Getting Started with This Mess

Alright, so I finally got my hands on that wooden flooring kit for pad basketball beech. Box showed up yesterday afternoon, big and heavy. Dragged it into the garage. Cut the tape open with my old kitchen knife – don’t tell the wife. Pulled everything out. Pieces everywhere. Saw the instructions folded on top. Grabbed ’em first.

Piles of Parts and Confusion

Right away, looked confusing. So many wooden planks, all looking kinda similar but different. Lots of little bags. Opened one bag. Tiny screws, hundreds of ’em. Another bag had weird plastic things. Like little clips. Didn’t know what those were for yet. Found the special tape measure they included. Mine broke last week, so good timing.

Hardware Madness:

• Tiny screws? Check. Like a zillion.
• Weird angled wooden things? Check. Three big ones.
• Those confusing plastic clips? Double-check.
• Glue tube? Yeah, one sticky tube.

The Measuring Disaster

Tried measuring my garage space where I wanted the pad. Wanted to see if the pieces fit. Started laying some planks down rough. Okay, seemed okay in the middle. Went to the edge near the wall. Big problem. Too long. Like, way too long. Grabbed a hand saw – not the fancy electric one, just a basic one. Started trying to cut a plank. Wood was tough. Cut was crooked. Cursed a bit. Measured again, wrong spot. Messed up that plank. Had to grab another one. Double checked the marks. Eventually got a rough cut. Edge looked ugly but would be hidden.

Fitting the Puzzle Pieces

Now the fun part. Instructions said “interlock tongue and groove”. Sounded easy. Picked up two planks. Tried sliding the tongue of one into the groove of the other. Didn’t fit. Tried the other way. Still no. Pushed harder. Nope. Looked closer. Realized I had the tongue facing the WRONG end for this plank design. Flipped one plank around. Ah! Click! Finally locked together. Took way longer than it should have. Had to go row by row, clicking and shoving. Got on my knees a lot. Hurt my back. Used a rubber mallet sometimes to whack them tight. Not too hard, didn’t want to split the wood.

Screws, Clips, and Frustration

After getting a few rows locked together, the instructions said “secure with clips and screws.” Oh boy. Those little plastic clips? You bend ’em weird, slide them into this tiny slot on the plank edge, then you gotta drive a screw through the clip INTO the tongue of the next plank. Hands too big. Screws too small. Dropped screws constantly. Under the planks, on the floor, everywhere. Got the drill. Tried holding the clip with one hand, drill with the other. Clip popped off. Got mad. Held the clip with pliers finally. That worked kinda. Slowly, slowly, one screw at a time. My nailing were all messed up.

Adding The Edges and Finishing

Got the main area done. Now those weird big angled wooden things? Side panels. They fit along the border. Had to measure and cut again. Less mess this time. Got ’em roughly positioned. Had to glue some parts together where it met the floor pad. Squeezed that glue tube. Glue came out too fast. Big sticky blob. Wiped it quick, made a mess. Pushed the side panel into the glue, held it down hard. Used heavy things from the garage – an old toolbox, some bricks – to weigh it down while the glue dried. Checked it later. Still sticky. Just left the weights overnight.

Done… Finally

This morning, checked. Glue seemed solid enough. Side panels staying put. Swept the whole thing off. Lots of sawdust. Took the pad basketball hoop thing I already had and placed it in the middle. Stepped back. Looks like a basketball pad! Floor feels pretty solid underfoot, walking over the locked planks. Some edges are rough from my bad cuts. A few screws maybe stick up a tiny bit? Might need to check that later. Overall? It works. Would I do it exactly the same way again? Heck no. But it’s together. My kid’s already bouncing the ball on it. So I guess it’s a win. Kinda.