Alright folks, today’s project got my hands dirty – fixing up an old NBA-style hardwood floor in my buddy’s garage setup. Wanted that legit court feel without breaking the bank. Let me walk you through the mess.

The Starting Point

Found this beat-up wooden floor hidden under years of grime in his garage. Looked terrible. Big gaps between planks, faded color, rough patches everywhere. You could trip just walking across it. Measured the whole area first. Way bigger than my living room, gave me a headache just thinking about it.

Gathering Stuff

First stop, the big box store. Wandered the aisles forever. Needed:

• A floor sander – rented a heavy beast with a vacuum hookup
• Sanding belts – rough grit, medium grit, fine grit
• A massive bucket of wood filler for those giant gaps
• Special court finish (the price tag nearly made me cry)
• Rollers, trays, painter’s tape, plastic sheets

Total chaos trying to fit it all in my car.

Operation Sand-down

Started sanding. Oh boy. Dust everywhere. Even with the vacuum hooked up, my shop looked like it snowed inside. Used the rough belts first. Thing kicked like a mule – fought it for hours. Progress? Felt like sanding the whole state of Texas. Found more cracks after clearing the old gunk. Filled ’em with the stinky wood putty, waited overnight for it to harden. Sanded again with the finer belt. Wore out three belts total.

The Court Finish Nightmare

Time for the magic sauce – that expensive finish. Taped off everything, laid plastic sheets. Stuff was stickier than maple syrup in July. Rolled it on thick. First coat bubbled. Saw bubbles rising everywhere five minutes in. Nearly cried. Scraped off the wet mess, cussing a storm. Sanded the whole damn thing lightly again the next day. More plastic sheets. Rolled slower this time. Held my breath watching it dry… bubbles stayed away. Pure relief. Two more coats, sweating each time. Sanded lightly with super fine paper between coats. Felt like smoothing out glass.

Final Stretch

After drying for two whole days (no walking on it!), carefully peeled off the tape and plastic. Swept up the remaining dust bunnies. Marked the key lines with painter’s tape and painted the baselines with actual court paint. The transformation? Mind blowing. Deep shine, super smooth, gaps gone. Like walking into the real deal.

Massive pain? Totally. Worth it? Seeing my buddy’s face when he dribbled across it for the first time? Hell yes. Protip: rent the sander for an extra day and seal your entire house off with plastic. That dust finds everything.