Okay so I wanted a basketball court in my backyard real bad. My kids kept bugging me about it and I figured hey, how hard could it be? Boy was I clueless. Started calling contractors last month and damn near choked when they gave me quotes.
First dude said “$20 per square foot minimum” for basic concrete slab. I’m sitting there measuring my yard – 50 by 30 feet means 1,500 square feet. Quick math: that’s already thirty grand just to pour freakin concrete! And I haven’t even added hoops or lines or anything yet.
The real sticker shock
Started digging into details and found out the concrete is actually the cheap part. The real costs pile up with:
- Site prep like excavating and dirt work ($3-$7 per sq ft)
- Special sports flooring options instead of plain concrete (adds $5-$28 per sq ft!)
- Painting lines and logos ($1-$4 per sq ft)
- Lighting for night games ($2k-$10k extra)
- Hoops and nets ($600-$5,000 per unit)
Talked to another contractor who swore asphalt would save me money. Got all excited till he mentioned asphalt courts need resurfacing every 5 years minimum. That’s another $2-$4 per sq ft maintenance cost he “forgot” to mention upfront. These guys kill me with hidden fees.
My dumb DIY attempt
Figured I’d save cash doing it myself. Rented a cement mixer from Home Depot, bought bags of concrete mix. Absolute disaster. Wasted $800 just learning concrete sets way faster than YouTube videos show. Ended up with this lumpy mess in my yard looking like the moon surface. Kids started calling it “asteroid alley” instead of basketball court.
Finally caved and hired professionals last week. Signed contract for hybrid surface – concrete base with that rubbery top layer. Final damage? $25 per square foot installed. Total hit about $37,500 for everything:
- Base construction: $19.5k
- Acrylic surfacing: $4.5k
- Two pro-style hoops: $3.5k
- LED lighting: $7k
- Random crap like permits and edge trim: $3k
Thing is my neighbor installed same size court ten years ago paying $8 per square foot. Shows how crazy inflation’s gotten. Honestly makes me wish I’d put in that swimming pool instead – at least when you screw up pool costs it’s obvious!
