Okay, here’s my experience with assembling a keel basketball maple wooden floor, written in a casual, personal blog style:

So, I finally got around to tackling that project I’ve been putting off forever – installing a new wooden floor in my home basketball “court” (it’s more like a glorified half-court, really). I went with maple because, well, it’s the classic choice, and I wanted that authentic feel. I also decided to do a keel system, cause I read some things online.

Getting Started

First things first, I cleared out the entire space. This was a workout in itself! Moved all the old furniture, ripped up the sad, old carpet that was there before, and swept up a decade’s worth of dust bunnies. I highly recommend wearing a mask for this part, unless you enjoy coughing up ancient dirt.

The Keel Arrived

Then came the keel. When it arrived I didn’t really know what to do. But I managed to find a place to put it.

The Maple Arrived

Next, the maple arrived. It was a mountain of beautiful, pale wood. Honestly, I spent a good ten minutes just admiring it. I ordered pre-finished planks, because ain’t nobody got time to sand and finish an entire floor themselves. Plus, I’m clumsy, and I could see myself messing that up big time.

Laying Down the Keel (the tricky part!)

Now for the actual installation. I started by laying down the keel. This stuff is super important for providing support, ventilation, and that nice, bouncy feel you want in a basketball court. I used some construction adhesive and some heavy-duty nails to secure it to the subfloor (which, thankfully, was already in pretty good shape).

• Measure twice, cut once. Seriously, this saved me so much headache. I double-checked all my measurements before making any cuts to the keel.
• Leave some space! I made sure to leave a small expansion gap around the perimeter of the room. Wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity, and you don’t want your floor buckling.

Time to Place the floor!

Once the keel was in place, it was time to start laying down the maple planks. This was actually the fun part. I started in the center of the room and worked my way outwards, using a rubber mallet to gently tap the planks together. They had this tongue-and-groove system, so they fit together pretty snugly. Again, I made sure to leave that expansion gap around the edges.

Nearly there!

I rented a flooring nailer, which made the job a lot easier. It’s basically a specialized nail gun that drives nails at the perfect angle into the tongue of each plank. If you’re doing a big area, I definitely recommend renting one. It’ll save your arms and your sanity.

The Finishing Touches

After all the planks were nailed down, I installed some baseboards around the perimeter to cover up the expansion gap and give it a nice, finished look. I also added a coat of polyurethane sealer, just to give the floor some extra protection against spills and scuffs.

And that’s it! My new basketball floor was complete. It took a few weekends of solid work, and there were definitely some moments where I questioned my life choices, but in the end, it was totally worth it. It looks amazing, it feels great underfoot, and now I can finally practice my jump shot without worrying about tripping over loose carpet fibers. Plus, I did it all with me, myself and I.