Alright so I finally got around to installing that cushioned basketball flooring in my garage gym last weekend. Took way longer than expected but man it feels good now that it’s done. Let me walk you through the messy process.

Why I Even Bothered

My old setup was just concrete floor with cheap foam tiles. Every time I jumped for a rebound, my knees would scream at me next morning. Saw guys online talking about proper maple sports floors with rubber cushions underneath and got obsessed.

Stuff I Bought

• Hard maple planks (got the 22mm thick ones)
• Interlocking rubber pads (1/2 inch thick shock absorbers)
• Moisture barrier plastic roll
• Flooring adhesive & nails
• Circular saw (borrowed from neighbor)

First Disaster Zone

Cleared out the garage space which looked like a storage unit explosion. Took three hours just to move crap around. Swept the concrete like crazy – found two dead spiders and a fossilized Cheerio under some boxes. Gross.

Unrolled the moisture barrier plastic across the whole floor. Cut it with kitchen scissors like a caveman cause I forgot utility knives. Taped seams with duct tape because “it’s basically the same as construction tape” – spoiler alert, it’s not.

Cushion Chaos

Started laying the rubber pads like big puzzle pieces. Realized halfway they weren’t tight enough when I tripped on a gap. Had to unstick like twenty tiles and redo it. My back was already hating me.

Got cocky thinking I could eyeball straight rows. Ended up with this wavy mess near the wall. Had to shimmy them around until 2AM swearing under my breath. The dog gave me judging looks every time I cursed.

Maple Mayhem

First plank went down pretty smooth with adhesive spread and nails hammered in. Felt like a pro carpenter for like five minutes. Then I noticed the second plank had this tiny gap on the end. Chiseled it for a better fit but accidentally chipped the edge. Whoops.

Things I learned the hard way:

• Maple dust gets EVERYWHERE (still sneezing it out three days later)
• Hammering nails into maple requires way more force than you think
• Measuring twice is still not enough – measure thrice

Final Stretch Drama

Got to the last row and realized I forgot to leave expansion gaps by the walls. Had to rip out the outer planks with a crowbar like a maniac. Scratched two pieces beyond saving. Wasted two hours recutting replacements.

Applied finish coat at midnight with garage doors open cause fumes. Next morning found three dead moths stuck in the varnish. Guess they thought it looked like a nice pond? Scraped them off with a credit card and touched it up.

Was It Worth The Trouble?

Took a test dribble yesterday – the ball bounce feels amazing and my knees didn’t make crunching sounds! Worth every headache. Though if I had to do it again… maybe I’d just pay someone.