Insight · 9 min

Padel court construction: how a court gets built

The full UK construction process, from survey and groundworks to steel, glass, turf, lighting and handover.

Last updated: 6 August 2026

A padel court looks simple: a box of glass and steel on a flat base. The build is less forgiving than it looks. The enclosure carries wind load, the glass depends on correctly aligned fixings, and the playing surface can only be as level and durable as the formation beneath it.

The sequence below follows the LTA's 2025 construction guidance and the SAPCA Code of Practice. Use them as the common specification behind every quotation.

Stage 1: survey and ground investigation

Before a fixed price is credible, the project team needs levels, ground-bearing information, drainage behaviour, access constraints and service routes. Conversions of existing sports surfaces may need less investigation, but the surface still has to be checked for level, condition and a foundation detail capable of carrying the enclosure.

Stage 2: groundworks, drainage and base

The formation is excavated and prepared, drainage is installed, and a graded aggregate sub-base is compacted. Outdoor courts commonly use porous asphalt with a reinforced concrete perimeter ring beam; other engineered systems are possible when structural calculations support them. The ring beam carries the posts and transfers wind loads into the ground.

• Confirm the formation, sub-base, drainage and surface-course specification in writing.
• Require surveyed tolerances before the enclosure is installed; misalignment in the base reappears at the glass.
• Design canopy foundations now, even if the cover is a later phase.

Stage 3: steel structure and fixings

Posts or framed panels are fixed to the engineered foundation using the manufacturer's structural design for the site. UK guidance places particular emphasis on wind loading and corrosion protection. Galvanised steel, fabrication quality and the fixing schedule matter more than the frame colour.

Stage 4: glass, mesh and turf

• Glass: the LTA guidance allows 10mm indoors and specifies 12mm toughened glass outdoors. Panels and countersunk fixings must be individually compliant and installed without point loading.
• Mesh: weld-mesh fencing completes the enclosure and must meet the specified aperture, orientation and flush internal finish.
• Turf: a sand-dressed artificial-turf system is laid to the approved specification, joined and infilled evenly so ball behaviour is consistent.

Stage 5: lighting and commissioning

The current SAPCA code sets 300 lux average with 0.5 uniformity for regional competition, school and recreational use, and 500 lux with 0.7 uniformity for national and international competition. The design should include a calculation grid, glare and spill control, and the electrical supply rather than treating lights as a late accessory.

Commissioning should record surface levels, drainage, glass alignment, lighting performance, net height, fixings and separate warranties for the court structure, glass, lighting and turf. Keep the as-built drawings and maintenance schedule with the handover pack.

How long construction takes

Published UK builder programmes cluster around six to twelve weeks on site after planning and procurement. S&C Slatter publishes a typical six-to-eight-week construction period, while Lofthouse allows roughly six to twelve weeks for turnkey work. Ground conditions, curing, access, weather and canopies move the finish date.

Five mistakes that become expensive later

1. Accepting a fixed-looking quote before the site has been surveyed.
2. Value-engineering the base while focusing on the visible court kit.
3. Designing a court without foundations for a future canopy.
4. Buying lighting without a calculation showing lux, uniformity and boundary spill.
5. Splitting responsibility for groundworks, enclosure and warranties without a clear interface schedule.

Choosing who builds it

Use the UK builder comparison to check what each contractor publishes, then send one common project brief for quotes. The useful comparison is not the lowest headline price; it is which contractor owns the survey, base, structure, lighting, handover and defects path under one defined scope.

For the commercial numbers behind the scope, read the padel court cost guide. Planning normally starts before the on-site programme; the planning permission guide explains the evidence councils ask for.