So guys, been seeing pad basketball setups online for a while now. Looks slick, right? Decided I was gonna slap some proper engineered wood flooring over my garage pad for mini basketball sessions. Didn’t wanna wreck the car space permanently, so figured removable wood courts were the move. Saw fancy setups online and thought “how hard could it be?” Famous last words, yeah?
The Plan and Gear Gathering
First thing first, measured out the garage pad area. Dragged out the tape measure and chalk lines, got a rough rectangle mapped on the concrete. Realized pretty quick this wasn’t gonna be one big sheet – needed smaller panels you could actually lift. Headed online hunting for materials.
Found some affordable engineered wood flooring meant for actual sport courts, supposed to be durable. Click-lock tongues for easy joining? Perfect for modular! Grabbed a case. Also needed:
- A thick padded underlayment – didn’t want the wood cracking or sounding hollow.
- Some heavy-duty rubber edging strips for the sides.
- Basic wood glue, mallet, measuring tape, pencil… the DIY essentials.
The Reality Check and Sweaty Work
Got the panels delivered. Heavy buggers! Started laying down the padded underlay right on the clean garage pad. Used duct tape to hold the underlay sheets together tightly, made sure no bumps. Unwrapped the first wood panel and plopped it down at the corner. Looked good. Unwrapped the second… and that’s when the “click-lock” nonsense showed its true colours.
The tongue and groove didn’t line up smooth. Had to shove them together hard. Leaned all my weight into it, smacked the seam with the mallet like I was trying to kill a zombie. They clicked finally, but it took way more elbow grease than the ad promised.
Spent the whole afternoon repeating this “measure, place, shove, hammer” dance. Sweat pouring, back aching. Got halfway and realized the panels weren’t perfectly square on the pad. My mapping was slightly off – corners weren’t 90 degrees. Had to pry some panels apart (nearly snapped the tongues!) and nudge everything over a tiny bit. Total pain.
Trims, Tidy Up, and First Shots
Got all the core panels locked together. Surface felt solid, good bounce! Now for the edges. Cut the rubber trim pieces to fit each side with an old hacksaw – messy job. Dabbed wood glue along the panel edges, slapped the rubber trim on, clamped them down with whatever heavy stuff I could find in the garage (bricks, paint cans… jury-rigged clamping!).
Let the glue cure overnight. Next morning, peeled off the clamps and weights. The trim held! Swept the whole floor real clean. Dragged out the basketball stand.
Took the first shot. Ball bounced high, felt responsive – not concrete-hard, not mushy. Actually played pretty nice! Was worth the blisters and the near-panel-snapping incident.
Lessons Smacked Into Me
Took it down for the car eventually. Underlay rolled up fine. Panels? Still heavy, clicking apart was easier than putting together somehow. Rubber trim had to be peeled off carefully, glue residue needed scraping. Not the smoothest teardown.
- Dropping heavy stuff or dragging tools WILL dent the wood panels.
- “Easy click-lock”? Yeah, if you’re built like a bodybuilder.
- Take pictures and measure five times BEFORE locking panels.
Overall, it’s a solid home court option if you don’t mind wrestling the wood and want something removable. Doesn’t feel NBA, but definitely beats asphalt. Maybe someday I’ll find the secret to smoother panels.
