Okay folks, lemme tell you about my weekend project. Got it into my head to finally build that little half-court spot for the kids in the garage. Saw these interlocking rubber-backed wood floor things online, looked easy enough. Big mistake? Maybe. Fun? Surprisingly yes, mostly.

The Great Box Mountain Arrival

First thing, the delivery truck shows up. Boxes. So many boxes. Each plank is solid wood, heavy as heck. Hauled ’em all into the garage, stacking ’em up. Took ages, my back was yelling at me already. Labeled ’em too, just like the instructions said. Number one rule: don’t even think about opening ’em all at once. Garage would be chaos.

Getting the Battlefield Ready

My garage floor? Wasn’t flat. Not even close. Old concrete, bumps, cracks, some weird sticky stuff near the door. Had to clean the whole area. Swept like crazy, then got down on hands and knees scrubbing with soapy water. Dirt is your enemy here. Let it dry completely – skipped this once and regretted it later when the underlayment bubbled up.

The First Few Rows: Pure Frustration

Opened box one. Laid down the rubber underlayment sheets first, making sure they butted right up. Then started with the first row along the longest straight wall. Sounds simple? Ha. Getting that starter row perfectly straight took forever. Used a chalk line, snapped it three times because it looked crooked. Measured twice, measured again. Finally clicked those first planks together. Used the rubber mallet – bam bam bam – to lock ’em tight. Already sweating.

Click, Lock, and the Curse of the Short Wall

The tongue-and-groove system worked pretty well. Slide the tongue of the new plank into the groove of the previous one at an angle, then push down. Click. Satisfying sound… usually. Had more than a few stubborn pieces. More mallet action. My arms were getting tired. Then hit the short wall opposite the door. Had to cut planks to fit. Measured super careful, used a circular saw (borrowed from Dave, my neighbor). Cutting that heavy wood? Let’s just say my garage smelled like sawdust and mild panic for hours.

Cutting Corners (Literally) and Final Push

The middle of the floor flew by. Click-click-bam. Repeat. But the perimeter? Nightmare. So many weird cuts around doorways and the support beam posts. Measured each gap, scribbled the measurements straight onto the plank with a fat marker. Used the circular saw for the straight cuts, a jigsaw for the wonky curves around the posts. Made a few too-short planks, wasted some material. Felt bad tossing good wood. Finally got the last plank in. Shoved it hard with the pull bar tool that came with the kit. Click. DONE.

It Ain’t Perfect, But It Stands

Stepped back, breathing heavy. Is it super pretty? Nah. You can see where the cuts aren’t laser-perfect near the walls. Couple of gaps if you squint. But the main playing area? Solid. Walked over it, jumped on it. Feels good. Stable, no weird shifting underfoot, which was my big fear. Rubber backing seems to grip the concrete fine. Kids threw down the next day, ball bounced nice. Mission accomplished… mostly. Wish I knew how much cutting there’d be. Would I do it again? Hmmm… ask me after my arms stop aching. Took two full days and a lot of grunt work. Looks good enough though. Score one for DIY stubbornness.