Okay, here’s my blog post about assembling that basketball court flooring:

Alright, so I finally tackled that project I’ve been putting off – putting down the new flooring for my indoor basketball practice area. I went with a “batten” system, which basically means there are these wooden strips (the battens) underneath the main floorboards. The top layer is hevea, which I guess is some kind of rubberwood, supposed to be good for this sort of thing.

Getting Started

First things first, I cleared out the entire space. This was a workout in itself! Moved all the old gym equipment, swept up a ton of dust, and made sure the concrete subfloor was as level as I could get it. I used some self-leveling compound in a few spots that were really uneven.

Laying Down the Battens

Next up, I laid out the battens. These were long, thin pieces of wood, and I had to space them out evenly across the floor. I used a measuring tape and chalk lines to make sure everything was straight and parallel. It kinda felt like drawing a giant grid on the floor.

• Measured and marked the batten positions.
• Cut some of the battens to fit the space.
• Used construction adhesive to glue the battens to the concrete. I also used some concrete screws for extra hold.

This part was a little tedious, I am not gonna lie. Lots of bending over, and my back was definitely feeling it by the end of the day.

Assembling the Floorboards

Once the battens were all set and the adhesive had dried (I gave it a full 24 hours, just to be safe), I started laying down the actual hevea floorboards. These boards had a tongue-and-groove system, so they kinda clicked together.

I started in one corner and worked my way across the room, row by row. Used a rubber mallet to tap the boards together and make sure they were snug. For the edges, I had to use a jigsaw to cut the boards to fit. I used wood glue among panels.

• Clicked the boards together (tongue and groove).
• Tapped them with a mallet for a tight fit.
• Cut boards to size for the edges.

This stage went a lot faster than the batten part, which was a relief. Seeing the floor actually take shape was super satisfying!

The Final Touches

After all the floorboards were down, I installed some baseboards around the perimeter of the room to cover up the gaps between the flooring and the walls. Used a nail gun for this, which was pretty fun, to be honest. Made me feel like a real carpenter.

Finally, I cleaned up the whole area, vacuumed up all the sawdust, and gave the floor a good wipe-down. Then stood back, and enjoyed the accomplishment!.

It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. Now I’ve got a sweet indoor space to practice my jump shot. Time to get shooting!