Got this idea last Tuesday while staring at my worn-out basketball setup in the garage. Thought, heck, why not build a proper wooden flooring for the engineer board pad myself? Grabbed my beat-up pickup truck and drove straight to the lumber yard nearby. Didn’t bother measuring anything beforehand – big mistake.

The guy at the yard kept asking what type of wood I needed. I just pointed at these rough pine planks like “yeah those look sturdy enough”. Hauled home eight pieces that were way too long, all covered in splinters. Almost dropped one on my foot unloading them – would’ve made a great blooper reel.

Started by clearing junk from the garage corner where the board lives. Swept up about three years’ worth of dust bunnies. Then realized I hadn’t bought any protective gear. Ended up using my wife’s gardening gloves – she’s gonna kill me when she finds out.

Took the circular saw and just went at it. Measured once, cut twice? More like guessed twice and cut thrice. The planks looked like crooked teeth when I laid them out. Had to re-saw three pieces while the neighbors probably thought I was murdering squirrels with all the noise.

Assembly time. Got my rusty drill and started joining planks. First screw snapped clean off inside the wood. Second one went sideways. By the fifth plank I was sweating like crazy, swearing at the drill battery that kept dying. Finally yelled loud enough for my kid to come “help” by handing me screws.

When all pieces were finally locked together, realized the floor was wobblier than my grandma’s jelly. Took another hour shimming the corners with old beer coasters and cardboard scraps. Now it sits almost level – good enough for government work.

Slapped the engineer board pad on top. That satisfying thump when the basketball hits the board? Pure gold. Whole project cost about sixty bucks and two days of frustration. Would I do it again? Hell no – next time I’m buying pre-made. But damned if this ugly pine monster doesn’t feel like a trophy now.