Backyard Dream

[theflyingkorean]

Okay, lets say that I would theoretically have the space for a 150ft runway and pads in my backyard. How much would it cost to get cement layed down and rubber rollout + box + pits + standards? If someone with pervious experience could chime in, that would be great. I will take any opinion though. Thanks

[lonestar]

Depends on what you can find and for how much. You can go the cheap route or the expensive. Here's what I have in mine:

Pit: new 22' x 26' Elite Athletics Pit - $9000.00
Runway: no concrete, 130' board - $1000.00
Surface: used conveyor belt, donated for free from local concrete quarry
Standards: Gill 7140 National aluminum - $2400.00
Box: built for free by welder friend

Now, if you can find a used pit cheap, you can save most of your money there. Don't know how much concrete is or how much you would need, but I used boards so that I could sell the house someday and take the runway with me. You could also find used standards or build your own. Conveyor belt isn't too hard to come by either and makes for a fast running surface. I've got between 12-15k in mine, but I'm sure you could do it for much less than that.

Good luck!

[thornhillj]

I'll tell you what I had. For one, I have a very handy father. He can build just about anything. The standards were built out of old rusted square tubing found in an old junk pile. The runway was made of 2 x 4 's layed across a wooden frame (that he also built) buried in the ground. The top was covered with roofing tar paper (simply for a weathering purpose since we get so much rain in West Texas) and then by the same surface that lonestar mentioned. My pit was Don Hood Sr's old indoor pit purchased for about $200 if i remember correctly. It was small so I went to an old matress warehouse and they basically gave me about 10 old matresses. Finally, the box was welded together by again, my handy father. So, my point is that it can be done for cheap........obviously, it wont be as high quality as the Lone Star Pole Vault club's is, but if you are po' folk like me, it can be done for $1000 or less. If you are willing to shell out the cash, then go for it. Otherwise, just ask around....local coaches, post on beccas wonderful site....somebody's got some old junk laying around somewhere. oh and mad props to kris's sweet get-up. will definitely have to make it down for a SWT (not TSU!) vault reuinion or something this year if the old busted hammy from nationals is holding up.

[Bruce Caldwell]

If you make the ground hard you can get a roll out runway or a conveyor belt staked to run on with spikes.

Find a school that has an illegal pit tell them you can get them a special deal on an ESSX pit that exceeds the rule specifications if they let you haul their old pit away for free or for $500.00 as scrap to relieve them of any liablilty.

Build standards or buy some the cheapest ones I have seen are blazer or olympia sports.

Stake the standards in the ground so you can use a bungee.

Earl Bell has a regulation box for sale rust proof about $175.00

http://www.bellathletics.com

This is the most economical way, Of course if you got the jack the lonestar way is the best

[vaultdad]

Never discount cheap if you can actually use it.

you can mount the standards on 2X6's 6' or 8' long at each end of the standard and slide them under the front buns and they will not tip over, plus they can be broken down and moved easily.

Soda crates from Coke tied together with wire ties 3 longways and 1 across makes a dandy skid to lift the mats off the ground and they don't rot. Plus they stack up to take up less space.

Plastic skid with solid tops work better, but are usually not free. ATV's and Motorcycles, and Snow toys type stuff are sometimes shipped on these. The point is, they dont rot or break easily.

You can get "minus" from the quarry, and tamp it in place or rent a tamper or roller and with a little water, you have near concrete strength unless you live near a tropical monsoon area. That's how roadways are built today, only on a grander scale. Remember, you have to remove the grass and dirt first to about 5-6" depth. If you do this really well, you can get bags of asphalt patch and cover it if you want to. But it's just additional cost. Be aware such an endeavor may bring up some issues with your homeowners policy.

If you REALLY want to use them, Make sure the extra "mattresses" are really mattresses and not BEDSPRINGS. You could probably wrap them in 6 mil plastic from a farm supply or Home Depot temporarily. Maybe waterbeds would be a better choice except for the spikes! Be aware they all rot easily and often become a home to a lot of things you probably don't want near a home, smellwise, rodent-wise or otherwise. I recommend finding at least two older pits or a HJ and PV pit and putting the pieces together.

As Bruce said, there are a lot of older pieces floating around out there. The older Blazer stuff got replaced pretty quickly due to their original design, and a lot of schools still have them up stuck up in the rafters of their storage buildings. that's where I got mine.

One suggestion, if you can find an indoor soccer park that has the space, you might talk them into lettng you use a raised runway and pits on slack soccer days. And their facility probalbly already has the liability insurance that it needs to operate.

[achtungpv]

If you're looking to do to it on the cheap, I would start calling state universities. Since the old pits are state property, they are required to attempt to auction old property off before disposal (in TX anyway). Most universities have 2-3 auctions a year. You can usually get the auction dates and list of items from the purchasing dept or warehouse. UT auctioned off 3 or 4 old Olympic size pits back in the early 90s for $50-100 each. Even if you have to drive to pick it up, the largest UHaul or trailer rental is thousands cheaper than a new pit.

As far as standards go, the cheap Blazer model will still run you $1K, you might as well fork over an extra $100 and get the port-a-pit standards. SWT & Elmore both have these and they are the most durable standards I've ever seen...far more heavy duty than any model from the top two manufacturers and at least $1K cheaper.

[Bruce Caldwell]

thanks achtungpv your right!

I designed those when I was at PORTaPIT.
The were an upgrade copy of the real expensive UCS standards with a few changes.
Mainly Looks and function.
They are of good value. I think Stackhouse has made aknock off of it have not seen the new one yet but you cna go to
http://www.stackhouseathletic.com to look

[swtvault]

As far as standards go, the cheap Blazer model will still run you $1K, you might as well fork over an extra $100 and get the port-a-pit standards. SWT & Elmore both have these and they are the most durable standards I've ever seen...far more heavy duty than any model from the top two manufacturers and at least $1K cheaper

.

No kidding! We got those Porta-Pit standards my sophmore year of college and those things took more abuse than anything I have even seen. I would bet they have been in the sun and getting poured on for five years straight with no break! They've been tipped over, landed on, stabbed by javelins, endured hurricanes, buried in the mud, and jumped on by decathletes! Despite all this, those standards work just as good as they did when they came out of the box! The new Pacer standards I have seen break every month and cost 1000 more than those standards. Tye Harvey has a real good design too! If I am not mistaken EB's standards are the Tito model![/quote]

[lonestar]

Tye Harvey has a real good design too! If I am not mistaken EB's standards are the Tito model!

EB's standards kick a**! His base pads in the building are a cool design too!

[theflyingkorean]

Thanks for all the imput fellas It's not like im building one anytime soon, but who knows!