Teepads: How to for Dummies... Photos?

[Fatbackbob]

I am interested in getting a group together this summer to make teepads for a number of holes around town that don't have them.

I have seen and heard so many options for doing this and I would like to hear from the course designers on DGCR. What is the "best" way to make a teepad that will hold up for years. One that will play when it's wet.

I played five amazing courses in Iowa this weekend and the last one I played was Wildcat Bluff in Urbana, IA. They had something I have never seen before. They had tiles made of bricks that were boxed in with 2X4's...

You can kind of see them in the photo below.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z32/FatbackBob/bricks.jpg

Please help with a "How to" or important things to not forget when making the teebox.

Thanks!

[esdubya]

http://www.discgolfassoc.com/installation/tee-pad-install.html

[bcr123psu]

Pavers:

http://www.wikihow.com/Install-Pavers

Make sure everything is level and has been thoroughly compacted.

[basketcase15]

the brick thing would be easy, its like laying a small path in ur backyard

[Discette]

http://www.innovadiscs.com/course/tee-installation.html

[moose-mdg]

only problem with brick pavers is they will need some repair .....especially in cold climates ....or really wet climates....you will have to pull them up , clean and compact again and again.....

[bcr123psu]

Exactly. Pavers are easy to do from a step-by-step perspective, but they can get tedious/laborious to install and do require maintenance as the ground underneath heaves/settles.

[Fatbackbob]

Thanks for all of the helpful links guys!

How do pavers play in wet conditions compared to concrete?

[moose-mdg]

the pavers in the pic you showed are concrete.....they are not true brick which can be slick....you can use concrete and finish the top with a rough brush or whatever kind of finish you like to make it not slippery...

[esdubya]

Thanks for all of the helpful links guys!

How do pavers play in wet conditions compared to concrete?

I think they do fine assuming everything is level and well maintained.

May not be an issue in TN, but in MI we have to do a lot of shoveling and picking at the pads during the winter, and pavers would be subject to cracking and breaking under the stress of shoveling, salting and freeze/thaw cycles. I haven't seen any courses with them up here. Again, they may be fine in Tennessee.. Just make sure you build a good substrate to minimize settling.

[MiketheGoalie]

As someone who is knowledgeable in concrete, I can point to several things that you need to keep in mind if you're going to do concrete pads. The sub-grade (whatever you're putting your concrete on) needs to be level, compacted, and free of organics as much as possible. I recommend excavating the top 2-4" of the native soil, compacting the footprint of your pad as much as possible and then build a form out of 2x6's in the shape of your pad. For a pad about 7 feet long, make the pad at least 3.5 to 4' wide to keep the aspect ratio as close to 1/5-to-1 as practical. Cover the bottom with 2-3" of the footprint with gravel and compact again.

You should be around the bottom of your form after this process. Pour 4-6 inches of 3,500 psi (minimum) concrete mix into the form, vibrate to remove air voids, and level. You can attach chamfer strips to the inside of the forms at the top level of your pad to provide nice, smooth corners. It's a good idea to throw some 4x4 steel mesh or a grid of #3 rebar in there with at about 2" of concrete above and below the bars. You can use cement blocks as cheap rebar chairs if necessary. This reinforcing isn't for strength, it's to control cracking. All concrete cracks, but the reinforcement will prevent the cracks from growing too much. A stiff broom (pushbroom usually) that has been wetted can then be used to provide a roughened finish to the pad shortly after leveling of the concrete has been done (It's actually called a broom finish).

For cold weather climates where you may be using de-icing salts on the pads, I highly recommend an air-entrained concrete mix to help the pad weather much better than a mix with little to no air. 5-6% on a 4,000 psi mix should be adequate.