Okay, so I’ve been wanting to upgrade my home gym for a while, and the flooring was the biggest thing. I decided to go with a batten system, basketball-style, using larch wood. It seemed like a big project, but I was up for the challenge!

Getting Started

First, I measured the room like a million times. Seriously, measure twice (or ten times!), cut once. I wanted to make sure I had enough wood and everything else.

Then, I ordered all the materials. This was a bit of a pain, figuring out how many battens, how much larch flooring, and all the little bits and pieces. I ended up with:

• Enough larch floorboards to cover the entire room (plus extra, just in case!)
• Wooden battens, enough to create a grid across the floor
• Screws, lots and lots of screws!
• Wood glue
• A vapor barrier (to protect against moisture)

The Build

I started by laying down the vapor barrier. Just rolled it out and taped it down. Easy peasy.

Next, the fun part – building the batten grid. I laid out the battens, spacing them evenly across the floor. This took some time, making sure they were all level and straight. Lots of crawling around on the floor!

Once the battens were in place, I secured them to the subfloor. I used both wood glue and screws, just to be extra sure they wouldn’t * and suspenders approach!

With the batten grid complete, it was time for the flooring. I started in one corner, carefully fitting the larch boards together. I used a rubber mallet to gently tap them into place. Some of them needed a little trimming with a saw to fit perfectly.

I continued laying the floorboards, row by row, making sure they were tight against each other. It’s kind of like a giant jigsaw puzzle. It took a while, my knees were killing me, but it was slowly starting to look like a real basketball court!

Finishing Up

After all the floorboards were down, I installed baseboards around the edges to give it a clean, finished look.

Finally, I stood back and admired my work. It was a lot of effort, but totally worth it. My home gym looks amazing, and the new floor feels fantastic underfoot. Ready for some serious workouts (and maybe a little bit of basketball)!