Sports - Soft Surfaces

Tennis Court Maintenance – Deep Clean and Recolouring

Posted on May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Elliot

If you have a tennis court it’s important to keep it properly looked after, whether it’s for recreational use or competitive matches. Having an appropriate tennis court maintenance and surface cleaning schedule will help you to make sure the court looks great and is both safe and suitable for use by players. We recently did a thorough deep cleaning and recolouring process to an existing macadam tennis court in Manchester which had suffered a lot of damage and contamination from moss and algae.

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Tennis Court Maintenance Jet Wash

As you can see from the picture above, this particular tennis court facility was in very bad condition and had moss growing all over the surface. This made the sports court unsuitable for use as is was slippery and the blocked pores in the macadam meant that water couldn’t drain away so the surface became flooded in wet weather. The first process of this tennis court maintenance job was to jet wash the surface with a specialist cleaning agent to clear away the moss and dirt that had become stuck to the court. This type of cleaning process should only be done by an experienced professional contractor to ensure that no damage is done to the sports court by the high pressure of the water. Once the thoroughly clean was done to the tennis court flooring, the original macadam surface could be seen once again without all of the dirt and moss covering it up.

Tennis Surface Recolouring

When we’d thoroughly cleaned the area using a pressure washing tennis court maintenance method, we could then apply a brand new layer of colour coating paint. This specialist acrylic paint is designed to have anti-slip qualities as it’s mixed with a combination of sand and aluminium oxide to create friction on the sports court surface. Having improved anti-slip characteristics means that the tennis court will be safer for players and also create better playing qualities in matches.

For this project, the client chose to have their tennis court painted with blue acrylic paint on the central court area and green around the outside for the runoff. We then applied new tennis line markings in white to create an accurate scoring marker for competitive matches and training. The completed surface has a vibrant new colour with greatly improved performance qualities which can be enjoyed for a long time with regular proactive maintenance.

Dirty Tennis Court Problems

There are a number of problems that can occur if you don’t look after your tennis court surface properly with regular care and maintenance. For example dirt, litter, leaves and other decaying organic matter can get stuck within the voids and pores of the open textured macadam surface and stop water from draining through. This means that any water will then sit on top of the tennis court surface and make it waterlogged and slippery.

If this problem continues for a long time, moss and algae can start to grow which affects the appearance of the sports facility as well as making it even more slippery and potentially dangerous for anyone who uses it. It can be difficult to know if your sports court needs resurfacing or cleaning, but our team can advise you on the best solutions.

If your tennis court is holding water, not performing well or has moss growing on the surface, please get in touch with us so we can offer you the best type of tennis court maintenance to fix the problem. You can visit our website at http://softsurfaces.co.uk/ to find out more about the sports court services we specialise in, or fill in our contact form so we can send you some more information and a price quote for your project.

Please share this post if you liked it and also leave a comment below if you want to ask a member of our experienced staff a question in regards to tennis court maintenance.

Flooded Hockey Pitch Sand Infill Cleaning

Posted on May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Elliot

Many hockey pitches in the UK are made using sand-filled synthetic grass surfacing, and it’s a good idea to carry out regular hockey pitch sand infill cleaning to help keep the surface in top condition. The 2G sand filled sports pitches are installed in an artificial grass carpet with a layer of silica sand put between the fibres to help the grass stand up and create natural playing qualities. Without correct proactive maintenance, these 2G sports surfaces can become flooded and lose their playability and safety characteristics.

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Flooded Synthetic Sports Surface

Over time, sand-filled hockey pitch surfaces can lose their porosity and become waterlogged if they aren’t looked after properly. When a dead organic matter like plants and leaves are allowed to sit on the artificial grass surface they can break down and get stuck within the carpet pile, contaminating the sand infill. This means that the pores within the synthetic turf pitch system become blocked. When these pores get blocked up, the sand filled pitch loses its permeability so water can’t drain through it anymore and it sits on the surface instead, making the pitch waterlogged and unsafe for use. If this problem isn’t tackled with reactive maintenance as soon as possible, it can cause damage to the turf carpet and lead to expensive resurfacing work.

It’s important to carry out regular sand contamination testing to assess whether hockey pitch sand infill cleaning is required to get rid of dirt and contaminants such as silt, mud and leaves. These tests involve extracting samples of the sand infill and mixing them with water and a dispersal agent, this then shows how much contamination is present in the infill layer. Once the test has been carried out, a suitable maintenance plan can be put in place to prevent or fix the problems of flooded hockey pitch surfacing.

In this video you can see our team completing a full cleaning and rejuvenation process for a contaminated sports surface:

Hockey Pitch Sand Infill Cleaning

Depending on the conditions of the 2G sports pitch and how contaminated the sand has become, there are different methods of flooded sport surface cleaning which can be done to remove the contamination. The first is a deep clean, this involves lifting the sand out of the pitch with a machine, putting it through a filtering process to remove any dirt, and then putting the sand back down into the synthetic carpet pile. A flooded hockey pitch sand infill cleaning method that is used for more contaminated pitches is sports surface rejuvenation maintenance. This is done by extracting all of the dirty sand infill and removing it from the pitch completely, a new layer of sand infill will then be put down within the synthetic grass fibres.

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Regular Surface Maintenance

To prevent the problems of flooded hockey pitch surfacing, you should also make sure that you do regular proactive maintenance like drag brushing to keep the sand infill evenly spread and prevent contaminants from sitting on the surface. Information on all of the different maintenance methods can be found at our website on http://softsurfaces.co.uk/, as well as details of all of our products.

There are many benefits of artificial hockey pitches that make them a popular choice for schools and clubs.

If your 2G outdoor sports surface is in need of sand infill cleaning, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us! You can use our contact form to send us all the details in regards to your enquiry including an area size, location and a brief specification of the work that needs to be done. A member of our team will get in touch with you to discuss a price for the work and to offer you some advice on putting your own sports pitch maintenance plan into place.

Where to Buy Silica Sand for Artificial Grass

We would always recommend having a specialist company come out to deal with the maintenance of an artificial grass pitch. While you can buy silica sand yourself, it is advised that you have an expert apply it to the grass surface using the correct machinery and tools. If the sand is not applied in the right way, this can lead to damage and drainage problems on the surface.

Please feel free to put a comment below if you’ve got any questions about hockey pitch sand infill cleaning, and share this post if you found it interesting!

Tennis Court Synthetic Turf Cleaning Maintenance

Posted on May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Elliot

Artificial grass tennis courts are common in the UK and the surfacing can become flooded and contaminated if the correct synthetic turf cleaning maintenance is not carried out. We have installed 2G sand filled tennis court surfaces in a number of locations at places like schools, sports clubs and private sports facilities as the synthetic specification is a lot more durable than natural grass. However heavy use and lack of proper care can make the artificial turf lose its porosity and stop draining water as moss and algae start to build up, this means the sports court becomes unusable.

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Synthetic Turf Cleaning Maintenance

For any artificial grass sports surface, it’s important to make sure that synthetic turf cleaning maintenance is done on a regular basis to prevent any damage or problems with the surfacing. Because leaves, dirt and other debris can often fall onto tennis courts, you should have the area brushed to remove these and stop them from contaminating the grass pile or the sand infill. Drag brushing to redistribute the silica sand particles is also advised because this stops the sand from becoming compacted and ensures that the tennis court system remains permeable and able to drain water.

Take a look at the video below to see the full process of cleaning a tennis court surface to get it looking and playing its best:

Maintaining Tennis Court Surfaces

Sometimes artificial tennis courts can fall into disrepair if they are not used much and don’t get the right amount of care, this can mean that reactive synthetic turf cleaning maintenance is needed. This type of sports surface maintenance is done to fix damage which has already been caused to the tennis court such as tears in the carpet, broken seams and contamination from moss and algae. We can carry out a number of different maintenance processes for the problems including astro turf seam repairs and sports court rejuvenations and refurbishment. The rejuvenation works involve taking out the dirty layer of sand infill which could be contaminated with moss, and replacing it with fresh sand which improves the playing qualities and the look of the tennis court.

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Without the correct synthetic turf cleaning maintenance for your tennis court, it can become waterlogged as contamination and compaction within the carpet pile will block up the pores and stop water from draining away. This is why it’s very important to put a regular cleaning schedule in place to stop these problems from occurring.

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If you’ve got a dirty tennis court which needs some maintenance work or maybe even a full resurface, please get in touch with us and we’ll give you a price for the work. Send us the details of your enquiry including an area size and location of the project and one of our team members will get in touch with you to discuss the project. To have a look at the other products we install and services we carry out, have a look at our website – http://softsurfaces.co.uk/ – as this explains more about what we do and includes case studies of our completed work.

Don’t forget to share this article with your friends if you found it interesting and put a comment in the box below if you have any queries about synthetic turf cleaning maintenance. Please also fill in our contact form if you would like to make an enquiry or if you have any questions about the services we offer.

3g 5-a-Side Football Pitch Installation in Hampshire

Posted on May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Elliot

At Soft Surfaces, we’re a specialist installer on 3G 5-a-Side Pitch Installations in Hampshire.

Post installation our team can offer 3G sport pitch repairs for existing 5-a-Side pitches within the Hampshire area, so if you currently have a 3G 5-a-Side pitch that needs resurfacing or rejuvenating, be sure to contact us.

For this particular page we show off on of our 3G 5-a-Side installation that we carried out in the Hampshire area.

Below you can see the specific information for this install, as well as the video transcript describing the job in detail

We recently carried out a 3G 5-a-side football pitch construction for a school in Hampshire which wanted a multi use sports facility in synthetic turf surfacing to replace an existing grass surface which was unsuitable for use. The project included the full construction of the sports facility including groundworks, surfacing installation and fencing.

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5-a-Side Football Pitch Construction

The 5-a-side football pitch construction started with excavating the existing area of natural grass which was unstable and could not be used for sports. The preparation works created a smooth foundation so the rest of the work could be carried out onto an even and flat base.

Once the existing ground had been excavated, a drainage system was put in to carry water away from the area when it soaks through the surface of the pitch. All of the layers of a 3G grass sports surface are completely porous to allow for efficient drainage so training and matches can continue through all weather conditions.

Next, the specialist angular stone sub base was installed to give a stable and durable foundation for the synthetic carpet to be laid onto. The porous stone sub base layer is specially designed and selected for use with sports pitches to ensure that you get the best performance qualities for playing football and multi sports. This stone is compacted to leave a flat layer which makes an ideal base for the 3G grass surfacing.

After the stone sub base was put down, the 3G turf carpet for the 5-a-side football pitch construction could be rolled out on top and joined together at the seams with a specialist glue. A sand and rubber infill layer was then installed between the synthetic turf fibres to enhance the performance qualities and help mimic the characteristics of a natural grass surface.

Specialist sports rebound fencing was also installed around the perimeter of the school 3G pitch to keep the area secure and to prevent a loss of any equipment during game play and training.

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Benefits of a 3G Sports Pitch

Having a 3G Sports Pitch installed in the Hampshire area has many benefits, these include the following:

3G Pitches are an all weather surface

No matter the weather 3G sports pitches are a perfect surface to play football on, they can also withstand long period without rainfall and won’t be damaged like real grass does. Gone are the days of matches being cancelled due to waterlogged football pitches, cancelled games are not only a disappointment for the players and the fans, but also leads to a loss of revenue for the football pitch owner themselves.

3G Pitches are Environmentally Friendly

3G Sports Pitches do not require a large amount of water like natural grass, excessive water consumption is not only bad for the environment, but also financially harmful for schools and football clubs too. Natural gasses used to maintain natural grass can have potentially harmful effects on the environment, these factors make a 3G sports pitch a good choice for the environment.

3G Pitches can be used frequently

3G Sport Pitches are capable of withstanding intensive usage. This allows pitch owners to offer their services throughout the day and throughout the night, it is very common for schools to rent out the 3G Sports Pitches after school hours to generate some extra funding on the side. Compare this to a natural turf that needs a massive amount of recovery time in between games to prevent it from turning into a mud bath during the winter period.

Completed 3G Sports Pitch

Once the 3G 5-a-side football pitch construction project was complete, the final product was a state of the art multi use synthetic turf sports facility which the school can use during PE lessons and for extra curricular sports clubs.

The durability of the 3G pitch also means that it can be rented out for use by other schools and clubs to help generate extra revenue for the school. Overall the project was a complete success and the students and staff at the school are very pleased with their new synthetic 3G sports pitch.

We carry out these projects for organisations nationwide in the UK and we are specialist contractors in the sport surfacing industry with a wealth of experience. Our services include the full construction of a range of sports facilities as well as maintenance and extra works to help look after existing sport surfaces.

Other Areas in Hampshire we Install 3g 5-a-Side Football Pitches

At Soft Surfaces, we are able to install 3g 5-a-Side Football Pitches throughout the Hampshire area, including the following areas:

3g 5-a-Side Football Pitch Installation in Aldershot
3g 5-a-Side Football Pitch Installation in Southampton
3g 5-a-Side Football Pitch Installation in Basingstoke
3g 5-a-Side Football Pitch Installation in Winchester
3g 5-a-Side Football Pitch Installation in Portsmouth

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If you’d like to discuss a 5-a-side football pitch construction project, please fill in our contact form and a member of our team will get in touch to give you an idea of costs and specifications for the sports pitch.

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If you though this article was helpful, please share it with your friends and don’t forget to visit our website at http://softsurfaces.co.uk/ to find out more about the sports facility construction and maintenance services we offer.

Costs to Build a Synthetic Clay Tennis Court

Posted on May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Elliot

Building a synthetic clay tennis court is a great option for clubs and organisations who want the feel and characteristics of natural clay when playing tennis but without the mess and heavy maintenance.

Lots of professional tennis players choose to train on clay courts over any other tennis surface as it gives the most comfortable playing qualities and makes it easier to develop your skills. Due to the costs and maintenance requirements of natural clay sport surfacing, there are very few of these facilities in the UK however synthetic clay tennis court construction provide a more cost-effective alternative.

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Synthetic Clay Tennis Court Design

The reason that many tennis players enjoy playing on clay courts is that this surface type provides excellent support for the joints and muscles, meaning that game play is more comfortable and the risk of injury is reduced. Clay court surfacing also helps to slow the ball down, meaning that rallies are longer and there is more opportunity to practise and improve different skills. Synthetic clay tennis courts can offer all of these favourable performance qualities but without the time consuming and costly maintenance which comes with natural clay.

The artificial clay court system works with a synthetic sports carpet and a layer of sand, these two components work together to create playing characteristics which are identical to real clay courts.

The coloured terracotta yarn is designed to look just the same as natural clay court surfacing and the sand is put through a baking process to match the bright orange colour of the carpet. This baking process is much more effective than the typical dying of the sand which takes place with other specifications as it is much more UV stable and will not fade over time in the sunlight.

When the sand is coloured using a dye, this can cause the artificial colour to rub off and leave stains on players’ clothes, this does not happen when the terracotta colour is achieved through the alternative baking process.

All Weather Sport Surface

Unlike natural clay, the synthetic clay tennis court surfacing system is completely porous to allow excellent water drainage in wet conditions. This means that the court will not flood or become unusable if it rains, making it a great all weather facility that can be utilised all year round. The durability and versatility of artificial clay makes it a very cost effective surface type and it can even be installed over an existing macadam court which might have been damaged or become unusable.

Once the initial installation is complete, maintaining a synthetic clay tennis court is relatively simple compared to the work which goes into looking after natural clay surfacing. Where the real clay courts require grooming and watering every day, simply drag brushing and redistributing the sand of an artificial court on a regular basis is enough to keep up the top playing qualities.

These artificial clay tennis facilities are ITF approved with a court pace 2 medium/slow classification so you can be sure that members of your club can develop their skills on a top quality sports surface. The performance qualities and low maintenance requirements make synthetic clay court specifications ideal for organisations which want the best facilities but may not have the budget to carry out heavy work in maintaining the surface.

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Your Clay Court Project

The costs of installing an artificial clay tennis court can vary for each project depending on the area size, location and access to site, a personalised quote can be tailored to suit your individual requirements. If you’d like to know more about the specification and installation of a synthetic clay tennis court, please use our contact form to tell us as much information as possible about your enquiry.

One of our experienced team members will get in touch to offer you some professional advice regarding pricing and construction works. To read more about the other sports and play surfaces we install, you can have a look at our website at http://softsurfaces.co.uk/ which explains all of our products and services.

Have you ever played on a synthetic clay tennis court? What did you think of it? Tell us your views on this topic in the comments below and don’t forget to ask any questions you may have!

Refurbishment of Run Down Netball Courts

Posted on May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Elliot

Netball is an increasingly popular sport in the UK and we are seeing lots more netball being played in clubs, leisure centres and schools. We often carry out refurbishment of netball courts including cleaning, repairs and repainting. This helps to remove damage and dirt from the area and make it safer to use.

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Netball Court Improvements

The refurbishment of a rundown netball court can come in many forms. Some of the key services we offer include:

Installing new sports rebound fencing
Applying new anti slip netball court coatings
Laying new ball court surfacing
Painting new sports line markings

Netball court surfacing can come in a variety of flooring types. One popular example would be a polymeric rubber court. This is an EPDM rubber surface which is coated with an anti slip coating (HG4 or HG5). The paint coating depends on the amount of sporting use and level of sporting competition. Tarmacadam flooring is also a common choice for netball courts in the UK. All of these play surfaces have different performance characteristics and will vary in price and specification.

Repainting Netball Courts

A dirty and mouldy MUGA surface can result in poor slip resistance. When it comes to refurbishment of run-down netball courts, we’ll usually carry out a thorough clean first.

This will restore the anti slip properties and improve the aesthetics of the all-weather pitch. New sports lines can be remarked using appropriate acrylic coatings after a full clean or new ball court surface has been installed. Size, specification and design will all affect the cost of the refurbishment.

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Take a look at the video below which shows our team cleaning and repainting a tarmac court:

Sports Court Accessories

We can provide a range of extra products for these areas including MUGA court floodlighting. The bigger the court, the bigger the floodlights that you may need. Luminaries are to be taken into account as you want the floodlight to shine at the correct level for longer. Life time maintenance cost will all need to be taken into account, along with the LUX recommended levels. These are 200 for Football, 350 for Hockey & 250 for Tennis.

Sports fencing can be replaced or repaired depending on specification and cost issues. A recommended sports fence is a 3m super rebound with access gates. However, existing fence panels can be replaced and repaired if budgets restrict.

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To get more information on the refurbishment of run down netball courts please contact us today. We’d be happy to give you some more details on the different services we provide. One of our experts can also give you a price for any cleaning or repairs your facility may need.

Professional Tennis Court Painting

Posted on May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Elliot

We carry out professional tennis court painting for a range of facilities at schools, clubs and domestic homes. The paint acts as an anti-slip safeguard that fits both recreational and competitive specifications.

You can choose between a number of different colours and playing qualities to suit whatever you need for the court. Covering the area with a slip resistant coating is important even if the facility is just for recreational use.

It is designed to help you avoid injury which is important in both secondary and primary schools in particular.

Be sure to get in touch with our team if you’d like some more details about the professional painting services we can offer.

The costs for this work do vary depending on area sizes, location and existing ground conditions, so don’t hesitate to ask about our prices. We can gladly discuss your budget and send over a quote as soon as possible.

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Anti Slip Coating Specification

The tennis court colour coating isn’t only designed to be beneficial for players, it also acts as a protective layer for the surfacing. By doing this it allows the flooring to withstand more use and wear and tear, meaning you can keep costs for maintenance to a minimum.

We’ll usually use an acrylic paint which has an aggregate mixed into it to create the anti slip qualities. The colourful non-slip paint installed by professional contractors also makes the facility look more aesthetically pleasing, rather than a plain, uninteresting surface.

You can choose from a wide range of colours for the main surfacing as well as the line markings for tennis and other activities.

Tennis Surface Paint Design

Your tennis court might be made from macadam, which is the industry name for tarmac and bitmac. This is a popular specification for school and domestic facilities as it is hard wearing and offers good ball bounce qualities.

If you have ones of these macadam surfaces, you can have it painted in a variety of colours. We can offer a range of options including a two tone court design, as well as contrasting line markings to make them stand out.

If you have an issue with the flooring being slippery, the best way to counter act these issues would be to clean the flooring with a high power washer. You could then have the surfacing re-painted and refurbished with professional tennis court painting. This will not only make your sport surfacing anti-slip, it’ll extend your sport surface’s life dramatically.

Take a look at this video which outlines the full process of specialist tennis surface painting. First the area is thoroughly cleaned to ensure there are no loose stones or debris:

Residential Tennis Court Colouring

Although there are many different companies who can do these works, Soft Surfaces Ltd are turnkey contractors as we contract, specify, design, budget and maintain these sports surfaces.

These surfaces are perfect for football, netball, tennis and basketball to name a few and the re application of the game lines and colour coatings is an essential part of these works.

Anti slip acrylic colour coating is also an essential part of the tennis court painting process, this ensures that the surface is safe for playing on in all weather conditions which helps to prevent injury.

For more information, please contact us today.

Sport Surface Painting Specialists

Our team of experts have completed many projects for schools, community clubs and homeowners. We can provide a number of design options to suit your budget and the standards of play you need.

You can choose from many different colour choices, and select slip resistance ratings for either competitive or recreational use. If you are interested in playing lots of different sports on the same space, you might even want to create a multi use facility.

This can be done by simply adding more line markings in different colours for other sports. Netball and basketball are popular activities which can also be played on a hard sports court surface.

Multi use games areas like this are very common in schools as it means you only have to have one area but it can be used for lots of sports and games.

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We offer professional tennis court painting services at a fair and cheap price, however best value is our main goal so we don’t cut corners in our work. The paint as well as the surface is designed to withstand all weathers.

We’re also a specialist tennis court construction company too, so be sure to check out that page for more info on our construction work.

To get a quote for your own courts please complete our enquiry so we can outline all the installation techniques, sport surfacing specifications and costs to hopefully fit within your budget.

Fibre Bonded Needlepunch Sport Surfacing

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Elliot

Synthetic fibre bonded needlepunch surfacing is a durable and long-lasting sports pitch material which provides excellent performance qualities for a range of sports including football, hockey and athletics. It is commonly installed to replace worn out natural grass pitches which have become unsafe for use.

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We are able to fit these surfaces in a variety of designs and sizes to suit different activities. Common uses for this particular product include:

Football
Basketball
Netball
Hockey
PE games
Outdoor activities at school

The designs are extremely versatile and we can incorporate different colours and shapes to create a unique facility.

Installing Fibre Bonded Needlepunch

The installation process for a fibre bonded needlepunch sports facility takes place in a number of stages. Once the ground has been prepared, the first stage is installing either a dynamic or engineered sub base, contractors usually prefer to install fibre bonded needlepunch onto an engineered sub base creates the most even surface.

If the needlepunch synthetic turf is going to be used for an athletics track surface, the artificial fibre bonded carpet can be applied straight onto the sub-base, however, if the surface is for a multi-use games area surface, a shockpad may need to be installed.

A preformed shockpad is typically included with the installation of fibre bonded needlepunch MUGA surfacing. It will help improve the safety of the surface by absorbing the impact of trips and falls.

After the sub-base and shockpad have been installed, the next stage is to apply the fibre bonded needlepunch carpet. This is available in a range of bright colours and rainbow designs. Therefore making it a popular choice for primary schools. Inlaid line markings can also be cut into the needlepunch carpet in contrasting colours to differentiate between the different sports for which the MUGA would be used for.

Once the synthetic turf carpet is installed, a layer of sand infill is distributed at the base of the synthetic grass fibres. This helps to maintain the pile height and keep an even playing surface. The fibre bonded needlepunch turf material has the highest fibre to the sand ratio of all the sand-filled synthetic pitch surfaces on the market. It is also commonly known as outdoor activity surfacing as it’s popular for school games and activities.

Sports Facility Accessories

You can choose to have a number of different accessories included with the full construction project of your fibre bonded needlepunch sports facility. Examples include fencing in a range of specifications and heights from 3m-5m, as well as floodlighting. These enable your facility to be rented out in the evenings to generate extra revenue for your organisation.

Maintenance equipment can also be provided along with the full construction as it’s important to look after your synthetic sports surface. This should ensure it remains safe for use and has good playing characteristics for your primary sports.

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Multisport Needlepunch Installation

The video below shows our team installing this synthetic turf surface. This client chose to have a natural-looking green facility with inlaid yellow line-markings. We carry out projects similar to this in many areas across the UK for schools and clubs.

The final product offers a much more comfortable and versatile playing surface in comparison to the previous flooring. The pupils at the school can now enjoy a selection of sporting activities during PE lessons and after-school clubs.

We are specialists in the sports surfacing industry with plenty of experience. Our team install synthetic needlepunch facilities at schools and clubs all over the country. To see more of the products and services we have to offer, please visit our website at http://softsurfaces.co.uk/ We would be happy to discuss any enquiries you have regarding full construction, resurfacing or maintenance of a multi-use games area or athletics track facility.

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Please fill in our contact form in as much detail as possible regarding the work. A member of our staff will get back to you with some helpful information regarding quotes, prices and specifications for your project.

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How to Maintain a 3g Pitch in Winter

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Elliot

With the popularity of 3G pitches increasing, a lot of people are wanting more information on how to maintain them with the utmost efficiency. Throughout this post, we’ll give you some tips and tricks on how to do this and how to maintain a 3G pitch in winter and avoid any unnecessary problems.

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Maintaining 3G Synthetic Pitches

Even though the pitch is synthetic, 3G sports surfacing requires some maintenance to keep it working well without any issues. Some good points to keep in mind are:

Daily checks – even if the next match is scheduled a week away, make sure regular checks of the area are performed. Finding any damaged areas or an uneven spread of rubber crumb infill can help you keep the surface as healthy as possible during this time and avoid any more unnecessary damage being caused.
Explain to users – a very peculiar yet important step you should take is going over ways to care for the 3G pitch with those using it. Ranging from correct footwear to what to do if the field seems damaged, explaining these points can really help it thrive.
Fix damages quickly – if any damage is spotted, do not procrastinate. You need to act quick simply to avoid any more excessive damage from being caused. Sorting the damage quickly will save you money and time and avoid any sudden shocks.

It may seem tedious or annoying but keeping the field in great condition with maintenance can save you a lot of money and time in the future. In addition, organic pitches would require a lot more work compared to maintaining 3G synthetic pitches, you would be dedicating less time on maintenance and more time on the important things. This is one of the main benefits of 3G pitches and why many people see them as a good investment.

Winter Maintenance for a 3G Football Pitch

During the winter, a lot of football matches can get cancelled on organic turf. However, with 3G synthetic pitches, the odds of this are lower, but not completely inexistent. Usually, the cold temperature will freeze the fibres and cause them to become brittle, making it unstable and unsafe for anyone to use. But there are some countermeasures that you can take to avoid any of these problems. Check out our sports facility maintenance page for advice on maintaining various types of sport surfacing.

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Winter maintenance for a 3G football pitch can be a pain with the harsh weather conditions and the fluctuations in the environment. A good routine to perform is:

Check the weather – Sports matches are planned in advance, meaning you can get the date beforehand. With the date, do some checks on how the weather will be before the day and on the day as this will allow you to avoid the most common issue, being unprepared.
Lay PDV salt – If you find out that the weather is going to be cold and freezing, you should prepare yourself with some PDV (Pure Dried Vacuum) salt. Sprinkle the salt across the synthetic pitch the night before. The salt acts as an anti-freeze prevention method, meaning that in the morning, the field shouldn’t be badly frozen where damage can be done.
Scoop snow off – Snow can be incredibly bad for the pitch if left on it for too long. It’s usually recommended to remove the snow within a period of a day to avoid constant damage being done on the surface.

Explain to users – a very peculiar yet important step you should take is going over ways to care for the 3G pitch with those using it. Ranging from correct footwear to what to do if the field seems damaged, explaining these points can really help it thrive.

Winter can be bad for sports and sometimes it’s just recommended to close the pitch until the weather conditions improve. Putting the surfacing through strain in cold weather conditions can really damage the pitch and in general, could lead to the 3G synthetic turf being replaced.

Cleaning Your Artificial Sports Surface

Cleaning may sound simple but it’s important to note that your pitch can become affected in different ways. Dirt, contaminants or unbalanced levels of rubber infill can all cause the pitch to be labelled as dirty and all require different methods of cleaning.

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Grooming and drag brushing is a common method to evenly distribute the rubber infill to maintain even playing characteristics and remove some dirt. As it’s just a brushing, all you’ll need is a brush and some time. Go around the pitch and make sure that you give areas in which you think may have unbalanced levels of rubber infill a good brush. If you’re finding that there is hardly any rubber infill across the whole 3G pitch, then an infill tops up is likely needed (adding extra rubber infill). This post shows a similar process for cleaning infill in a hockey pitch.

Moss and algae may grow around the synthetic surface which can cause the looks to fade away. In addition, it can damage the turf over time. To avoid this happening, chemical treatment cleaning can be done. Simply acquire a moss/algae remover and start to distribute it around. Be careful though, applying too much in one area could end up damaging the fibres quickly.

Sometimes, the pitch may be too seriously damaged to clean properly and therefore you may have to consider a resurface. It can be incredibly expensive to do so and that’s why it is often recommended to maintain your 3G turf to the best of your abilities to avoid this problem occurring.

3G Pitch Maintenance Services

Maintaining the synthetic pitch can be a huge pain at first and you might find it a complicated process. Soft Surfaces can help with this issue. Over 20 years of experience, we can help you with every step of the process, making sure that you understand what’s happening along the way.

No matter what the season is, our team are more than happier to help you learn the best ways to keep your 3G pitch maintained and working well. If you have any questions or queries about how to maintain a 3G pitch in winter, send us an enquiry and one of our members of staff will get in contact with you shortly.

Benefits of 3g Sports Pitches

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Elliot

3G sports pitches have become a lot more popular recently due to how people are slowly realising how much more beneficial they are compared to organic pitches. This article will help you understand a lot more about the current argument and allow you to see the benefits of 3G sports pitches.

What is a 3G Pitch?

A 3G pitch is an artificial surface which is made up of fibre blades of synthetic grass. Over time, these types of surfaces have become a lot more popular due to the increase in technological development within the industry. Check out our sport surface page to learn more about this specification and other options.

The major problems of original artificial grass were how the turf didn’t look natural enough and how it felt completely different. These factors did put a lot of people off the surface as people wanted to keep the looks and feelings of natural grass. As time went on and improvements of the surface occurred, 3G pitches are now incredibly hard to differentiate from natural pitches.

Improvements on looks and feels have made it a much more viable option for big sporting events as in the long run, money is being saved in maintenance costs. At present, the FA state that there is currently 889 3G sports pitches throughout England alone. With this number, you can clearly see how the popularity of these surfaces has increased.

It’s for this reason that 3G pitch construction has become more in demand than ever here in the UK, with more and more commercial and domestic interest from across the country.

Main Advantages of 3G Surfaces

3G surfaces provide a lot of benefits for the owner and the users over a wide variety of different factors. Some of the strongest advantages that people usually witness more than others include:

All-weather surface – Many organic pitches suffer from one major problem. Weather. Rain can leave huge, muddy puddles and the heat and sun can turn the grass to a brown colour. With 3G synthetic turfs, they don’t suffer from this issue at all as the drainage can handle the rain and the surface itself can handle tough heat conditions for months.
Reduce the risk of injury – One way to ruin someone’s match is with an injury. Players, clubs and fans hate it equally. 3G pitches however reduce this risk hugely by having an underlay that can absorb the impact of trips and falls.
Frequent use – Pitches can end up having ‘dead zones’ where a lot of foot traffic has occurred on top of it, resulting in the organic grass dying and leaving uneven patches. The fibres in the 3G synthetic turf can withstand this pressure a lot easier than organic blades. Keeping this in mind, you could decide to start renting out the pitch to other clubs, groups and people without the worry that the turf will get damaged through excessive use.
Low maintenance – Cutting the grass, applying fertilizer, watering it etc. can be incredibly tedious for people who own natural turf. It requires a lot of energy, time and even money. Synthetic grass can solve this issue due to how it doesn’t need this much care. The only thing needed is just a regular brush down to remove any debris from the surface. View this page for more details on maintaining sports flooring.
Specific requirements – To achieve a certain look with natural grass, can require unnecessary labour and effort and still, you’re not guaranteed the look you want. 3G turf can come in a wide variety of colours, patterns and depths, really allowing you to have full control over how you want it to look.

Points like these can really help you understand how beneficial these types of surfaces are than just regular, natural turf. In addition, 3G turfs are environmentally friendly as it requires hardly any water. Less water means less money spent on water bills, alongside knowing that less water is being wasted.

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Why Have a 3G Football Pitch?

3G pitches are often preferred by a wide range of different people. From football clubs to leisure centres, these turfs have become a lot more popular over recent times compared to natural turfs. By knowing this, you can see how different groups of people are starting to see the great application of 3G synthetic turfs.

Synthetic turfs are a great way to engage people in sports as they provide a comfortable environment to play games instead of an uneven playing field. Life spans of these surfaces have increased a lot over the years and can increase even more if regular maintenance is carried out on them to avoid any unnecessary damage occurring.

Disadvantages of Natural Grass for Sport

Natural grass is okay, but many people can start to notice the disadvantages that this type of turf comes with once it is compared with synthetic turf. Some of the major points that are noticed include:

Muddy and puddles – When it rains, natural turf can suffer badly and become waterlogged. Water can’t be drained as quickly and so; the pitch becomes incredibly muddy and messy. Alongside this, puddles can form which will lead to grass blades drowning and/or contaminants starting to appear in certain areas (moss/algae).
Winter is dreadful – Winter can become a natural grass owner’s worst nightmare. Temperatures during this time are usually incredibly low, resulting in freezing temperatures occurring and making the grass blades more brittle. With this, grass can end up dying quickly and so, patches of hardly any grass will start to appear. Of course, the pitch can also become rock hard and more dangerous if someone slips and hurts themselves on it.
Maintenance is needed – Time, labour and money can become heavily drained due to the requirements natural turfs need. People can get lazy however and don’t want to do these tasks and because of this, their pitches end up showing signs of dying and therefore users will start to notice problems with it and be put off by it. The same goes for natural garden surfaces, see our artificial turf lawn page for more details on synthetic products.
Difficulty with runs –A huge part of most sports that are played on these types of pitches is running. It can lead to a game being won or lost if the team have a great pace and stamina. Problem is, if the pitch has lumps, holes and/or slippy areas, players will find it incredibly difficult to make strong runs on it. Injuries and complaints can start occurring a lot more often than usual.
Patches and weeds – Natural pitches can have problems with patches and weeds, even if maintenance is carried out to an effective level. Weeds and patches can affect the playing qualities and appearance of the sport surface.

Problems like these can end up lowering reception towards the pitch and ruin a lot of chances of renting out the pitch to others to earn a bit of extra money on the side. Linking to that, these types of pitches can’t handle many people on them at a constant rate which can ruin a lot of the chances of renting things like this.

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Get in touch with our team to learn more about the benefits of 3G sports pitches and to see how they are installed. We would be happy to provide more information and give a quote if you are thinking about installing one of these facilities.