Preparing your base

The tiles are the easy part — they click together in a weekend. The base under them does the heavy lifting, and the good news is you may already own one.

Existing concrete slab or driveway

Usually perfect, and the most common base we see. The tiles bridge hairline cracks and minor surface imperfections that would disqualify a slab for acrylic coating. What you're checking for: the surface is sound (not crumbling), reasonably flat, and has no abrupt height steps between sections.

Asphalt — also called tarmac, blacktop or bitumen

All four names describe the same thing, and it makes a good base: a bound surface that stays put. Fine if it's sound and flat — old asphalt that's potholing or rutting should be patched level first.

Pavers

Work well when they're laid tight, level and on a properly bedded base. Check for rocking pavers and lippage between them before you start — the tiles follow whatever is underneath.

What doesn't work

The tiles need a rigid base. Anything unbound settles unevenly under load, and because the court is a single interlocked sheet, it moves with the base rather than hiding it.

• ✓Crushed rock, road base or compacted gravel — however well compacted, an unbound pad settles. We don't install on one and it isn't covered by warranty
• ✓Grass, dirt or sand directly — the court needs a firm, stable plane
• ✓Badly heaved or stepped slabs — bridging hairline cracks is fine; bridging a 20 mm step is not
• ✓Steep slopes — more than a gentle fall means cut-and-fill or a new slab first

Starting from bare ground? Pour a slab — see the slab guide. It costs more up front than a pad and it's the difference between a court that stays true and one that goes wavy in a couple of seasons.

The two numbers that matter

• ✓Flatness: within a few millimetres over a 3 m straightedge — tiles follow the base they sit on
• ✓Fall: a gentle 0.5–1% slope so water that drains through the tiles sheets off the slab