Red Porous (En Tout Cas): General Maintenance Guide
How to maintain an En Tout Cas Tennis Court (Simple Guide).
This is an overview of the main actions and considerations involved in maintaining a Red Porous or En Tout Cas Tennis Court.
Tools Required
Rammer
Wheelbarrow
Long handle flat (pick-up) shovel
Short handle aluminum (throw-on) shovel
Wooden and or Urethane Scraper (or Soft Wide Broom).
Line Broom
Drag Mat (Double Tube is best).
(Additional: Leaf Drag Mat - Aussie Clean Sweep).
Edges, Posts, Hoses, Netline
Start by scraping (or pushing with a wide broom) the build up of brick-dust and contaminated material from around the edges, netline, posts, poles and hoses. Material works its way to the edges through play and use of the drag mat. Any clean grit can be separated in this process and either stock-piled for later usage or re-distributed to the court if required. Grit comes from the process of applying new brick-dust. As the fine particles of brick-dust wash through and settle into the base, the grit is left behind. There is a desirable amount of grit to allow for good sliding performance and an even distribution for consistent ball bounce. Grit also helps keep the players feet directly off the clay base, which is particularly important if the court is wet. A wet area of the court—bare of grit—will be shiny and slippery and create a hazard that could lead to injury.
The rest of the grit, typically mixed up with contaminates and plant litter can be collected with the pick-up shovel, put in the wheelbarrow and carted off the court. Some people like to sieve the brick-grit to remove contaminates. You can do this if you like, but it is not essential. The only purpose of doing this would be to create a stockpile of grit that can be distributed over the court following a heavy wind event whereby the court toppings get stripped. However be wary: sieving and top-dressing the courts with grit will eventually turn the courts into a sandpit. Bounce and ball speed with be affected negatively.
Leafy Court?
If you have a court surrounded by trees managing the fall of leaves can be a sisyphistic battle. We are thankful in this case for the humble leaf dragger—or Aussie Clean Sweep. This is a good part of the process to bag the leaves off your court. I usually bag from edge to edge, with each return lifting the leaf drag mat and shaking the leaves into one a few different piles.
Baseline Ramming
The Baseline is where most of the play and most of the wear and tear/damage to a court takes place. Clay works its way under the baseline tape which in turn raises the tape. This gets worse and worse over time (if the tape isn’t regularly rammed. The raised line compromises the drainage of the court and also exacerbates any baseline depressions. In short—it becomes a tripping hazard. The baseline tape should be rammed regularly to maintain a flush level with the surface. Only minimal effort is required in ramming when the tape is almost flush or just a little bit raised. However ramming a significantly raised tape can be a serious workout and will probably require multiple sessions to ensure the tape does not split. Grit should be swept or scraped off the tape before ramming. The same principle applies to any raised lines elsewhere on the court.
Top Dressing
Scrape brick dust grit 6ft in front and behind the baseline into a windrow. Broadcast new brick-dust through the area to replace clay lost to usage and the elements. Bag and water the new brick dust to level and settle the fines. The previously scraped grit can be re-distributed if clean and required. Keep in mind you do not want to make the court too heavy with grit. Top dress the rest of the court. Approx 100kg worth of brickdust per court per monthly service.
