levelling ground for basketball court

[Oseum]

Since my parents wont let me hire anyone to level the ground out and put concrete out, I am stuck with playing on dirt.

The problem is the dirt I am playing on has a large hill. This hill is about 2ft tall and about 4ft in diameter and the ground behind this hill slopes down below the level of my playing ground.

On the other side I have a fence where the ground slopes down to and causes very hard dribbling conditions. I was thinking of digging up the hill and eyeballing a level field and then use the dirt to level to low spots. Is there any other way yall can think of.

When facing the goal it looks liek this:

------------ | Hoop | ------|------ | /--------\\ | -------------|---------/ hill \\ |--/ ground \\---------- /\\fence

It may not be to that severity, but you get the picture.

[Doug Kanter]

Stay tuned late tonight or tomorrow - I have an idea for you, but I have to make dinner now.

[David Martel]

Oseum,

Why "eyeball" the level? You can make a water level out of cheap, clear, plastic tubing. Select one spot as the reference height and measure the height of your court in a 3' X 3' grid. Once you know the height of the of the court in various spots you can decide which spots need to be raised or lowered. Then get a wheelbarrow, rake, pick, tamper and shovel. Don't forget to crown the court slightly so water drains off. You'll need some extra dirt since even with tamping the filled spots will settle.

Dave M.

[Doug Kanter]

Cool idea (the water level thing)!

[Doug Kanter]

Here's an idea I saw mentioned for laying paving stones with a base of sand, no cement. This was from a magazine article I saw several years back, so I'm sorry if this sounds a bit vague.

Imagine a small patio area. You line the edges temporarily with long 2x4s on edge, sunk into the ground. Use a long bubble level to make sure the wooden things are level. They will act sort of like train tracks for the next wooden thing: Another piece of wood which reaches from one side of the patio area to the other, riding on the 2x4s previously installed. You notch this moving piece of wood so it can reach a bit below the upper edges of the "tracks". As you move it along the tracks, it wipes the sand into a flat surface.

Does this make sense? The moving wood is acting sort of like a squeegee on a wet window. If the soil your working with is dry enough, you should be able to smooth it like sand, although not quite as easily. And, for your large area, you'd obviously need a person on each end of the "squeegee".

[David Martel]

Doug,

I'll take the credit but I did not invent the water level. Still for a teenager it's a lot easier than a hand transit or trigonometry.

Dave M.

[Doug Kanter]

This leads to the next thought - why isn't PVC pipe clear - at least the fittings where clogs are most likely to occur? :-)

[Oseum]

I like these ideas, but I am thinking this through and I am thinking I wont have enough dirt to level out all that I want.

What would be best to use as a filler?

About a year ago we bout this gravel that looks like marble sized gravel and when you try to bounce a basketball on it that basketball comes back up to you; I believe it is just because we have too much in one area.

Also I am thinking this, using the 3x3 grid and using the "squeege" idea on each 3x3 grid

[Doug Kanter]

3x3 doesn't sound like enough of a space for playing hoops! And, instead of gravel, is there any reason you couldn't use cement? Or, how about large paving stones? Level the carefully and put them close enough together, on sand, and you might have yourself a nice surface to play on.

[David Martel]

Oseum,

If you are happy with a dirt court then getting fill dirt will not be too hard or expensive. I thought your main problem was a hill or mound on the court. The hill would be the first place to look for dirt. There may be other places on your property to get dirt. Maybe your parents could use a dry well on the property for drainage or laundry use. If you dig the hole I bet they'll let you have the dirt.

Dave M.