UPDATE: Click to see the lights I’ve installed

Welcome to Camanooch’s Bocce Court

My name is Carmine D’Agostino and I put this together to share my bocce court building adventure for someone contemplating a backyard bocce court. I built the court myself with some helping hands along the way from family and friends. I began the project in the spring of 2006 realizing it would be a lot of work but rewarding in the end. I chipped away at it throughout the summer and after a lot of hard work, headaches and backaches, it was finally completed in the early fall. I’m currently working on court lighting for night play and hope to add these photos in the future. We broke in the court with a few gatherings and all the work was well worth the fun.

A little about myself: I made my appearance in 1963; I'm a Fire Captain with the City of Newton (Massachusetts) Fire Department; Married since 1989 to the former Maria Antonietta Rotondo of Italy; We have two children; Alberto and Gabriella and make our home in Franklin, Massachusetts.

D’Agostino Family

I’ve wanted to build a bocce court for the longest time. Playing bocce on a grass surface is okay but it’s just not the same as it is on a court. I read The Joy of Bocce by Mario Pagnoni to get some tips and ideas. It’s a great book with a lot of information. Mario is from Methuen Massachusetts.

The great thing I find about this game is that anyone can play. You can’t say that about many sports. If you can give that ball a toss, you’re all set. At a bocce get together, no one is left out of the game unless they choose to be. If you’ve never played before, you just need a few minutes to learn the rules and throw some practice balls to get the feel of the court. I find most people get hooked on this sport after playing just once.

It was getting late in the season, but the forecast showed a cool but decent day on October 25, 2006. I decided to invite “Mr. Bocce” Mario Pagnoni to my house to see my court, play bocce, eat home made pasta and drink wine. That’s what bocce is all about. I never thought he would actually come being so busy in his superstar status. He not only came, but also brought along his entourage consisting of his lovely wife Carmela, and his good friends Tony and Barbara Furnari. They were a pleasure to have at our home and along with our friends and neighbors, we all had a great time.

The following photos chronicle the construction process and Mario’s visit to our home. I put this together quickly and will be updating it as I learn more about website building.

I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions at carmine_maria@verizon.net

Thanks for stopping by and you’re visitor number: 46025

Photo 1

I decided on a court size of 76 feet x 12 feet. The excavation lines were marked slightly larger than the actual court dimensions to leave room for the 6 x 6 pressure treated timbers that would border the court. The process began in the early spring by transplanting two dormant trees and moving the sprinkler pipe that was buried within the court borders.

Photo 2

I rented a mini excavator from 495 Rental Center in Milford MA to remove approximately thirty cubic yards of loam. I needed to dig down one foot. The problem was that below that one-foot level was another foot of compacted soil as hard as cement. This was no surprise due to previous digging projects in the back yard and seeing the poor drainage on that side of the back lot. I had to do this right or I would have a swimming pool for a bocce court when it rained. I broke through this compacted soil, loosened up everything, and then backfilled leaving a one foot hole. I planned on filling the hole with about 8 inches of crushed stone for drainage and 4 inches of stone dust for the playing surface.

Photo 3

I finished squaring off the hole by hand.

Photo 4

I had to bring in 30 tons/yards of crushed stone for the drainage. I could have had it delivered and dumped on my driveway, but it would have taken me a lot of time and Advil to wheel barrel it into the pit. I decided to build a ramp and use a small truck to back in one small load at a time. I sank in 6 x 6 timbers under where the truck wheels roll over.

Photo 5

Wood sheathing is screwed on top to stabilize the ramp.

Photo 6

Backing in Little Peppe while hanging on to my “Bocce Balls”. I had thoughts of flipping over while backing in. I borrowed Little Peppe from my brother John. It’s a Chevy pick up with a dump body mounted to it. This was a lifesaver throughout the project.

Photo 7

The first of 15 trips (2 tons at a time) dumped with success. I spent the day going back and forth to Metcalf Materials in Franklin MA. The guys at Metcalf were a great help.

Photo 8

I initially removed the loam with the intent on piling it up and worrying about of it later. Well, now it’s time to get rid of it. I borrowed the tractor from my brother John and, with his help, brought most of it off to a friend of Maria’s using it as landfill in her backyard. My neighbor James Leofante was along for the ride.

Photo 9

Little Peppe back in action to help with the loam removal. This 1994 Chevy truck has a million miles on it, and the snot kicked out of it, but keeps on going. The individual piles of crushed stone are waiting to be spread. You can see my court leveling blocks spread out along the edges, which I describe in the following photos.

Photo 10

I was thinking on how to level the court when the timbers were set. Double-stacked 6 x 6 timbers weigh a ton and trying to shim that level would not be fun. I thought of a leveling system that could be adjusted in small amounts with ease. It consists of two 4 x 4 pressure treated blocks, Simpson Strong-Tie brackets, a 4-inch length of ½ inch diameter threaded rod and two ½ inch nuts.

Photo 11

A ½ inch hole was drilled into each block allowing the threaded rod to move freely during adjustment. My idea was to be able to turn the nuts toward each other to collapse the block or away from each other to expand the block. This would raise or lower the timbers to the desired level.

Photo 12

I set a patio block and an adjustment block down at each timber joining point. This first layer of timbers is set upon the adjustment blocks and the court is checked for square and given a rough leveling. These timbers will eventually be buried. When I made the adjustment blocks, I left the threaded rod with two inches of exposed thread. This allowed for plenty of adjustment in case it was needed during the final leveling process.

Photo 13

The second layer of timbers would be exposed above ground and will be the ones that the bocce balls will bounce off of. My friend and neighbor, Giulio Coppola, is shown on the left helping me drop in the second layer. Giulio was a great help and is the self-proclaimed bocce champion of the Sons of Italy in Watertown, MA. I decided to assemble the two layers together using 10-inch long ½ inch diameter lag screws. It cost more for the screws but it was much better than sledge hammering spikes. The screws draw the timbers together tight while keeping them aligned with each other.

Photo 14

My son Alberto zips down the screws tight with my air compressor and impact wrench, which made installation a breeze. Some of the timbers had some warping which is to be expected. We just used bar clamps to hold everything in place before tightening the lag screws.

Photo 15

My neighbor James Leofante again lending a hand. Hey, I’ll take any help I can get. This kid would always come over to watch and help if he could.

Photo 16

After the timbers were all screwed together, I then drilled holes every 4 feet and drove in 3-foot lengths of 1/2-inch diameter rebar into the ground for lateral stabilization.

Photo 17

Now I’ll give the court a final leveling. I bought this transit when I installed my pool fence and it has come in handy for a few projects.

Photo 18

I got my wife Maria to be my “Stick Chick” and we checked the 12 points where an adjustment block was located. I turned the nuts up or down, as necessary, with a wrench until all the points were within level of each other. Since the court was already rough leveled, I only needed to adjust the blocks a ¼-inch up or down at most. The adjustment blocks worked perfectly.

Photo 19

Giulio lends a hand spreading the crushed stone.

Photo 20

The crushed stone is packed under and against the first layer of timbers thus forever burying the adjustment blocks.

Photo 21

Giulio on the left and myself taking a break. I remember it was brutally hot that particular day.

Photo 22

The crushed stone is compacted and a three-step backboard was then added to each end.

Photo 23

I applied Trex composite decking to the top surface of the 6 x 6 timbers for a splinter free durable surface. If left exposed, the top surface would take a beating from the foot traffic and the elements of weather over time. It was costly, but I thought it was well worth it and it looks good.

Photo 24

The backboard also serves as a nice spot to sit while watching the action.

Photo 25

Using Little Peppe to pick up 13 yards/tons of stone dust, a few tons at a time. I read about the various playing surfaces used for bocce but decided on the stone dust because it is relatively inexpensive and easily found.

Photo 26

Weed block is applied between the crushed stone and the stone dust.

Photo 27

Maria lends a hand spreading the stone dust.

Photo 28

Using a 2 x 4 to screed the stone dust. With the court being level, we just followed the bottom edge of the exposed 6 x 6 timber. This edge was going to be the top of the playing surface.

Photo 29

Giulio is compacting the stone dust with me adding water to aid the compaction. The compacter was lent to me courtesy of my daughter’s godfather, Ciro Zottola (the best tile/marble man in the business and a heck of a bocce player). We initially applied 3 inches of stone dust before the compacting began. The stone dust compacted one inch so we reapplied another inch to bring it back up to the desired level.

Photo 30

Giulio borrowed this drag mat from the Sons of Italy where he’s a member. It took out any high spots and works great for the initial application of court surface material. It looks like a section of the roll up fence grate used in the front of stores when they close up for the day.

Photo 31

Giulio gives the court surface a final groom. I bought this drag brush because it’s a must have for fine grooming the court between each play. I was pleased with the way the stone dust surface came out.

Photo 32

Friend’s courts that I’ve played on in the years past have had these angle boards. I enjoy these so I’ve installed them in mine. These are not always done as Mario talks about in his book. In back yard bocce, I like to play a wide-open game where everything, including the backboard and corners are live.