Okay, here’s my blog post about putting together some basketball court flooring. Get ready for some DIY action!

So, I decided to tackle this project – putting down some keel basketball plywood flooring. It sounded pretty straightforward, you know, like those “easy assembly” things you get from the furniture store. Spoiler alert: it was a bit more involved than I thought, but hey, I got it done!

Getting Started

First, I cleared out the area. This was a big open space, so I didn’t have to move much furniture, thankfully. Just swept everything clean. You want a nice, flat surface to work with. No bumps or anything that’ll mess with the flooring later.

The Underlayment

Next, I laid a vapor barrier film. Apparently, this is a must do step. So, I did it, and then I got to work with some rubber padding which is like a cushion for the floor, makes it bounce a little, you know, like a real court. I rolled that stuff out and taped the seams together. This part was actually pretty easy.

The Keel System

Then came the keel… these are like the long wooden supports that go under the plywood. I had to arrange them in a specific pattern. It wasn’t rocket science, but I definitely had to double-check the instructions a few times to make sure I was getting it right.

It is important to get it right! You have to use the correct space to leave expansion gaps.

Plywood Time!

Once the keel was down, it was time for the plywood. These sheets were heavy! I got a friend to help me lift and position them. That was definitely a two-person job. We started laying them down, making sure to stagger the seams – like how you’d lay bricks. That’s supposed to make it stronger.

Screwing it Down

After getting the plywood where we wanted it, we screwed it down into the keel. This took a while. We used a power drill, which made it a lot faster, but it was still a lot of screws. We went slow and steady, making sure everything was tight and flush.

Finishing Up (Almost!)

After all the plywood was down, I had to do some finishing stuff. I think that’s the fancy word they use. I had to use wood filler to fill screw holes in the first layer of plywood.

• First layer of plywood
• Second layer of plywood
• Sanded the floor

So yeah, that’s pretty much it! It took longer than I expected, and there were definitely some moments where I thought, “What did I get myself into?” But, looking at it now, it’s a pretty sweet basketball court floor. And I built it myself! Now I just need to paint the lines, and then, game on!