Gallery of Our Family Photos
The New Pétanque Terrain
All images from our home: © James W. Blilie, 2014: All rights reserved
In July & August 2014, we had a Pétanque terrain built in our back yard in Shoreview. We really love it.
It was built by Goetz Landscaping in Centerville, MN. They did a superb job. The construction
details are below. Playing boules brings us back to Provence, at least for a little while.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
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Contrsution begins |
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Removing the flag pole foundation |
Removing the flag pole foundation |
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It's done! Mom, throwing out the first boules! |
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One of our young neighbors even came over to play |
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Basic
construction notes for our pétanque terrain:
The
playing surface is nearly perfect. The balls stick and roll very similar
to the terrains we’ve played on in Provence.
Construction:
From the bottom up:
4-5
inches of Class 5 and smaller (approximately half Class 5, half smaller),
heavily compacted
Layer
of landscaping cloth
1-2
inches of fine limestone dust (agricultural limestone*), compacted, on top of
the Class 5
Surround:
5” X 6” brown treated timbers, on edge, installed before the final fill of
Class 5 and limestone dust
Installed
with top of the timbers flush to the lawn (approximately: The surrounding
surface isn’t flat)
6-foot
wide playing surface, 32 feet long, rectangular (32’ is a pretty long throw
for most people)
The
timbers extend 2-3 inches above the playing surface to contain the boules
Underlying
all was a few more inches of compacted Class 5 & smaller (as a base for the
patio + court)
Our soil is mostly sand and drains very well. There are small gaps (approximately ¼-inch wide) between the timbers
to allow drainage from the
playing surface. In less well-drained soil, drain tile is advisable.
(*
http://www.braenstone.com/agricultural-limestone/
)
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9tanque
http://www.seattlepetanque.org/index.html
Federation
of Pétanque www.usapetanque.org
International Federation of Pétanque and Jeu Provençal www.fipjp.com
Where to buy boules
Playaboule
- A local source for casual/beginner boules www.playaboule.com
Pétanque America - A resource for information about the game and a source for
competition and beginner boules and accessories www.petanqueamerica.com
PétanqueShop - A wide selection of most French-made boules; mail-order from
Nantes, France
www.petanqueshop.com
Obut (France) - Excellent information on how to choose boule size, weight,
hardness, etc. and all things Obut
store.obut.com
Background image is Open Space at our house in Shoreview, 2002
Last updated: 17-Apr-2016
