Okay, so today I decided to get my hands dirty and finally tackle that basketball court project I’ve been putting off. The goal? Lay down some fresh keel for a new hardwood court. Sounds simple enough, right? Famous last words.

The Prep Work

First things first, I had to clear out the old, beat-up surface. This involved a lot of sweeping, scraping, and generally just getting rid of years of accumulated gunk. It was dusty, dirty work, and my back was already complaining before I even got to the “fun” part.

Then I took a measurement to the space. make sure every size is correct.

Laying the Keel

Next up, the keel itself. I went down the path of using pressure-treated lumber, the whole point is to make this thing durable. I started by laying out the perimeter pieces, making sure everything was square and level. This took some fiddling, I won’t lie. Getting those corners just right is always a pain.I made mistakes for measuring the space. so I spent much more time correcting the mistake.

Once the perimeter was solid, I began filling in the inner supports. The key here, I quickly realized, was spacing. Too far apart, and the floor would feel bouncy. Too close, and I’d be wasting materials and time. I aimed for a consistent spacing, using a trusty measuring tape and a whole lot of eyeballing.

• Cutting the lumber was next. I fired up my circular saw, after doing a bit of safety reminders, the right blade is important for that step.
• After cutting the lumber,I installed the timbers step by step.

The Hardwood (Eventually)

With the keel structure in place, it was finally starting to look like something resembling a basketball court. The hardwood itself will have to wait for another day (and another weekend of work), but the foundation is there. I’ve got a solid base to build on, and that’s half the battle.

I finished installing keel and it looks nice.

Honestly, by the end of the day, I was exhausted. But there’s something satisfying about looking at the work you’ve done, even if it’s just a bunch of wood beams at this point. It’s progress. And progress feels pretty good, even if my muscles are screaming at me.