Alright folks, today was all about getting this pad basketball court sorted in my garage, using that hevea wood flooring kit. You know, the one that comes in all those boxes? Yeah, that one. Let’s walk through this mess, step by messy step.

Getting Started (The Exciting Part)

First thing, I cleared out the whole garage floor. Swept like crazy, man. You wouldn’t believe the dust bunnies hiding in the corners. Then I unboxed everything – wow, so many planks of that hevea wood. Felt kinda nice, smelled okay too. Laid out the underpad thingies first, the foam ones that are supposed to absorb shock. Tried to lay them flat, but you know how it is, they kept curling up at the edges like they were shy. Had to weigh them down with some leftover tiles for a while.

Putting Wood Together (The Annoying Part)

Okay, here’s where the real fun began. Started clicking those tongue-and-groove boards together. First row? Easy-peasy, felt like a genius. Second row? Started fighting back a little. Had to tap the edges with this rubber mallet I dug out. Tap tap tap… not too hard, not too soft. Got a rhythm going. Third row? Well, one plank decided it didn’t want to click all the way in. Stubborn piece of wood! Ended up having to pull half the row apart again just to get that one jerk seated properly. Learned real quick to check every single click went “snap” good and proper.

Other fun stuff happened:

• Measurements weren’t perfect, ended up needing to cut the last plank of a row a couple of times. Thank god for the neighbors’ saw.
• That mallet slipped once… yeah, nice little dent in the edge of a plank. Oops. Not too noticeable, though.
• The instructions kept talking about this “expansion gap” around the edges. Honestly, almost forgot it like twice. Had to keep shoving these little spacers in everywhere. Felt like the wood needed breathing room.

Ending the Frustration (The Satisfying Part)

Kept going, row after row. Some boards felt smoother than others sliding in. Got kinda sweaty crawling around on that foam pad. Finally, hours later, the last piece clicked into place. Did a little crawl test over the whole thing. Solid! Felt good underfoot, a bit springy with that padding underneath. Trimmed off the extra bits of the underpad poking out, pulled out all those edge spacers carefully. Stepped back and just looked at it… a whole little basketball court right there. Looked surprisingly decent, all things considered. Stuck down the transition strip at the garage door edge to finish it off.

Yeah, pad basketball hevea assembly floor? Got it done. Made mistakes, learned some things (like measure three times, cut once is real), and honestly? Feels pretty damn good now it’s just sitting there ready for some hoops. Just gotta drag the portable goal in there tomorrow.