Okay, so yesterday I tackled this thing I’d been putting off forever: fixing that wobbly spot on the old basketball pad out back. I mean, it’s basically concrete slabs, but one corner sunk a bit, making dribbling kinda stupid. I wanted something tough but nicer than just pouring more cement. Saw some decent deals on larch wood and remembered people using it for decks ’cause it weathers okay. Boom, idea: assembled wooden flooring on top! Level it out, make it look nicer, maybe even feel better underfoot. “Pad Basketball lvl larch assembled wooden flooring” became the mission.

Getting My Stuff Together

First thing was figuring out what I actually needed. Measured the bad corner – maybe a 5×5 foot square was sinking. Headed to the big DIY store. Grabbed:

• A bunch of treated 2×4 lumber for the frame underneath.
• Enough larch decking boards to cover my area, plus a few extra because I know me.
• Big bags of gravel – that coarse, chunky stuff for drainage.
• Sandbags to try and stop the gravel going everywhere.
• Wood screws galore – long ones for the frame, shorter ones for the deck boards.
• A new level because my old one lives under a pile somewhere.
• Bought some exterior wood sealer too, figured it couldn’t hurt.

Dragged it all home feeling ambitious.

The Real Mess Begins

Started by scraping out the loose stuff and dirt from that sunken corner. Dug down a bit to make a shallow pit. Felt like a kid in a sandbox, but dirtier.

• Tamped down the soil as best I could – stomped on it for ages.
• Then came the gravel. Opened the bag, poured it in… and it just spread out like you wouldn’t believe. Sandbags mostly failed. Got gravel everywhere. Neighbor probably thought I was building a rock garden.
• Raked the gravel roughly level. This took way longer than I thought. Every time I got it sorta flat, a chunk would roll off.
• Built the frame on the concrete pad around the gravel pit. Measured, cut, swore when I measured wrong. Screwed the 2x4s together making a sturdy box right over the gravel pit and sitting on the good concrete around it. Leveled this sucker obsessively. Shaved a bit off here, stuck a pebble under there. When the bubble stayed dead center, I celebrated.
• Time for the larch boards! Cut them to length so they’d sit across the frame. Had to work out how they’d stagger at the ends. Laid them out, fiddled with spacing so it looked even. This part felt better.
• Screwed each board down into the frame. Made sure the heads were sunk a little below the surface. My drill battery died twice. Classic.

Finally stood back. It wasn’t NASA-level engineering, but it looked like a solid, flat surface!

Finishing Up and Calling it Done

Swept off all the dirt and sawdust. Brushed the sealer on all the cut ends and over the top surface. Smelled pretty strong, gave me a little headache – note to self: more ventilation next time.

Let it dry overnight. This morning? Grabbed the old basketball. Gave it a bounce on the new wood patch.

Feels solid! No wobble. The larch has a nice texture underfoot, different from the concrete. Looks way better than just sunken slabs. Probably not the professional way to level a pad, but hey, it worked for me. Takes care of the bounce, looks alright, and hopefully that larch holds up.

Could I have paid someone? Sure. But where’s the fun in that? And the blisters feel earned.