Alright folks, today’s adventure was all about my old hardwood basketball court – yeah, the one gathering dust in that huge side yard. Needed it gone, plain and simple. Decided selling it was the way to go. Didn’t realize it’d be a whole thing.

First Up: The Inspection

Dragged my lazy butt out there with a flashlight and a notepad. Honestly, forgot how big the darn thing was. Kneeled down, fingers running over the maple. Mostly solid, thank goodness. Saw some spots where the finish was worn thin as cheap paint, especially around the free-throw line. Figures. Found a couple of boards near the baseline that felt… spongy. Ugh. Moisture damage, probably. Great.

Whipped out my phone, snapped pics like crazy. Close-ups of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly cracks. Measured everything – length, width, every damn board that looked suspicious. Needed honest listing, right? Took me most of the morning just crawling around on that thing. Back protested loudly.

The Fix-Up Attempt

Okay, tried to salvage those weak boards. Pulled out tools I hadn’t touched in years. Got my hands dirty trying to pry up a section. Damn screws fought back hard. Managed to yank out one short piece near the end. Looked worse underneath than on top – kinda rotten. Felt pointless trying to fix just that bit. Figured any buyer with half a brain would either see past it or plan on replacing sections anyway. Tossed the tools aside. Not worth the blood and sweat.

Pricing Headache

Sat at the kitchen table staring at my scribbled notes and phone pics. How much is used hardwood court even worth? Used wood. Looked online. Prices were all over the place. Some listings wanted a fortune for worse shape, others were practically giving it away. Got real frustrating. Ended up landing on a price that felt low but kinda realistic for ‘as-is, you haul it’. Made my peace with not striking gold here.

Listing Time & Buyer Nonsense

Cracked open a soda and tackled the ad. Wrote down everything:
Size: Whole damn court.
Material: Solid maple, mostly.
Condition: Used hard, finish worn, few boards needing replacement (pics provided!). Be honest.
Price: That semi-painful number I settled on.
Key Detail: Buyer responsible for dismantling and transporting EVERYTHING. Ain’t lifting a finger for that part.

Posted it in a couple local groups last night. Boom. Floodgates opened.

• • Guy #1: “Bro, I just need a piece of it, like maybe the center court logo bit?” Seriously? Wanted me to butcher the whole thing for scrap.

• • NEXT!

• Guy #2: Wanted proof it was “real pro hardwood.” Sent him pics of the board ends showing the grain. His reply? “Looks okay but I’ll give you [price HALF of listing]. Cash today.” Lowball artists everywhere.
• Guy #3: Got excited quick. Said he had a crew ready to come tomorrow! We set a time… then radio silence. Ghosted. Classic.

Finally Getting Rid of It

Then today, guy messages. Simple. “Price firm? Can disassemble and haul.” Said yes, price is firm, come see it. He shows up an hour later, not messing around. Walked the court with me, kicked a few planks, nodded at the pics of the bad spots. “Yep, saw that. Got it. Okay.” Shook my hand. Deal done.

His crew rolled in later this afternoon with trucks and pry bars and saws. Watched from the porch as they tore into it. A bit sad seeing chunks come up, honestly. But mostly relief. They loaded stacks and stacks of wood. Worked for hours. Finally pulled away with the whole thing… just gone. Yard looks huge and weirdly empty now.

Done. Finished. Finally. Cash in hand, headache gone. Good riddance! Though, wonder how long until I miss seeing that old slab of maple?