Alright folks, grab a coffee, ’cause today’s project was one of those “looked easier on YouTube” kinda things. I finally tackled installing that hard maple flooring for my home basketball pad area in the garage. Always wanted that proper bounce, you know?

Figuring Out What the Heck to Buy

First step, gotta get the wood. Wandered around the big box store for ages looking at different woods. Needed something tough as nails for ballin’. Settled on pre-finished hard maple – good reputation, looked solid. Got confused real bad with all the thickness options and tongue-and-groove bits. Finally just grabbed several boxes, figuring more is better than running out mid-job. Carried those heavy suckers out to the truck – felt like weightlifting practice.

The Garage Mess Before the Magic

Got home, hauled the boxes into the garage. Man, that space was a disaster zone! Tools everywhere, dusty floor. Kicked all the junk out to one side. Realized the concrete floor wasn’t perfectly flat, like, at all. Had to crawl around scraping off old paint splotches and bumps with a scraper like some kind of archeologist. Felt good afterwards, but took way longer than planned. Sweat was already rollin’.

Laying Down the First Rows – Took Forever

Time to actually lay wood. Started by slapping down this thin, plasticky underlay stuff. Supposed to help with moisture and feel. Unrolled it, taped the seams together – easy enough. Then the real fun began. Opened the first box of maple planks. They smelled nice, felt heavy and smooth. Started in the corner. Needed spacers along the wall for expansion gaps. First plank down? Felt great! Second one, wiggled the tongue into the groove, tapped it snug with a mallet and a scrap block. Felt satisfying. Third plank… didn’t wanna click right. Spent ages fiddling with it, tapping here, tapping there. Got it eventually. Took me nearly two hours just to get like, five planks straight and level. Patience definitely got tested!

The Rollercoaster of the Rest

Once I had a few starter rows done, things picked up a bit. Still had moments though. Cutting planks around support posts was a brain teaser – measure three times, cut once, measure again, realize you measured wrong. D’oh! Used my basic handsaw. Felt like the sawdust was gonna bury me. Towards the door, the rows started getting wonky again. Had to use the rubber mallet constantly to bash them back into line. Hard maple doesn’t give much! My arm was feeling it.

The Final Stretch & Victory

Getting close to the far wall was tough ’cause space was tight. Had to cut the last row of planks lengthwise to fit. Nerve-wracking! Forced them in with this crowbar thing meant for flooring – felt sketchy, thought I might chip something. But finally, click. Spacers came out. Went around the whole edge, shoving in quarter-round trim with my finish nailer to cover the gaps. Messy, but it hides the sins.

Ball Don’t Lie!

Alright, moment of truth. Grabbed my old basketball. Gave it a good bounce right in the center. Thud-thud-thud. Felt real solid, real consistent. Dribbled a bit. That satisfying sound of ball hitting proper maple? Pure bliss. No dead spots! Definitely stiff underfoot, zero give, just how hardwood should play. My garage ain’t the Rucker, but man, that rebound is legit. Was it worth the sore knees and sawdust in every pore? Seeing that ball bounce true? Yeah. Yeah, it was.