope the kids that used to break the tiles will leave it alone now the porch has gone.
Mar 30th. It's too wet to even think about painting the courts but the recent spell of wet weather has given us
the chance to see how the drainage is working. First impressions suggest it is working well. Actually, it's not
too soon to be thinking of painting the courts, because we now have to make the final decision about the colour
scheme. The original EGM chose a green on green colour scheme but that meeting was not widely attended so an email
has gone out to all members inviting their vote for various combinations. Deadline for votes is April 1st, so
we will see what the members decide.
April 2nd. The vote is in. By a small, but comfortable majority (roughly 40 votes received in total), members
have chosen a light green court, with a terracota red perimeter. Now we need some dry, warm weather, to get the
paint down.
April 14th. Despite several nice, fine days, and despite constant questions being asked of the contractors
(often without any answers) the courts have not been painted. We had been told we were scheduled in for the work
to start today. Having contacted the office to see if work had started, we received the bad news that today is
apparently too cold (and it is true, it is a bit chilly). So the painting has been put back to a plan of Friday
and Monday. However, with the forecast suggesting that these days will be colder even than today, I am not holding
my breath! The plans for our Open Day are looking decidedly optimistic right now which is a massive shame.
April 15th. Another sunny day, and all prospects a whole lot brighter after we finally make contact with the
project manager who gives an absolute assurance that the courts will be ready in time for our Open Day..... but
not for the first session of coaching that was scheduled for April 20th.
April 19th. True to his word, the project manager called me this afternoon to confirm that painting had started,
and that it would be completed by April 20th. We'd already been down to the courts for a sneak preview though, as
the photos alongside demonstrate.
By the early evening, the first coat of green and red had been completed all over. Tuesday will mean a second coat, and lines. By Friday, we should have nets and posts in place.... and that will be all folks!
April 21st. The paint is on, the lines are down and all that remains is to add the nets and posts.
(Strictly speaking, that isn't true, as the lines need to be measured by the LTA to agree that they are drawn to
the righ dimensions, and there is still a little remedial work to complete around the courts.) One of our members popped down to have a look, and then sent this email....."Dropped into ktc yesterday evening to have a look at the courts......all I can say is that they look magnificent, even without the nets !!......and Rob King and
I stood there and marvelled at your work and achievement...both of you. p.s and yes John, I am very pleased I changed my mind on the colour co-ordination, it looks great."
I hope everyone else will think the same thing.
We have also taken the decision to improve the little footbridge
across the
ditch, and that work is scheduled for Friday.
April 23rd. Today is the day that the nets and posts will go up - except it isn't. An email this morning from the
project manager tells me that they haven't had their delivery so a different supplier will courier nets and posts
to my home address on Saturday morning. So that is another job for your committee to do ahead of the open day.
It was hard enough getting the money to pay for the new courts. We didn't expect to have to build them as well.
So watch this space for an update tomorrow.
On a more positive note, the construction of a handrail, and better surface for our footbridge has been completed.
If we can persuade the kids not to swing on it, we should get a few years out of the handrail!
April 24th. The nets and posts arrived at 10.00am this morning. John Howell, Paul Morgan, Greg Blanchard and
Graeme Coulam assembled at the courts and put them up. As it happens, these are a temporary measure, possibly a
good thing too, since the posts are a little loose for the sockets. But they will do the job for Open Day, and
then should be replaced by the proper stuff some time next week. Once that is done, this page will not be updated
anymore. Thank goodness for that!
April 30th. We are almost there. The new nets and posts went in this morning, along with some signs to number
the courts, and our surveyor has been across this afternoon to check the work. There are a few jobs to finish off,
and perhaps the most important of these is to deal with the problem we faced after the first shower last week,
when the courts became very slippery. The court sprayer has been asked to come back next week. However, after a
really heavy downpour this afternoon, it is only fair to comment that the courts drained beautifully. In fact,
you would not have known at all that the rain had fallen so hard. The picture shown here
was taken within seconds of the downpour ending - bear in mind that it had been wet enough to soak us through to
the skin despite the fact we had been wearing coats. There was no puddling, no sign of water lying on the surface
and to be honest, it felt like the rain had washed out some of the slip, because it was possible to run, stop and
turn on the court without feeling vulnerable.
It is hard not to talk about money on a project like this and although the work has nearly finished there is still
much to do. Money has been hard to come by, in the sense that it is tough to get money ahead of deciding to do
the work, and tough to decide to do the work without knowing you can get the money....... We have been highly
fortunate to win generous grants from the Miss Lawrence Charitable Trust, West Berkshire Council Youth
Opportunity Capital Fund, West Berks/Greenham Trust Vibrant Villages, Berkshire Community Foundation, Sport
England and Kintbury Parish Council.
Careful management of the club's finances over many years by several different committees meant that we were able
to commit the club's own savings to the project, and we also had guarantees from several members to cover any
shortfall.
Lucky though we were to get grants, we were also lucky that John Howell and Graeme Coulam were prepared to put
in so much of their own time and effort into locating grant sources, completing the application forms, and
generally managing the project. Without this effort, which has literally taken up the whole working week at times,
the new courts would not have been built. This club, and every other club in the country should be more grateful
to its volunteers.
There is still a lot more we need to do to improve our clubhouse, install lights on court 3, and maybe even
construct a fourth court. If every member were to donate £100 to the development fund, we'd be able to achieve
some amazing things.
All donations to the club would be gratefully received, and we have also found a
legitimate, genuine way of raising income without asking anyone to dig any deeper into their own pockets than
they would be doing already. If you visit our online shop (click any links from this page) you can help us earn
a small income from major high street retailers, just by buying what you would normally buy. In fact, we insist
that you ONLY buy what you would normally buy. And we do not want you to buy anything that you would normally
buy from any of the shops in Kintbury. We are a village club and we support our own village.
But if you sometimes make purchases from the likes of BT, Marks and Spencer or HMV (to name just a few of the
hundred+ stores we have teamed up with) then we encourage you to make your purchase via the Kintburytennisclub
online shop. Please also
tell your friends because they can even earn some money for us without buying anything. Just applying
for a credit card or doing a survey can make some money for the club, and every little helps.
Please do consider using our online shop. And THANK YOU for doing so.
