How strong do you expect boards to be?

Concrete wall, freshly paint, on one side.


Wooden pallettes at every end. Could be better, but strong and easy to built.

The other long side is a concrete small step (maybe 2 ball high) with a chain fence.
Source for last photo, Niels Ackerman:
http://www.rezo.ch/selection/bikepoloprevna/index.html

Hay bales is actually an interesting idea. Google straw bale construction and look for ideas. I have looked at the construction, they pinned some together with rebar, and then pushed a wire through on a rod to sort of sew the wire fencing to the bales, then mortoar over it all. Everything I see is a home, so the top of the bales is covered by a roof. I guess rounded tops of the walls would shed water.

If you can figure a way to have a raised base, to keep the bottom bales from sitting in, and absorbing water, they will last a long time. Straw won't rot 'IF' kept dry. Maybe a bottom double row of cinder blacks as a base on the court, topped by bales?

There are hay bale homes in Nebraska still standing from homestead days over 100 years. Drought years dependant, straw bales are cheap. Unfortunately this is a drought year around this part of the country.

Stack the bales 3 high, sew on a cover of some free chain link fence/chicken wire/garden fence wire, coat with a few layers of mortar (smooth finish would be best) and it ought to make one heck of a wall.
Jeff

I found some straw bales @ $3.50 per bale, 30 miles west of town. I also found a guy locally with “loads of cinder blocks and red brick”.
I am waiting to hear back from him. I wrote and explained our project, that the project involves the City, we are poor, etc. $1.50 per block is his asking price.
Hey, I’m not proud, I want material to finish our polo court(s).

I have thought a bit more on the straw bale use since I last posted, here is my 2 cents.

Here is some straw bale information for those whose interest is perked but are not familiar with the product, except maybe having sat on it.
Straw is just the cellulose waste product of wheat, rice, and several other crop products.
Straw is not hay. Hay is livestock feed, straw has nothing in it, just cellulose best I know.
Building with straw is easy, at least as to how far one bale will cover, and how easy it is to build structures with limited skills.
Straw bales are most often seen in two different sizes;
2 stringer (2 wire) bales are 14 inches tall x 36 inches long x 18 inches wide @ 50 pounds or so per bale.
3 stringer (3 wire) bales are 16 inches tall x 48 inches long x 24 inches wide @ 80 pounds or so. per bale
2 stringer bales would probably be a better choice for wall construction at 30 pounds lighter weight per bale, give or take.
You get a longer bale with the 3 stringer, but the 2 inch height increase and 6 inch thickness increase aren’t worth the weight. I suppose someone will do the math and let us know on that comparison.
2 layers of 2 stringer straw bales on top of a double wide layer of cinder blocks gives you a wall that is very close to 3 feet high.
So, let’s say we have permission, build our rounded ends.
Lay out your wall on the court, and drill holes to drive rebar in the court for your twin width cinder block course. This way you can make bond beams of your entire cinder block base.
The rebar also is what attaches your first course of straw bales to your cinder block.
Day one you laid out your rounded walls, drilled your holes, and installed the block. This presumes a lot of help that knows that they are doing laying block, to accomplish 2 round walls in one day.
Day two stack your first course of straw bales on top of your block, and then the second course on top of that. Prior to laying your first layer of straw bales, it might be a good idea to lay your “chicken wire” on the top cinder block layer. Then set the straw bale layers, pull the chicken wire over the top and secure back through the first bale with wire.
If you are joining these straw bale walls to wafer board walls, now is the time to figure out how you will fix that large triangle mismatch where the wafer board meets the straw bales.
Easiest method comes to mind for me is to attach some of your wire under the end of your wafer board, and stuff some loose straw in what is now a wire covered triangle.
Start mixing your mortar to stucco your walls, and you can finish a stucco first coat in one day. That is if your mud mixers are dedicated, and the beverages are kept flowing.
As to attaching walls to tennis court chain link fences, I would advise using hat channels on the pipes, and then attach the stringers to those hat channels. I would also like to see C/A Board, or similar product that can have stucco applied to it as opposed to wafer board. I guess if you are creative enough, you can figure out how to stucco right to the chain link fence, and have a really super looking court on the cheap.
Don’t forget drain holes at regular intervals in your walls.
Jeff

Rick,
No not really. The stucco, really mortar in this case not a clay combination, is wire reinforced. I can't think of anything stucco in Pryor or Claremore that is not block reinforced as an example.

I think the stucco would scar up, paint and some chips will definately fly in a hard enough hit. It isn't going to be as hard as a conrete wall, nor hopefully as deadly.

I still think that best wall would be one made by attaching hat channels to the chain link fence posts, then 2 x 4 stringers on the hat channels. On the 2 x 4 stringers attach Kydex 1/4 inch thick.
Kydex, like I am thinking of, has a smooth side and Pebble finish side, both of which are vry slick. I would put the pebble finish side out, and hope the flex in the walls and the slickness of the product lessen the chance of injury to the players.
Again, 1/4 inch thick Kydex is around $200 per 4 x 8 sheet. I don't think the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is gonna help us out on this project. :)

All these ideas come down to safety, money, and durability.

I see those 16 inchwalls, those really make me wary. Especially when i see one 2 feet away from another one. Just one bad wreck.......

Ah well, just tossing out ideas on a Saturday, I would love to get the rounded end walls built, but I don't have agrand to let loose of for blocks and straw bales.

Let's keep bounding the idea around. Maybe a pool builder will pony up with gunnite ideas. That would be really fast, and hard.
Jeff

This sounds really, really sturdy. Which makes it sound kind of terrifying in the crashing into at speed and or 180lb/80kg checking me into it.

Nope, never met you Rick(?). I just noted your name (?) when in these forums.

I only just started playing polo for the past 2 or 3 weeks. Doesn't take me long to realise I like something, and launch into it full bore.

Has I found out about bike polo 30 years ago, I would have been 30 years into it now.

My son lives in Pryor.

I am guessing you are now up there with all them Jayhawkers (or was that an oops wrong college town).

Jeff

I bought a Hat Channel at Lowes so I could take a picture and let people see what these are.

It becomes real easy to see how you could have a wall building party when you are bolting up supports - the Hat Channels-, then bolting stringers to them - 2 x 4 - and then attaching whatever lumber makes your court walls using decking screws.

I have seen on craigslist in the past, free privacy fencing, you haul off, you tear down, etc. There would be a lot of useable material in a situation like that, with the Polo Club only investing gas and time on a weekend to accomplish the tear out.

In Tulsa's situation, someone needs to have a place to store the material until the day of the wall building party.

I just checked craigslist under free, just a few pallets, and all the way up in Vinita. Pallets would work as a substructure for some type of coating, as would old privacy fencing.

Think of pallet material or old privacy fence as lathe, like in lathe and plaster, except lathe/wire/plaster walls finished.

I noted in the Tulsa craigslist a few ads in materials "Wanted old privacy fence".

So, here are 2 pictures of a PGT2 Hat Channel for attaching horizontal fence stringers to 2 3/8 pipe, or fence posts.

I will take these tonight to insure they fit. As well as a 100' tape, chalk line, and project book to start trying to get the group to put plans on paper to make a presentation for a project approval.

As an aside, and so I am not stepping on anyone's toes, the group may well have plans, I just haven't seen them. I am a do'er and a motivator as I wrote someone, so let's get motivated. We can't get turned down until we get something on paper.
Jeff

Jeff, you are my new internet hero...