Court Refurmishment

Dear Members,

The Club's plans to renovate and upgrade the two squash courts are finally coming to fruition and we can announce that the work is due to begin on Monday 20th April and last two weeks. Both courts will be closed during this period and no play will be possible on either court at any time. There are three main parts to the work to be carried out by Courtmasters ( one of leading squash court installers and refurbishers in the country):

- new Junckers flooring seated on laser levelled cradle system.

- resurfacing all the walls with Armourcoat plaster

- installation of LW radiant heaters

We think the current Junckers floors were laid sometime over 50yrs ago and have certainly had a good life but are clearly showing signs of significant wear, sloping and lifting with unsprung "dead" patches in certain areas. So it's also the undercarriages as much as the floors themselves which need replacing. Junckers floors are considered the best in the squash world and these new ones should last another 50yrs (which is more than can be said for the present Committee members).

Armourcoat Squash Plaster is the finest hard wall playing surface on the market. A high quality blend of alpha gypsum combined with resins and natural aggregates which has a unique combination of strength and smoothness to provide accurate playing surfaces that can withstand the constant pounding of balls and rackets. The walls are also unpainted which helps with cleaning maintenance and reduces the risk of wall condensation.

We all know on particularly cold winter days the hot water radiators are insufficient to heat the courts properly and so the Club will install Long Wave Radiant Heaters. (Two cassettes per court.) These are designed to raise the air temperature within the squash court and will also warm the floor and walls and do not rely on convection warming the air.(It will be almost like having the sun on your back!). The radiant cassettes do not produce any visible light output whatsoever and will be ceiling mounted. The heaters will be tamper proof, thermostatically controlled and timed to come on and off for the duration of the court booking as required.

Overall this will be a major onetime generational investment in Maidstone Squash Club. We will not see much change out of £50,000 and could make us the best place to play squash in Kent! Due to all these elements interacting together the courts will play very differently becoming faster and truer and will be a completely new experience. We will just need to all raise our own games to really appreciate them but whatever your ability they will be a real pleasure and privilege to play on.

Once we are into April there will be confirmation on the exact court closure dates and re-opening in case of any last minute changes from CourtMasters, our chosen installer.

We are also looking to hold some sort of inaugural club competition to celebrate the new courts when re-opened. More on this later.

Exciting times!

Maidstone Squash Club

03/03/2026