Okay, here’s my blog post about the LVL basketball court flooring project, written in a casual, first-person style:

Man, this project was a BEAST. But so satisfying in the end. It all started when my buddy asked if I could help him build a small basketball court in his backyard. He’d already gotten a concrete slab poured, but we needed to put down a proper playing surface. We looked at a bunch of options, those plastic tiles and stuff, but then he stumbled upon this LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) idea, and, well, we went for it.

Getting Started – The Materials

First thing, we hauled a TON of LVL planks. These things are like super-sized plywood, basically thin layers of wood glued together. They’re strong as heck, which is what you need for a bouncing basketball. We got them pre-cut to the right width, thank goodness, because cutting these would have been a nightmare.

Besides the LVL, we also grabbed:

• Construction adhesive – the heavy-duty stuff, not the regular kind.
• Screws – a LOT of screws, and they needed to be exterior grade.
• A vapor barrier – to keep moisture from the concrete from messing with the wood.
• Some kind of sealant – We went back and forth on this, finally settling on a polyurethane specifically designed for outdoor wood.

The Grunt Work – Laying It Down

The first step was rolling out the vapor barrier over the concrete. We overlapped the edges and taped them down to make sure it was sealed tight. This part was pretty easy, to be honest.

The real fun began with the LVL. We started at one edge of the slab and worked our way across. We applied a generous bead of adhesive to the back of each plank and then pressed it down onto the vapor barrier. To make sure they were really stuck, we also screwed them into the concrete below. We used a chalk line to mark the screw positions, and pre-drilled the holes to prevent wood splitting,this took a lot of time, I mean, A LOT.

It was slow going. We had to make sure each plank was perfectly aligned with the one next to it. Any gaps or unevenness would be a disaster. We used some spacers to maintain an even gap for expansion and contraction. My back was KILLING me by the end of the day.

The Finishing Touches

Once all the LVL was down, it was time to seal it. We cleaned the surface thoroughly and let it dry completely. Then, we applied the first coat of polyurethane with rollers and brushes. This was another tedious process, but at this point, the result had made this tedious process easier. We let it dry, then lightly sanded it, and applied a second coat. We actually ended up doing three coats, just to be extra sure it was protected.

The Result

After days of hard labor, we finally had a basketball court! It looked amazing. The smooth, even surface was perfect for dribbling, and the LVL felt incredibly solid underfoot. My buddy was ecstatic, and honestly, I was pretty proud of what we’d accomplished. It wasn’t a professional-grade court, but it was definitely good enough for some serious backyard games.

It’s been a few months now, and the court is holding up great. We’ve had some rain, some intense sun, and a lot of basketball action, and it still looks as good as new. Would I do it again? Maybe… if I had a few extra strong backs to help out!