Why I started with this basketball floor thing

So, a couple months back, my buddy Mike asked me to help set up a court in his garage. He’s a big basketball fan and wanted something decent for pickup games. I thought, “Why not?” But man, I had no clue about floors. I just figured any wood would do, but turns out I was dead wrong. After some quick searching and asking around, I heard oak is the real deal for this stuff—super tough and gives that nice grip for running around. Plus, Mike mentioned the rubber bits for less shock. Made sense for our clumsy jumps.

Picking the wood and rubber junk

I looked up some options online and hit up a local store. The guy there showed me oak and rubber wood panels. Oak seemed shiny and heavy, but the rubber wood was cheaper and felt springy. I remembered reading that moisture can ruin wood fast, so I grabbed a few samples and did this stupid water test—sprinkled drops to see if they soaked in or beaded up. The oak was better, barely soaking anything. Good sign. For rubber, I took some pieces that looked thick and bendy. I even laid 10 panels flat on Mike’s garage floor, pushed ’em together to check gaps. Most fit tight, but one had a crack I tossed out. Saved me headaches later.

Hauling it all and getting ready

I loaded the oak planks and rubber pads into my truck—things weighed a ton. Seriously, my back still hurts. I got tools like a level, nails, and some glue. Then, I started on Mike’s cement floor. First, I slapped down these rubber mats he bought. They had little feet for bouncing, which I thought was smart. Then, I built the base with wooden beams—straight pieces to hold everything. I measured twice and cut once, but still messed up a beam. Had to run back for another one. Took hours just to get it all straight.

The big mess of putting it together

Time to lay the oak panels. I started at one end, hammering each piece to the beams. Easy, right? Nope. The first few didn’t line up right, and the gaps were big. I grumbled and re-did it. Used the level about 20 times to keep it flat. After a few rows, I hit another snag—the rubber pads underneath shifted. I cursed and pulled panels up to fix it. Got some glue to stick them down better. Mike was laughing at my sweat and swear words. Eventually, it clicked, and I locked the last pieces with these notch things. Whole room looked like a puzzle.

Checking if it actually worked

After a week, I brought a basketball to test it. Dribbled hard—no slippage, even on sweat spots. Then, I dropped the ball—bounced high like a pro court. Mike jumped and landed soft—no jarring shocks. I had a beer and thought, “Not bad for an amateur.” But here’s the kicker: one panel started creaking after heavy use. Probably my fault for not measuring the beams right. I ended up replacing it later. Still, the oak surface held up nice against shoes scraping all over.

What I learned from this chaos

This whole project was a grind, but worth it. Choosing oak and rubber worked great for bounce and grip. Just:

• Always test wood for dryness—wet pieces warp easy.
• Make sure your base beams are perfect before you start hammering.
• Expect screw-ups and extra trips to the store.

If you’re doing this, don’t overthink it. Stick with simple oak and rubber combos, ignore the fancy terms, and just dive in. You’ll save cash and get a killer court without hiring pros.