Alright, folks, lemme tell you about my latest bit of madness – trying to build a portable wooden floor for shooting hoops in the driveway. Called it a Pad Basketball Level – Larch cause that’s the wood I used. Sounds fancier than it is.

Getting Started & Figuring It Out

So, the whole idea hit me when I tripped over a bump in my driveway tryna take a jumper. Annoying, right? Thought, why not make a smooth pad just for shooting? Had some larch planks leftover from an old deck project, looked tough enough. Measured the space where I usually plant my feet – about 3 feet by 4 feet felt right.

Cut the main frame first:

• Grab my circular saw, hacked four pieces of 2×4 larch to size for the outside rectangle.
• Screwed ’em together at the corners with some heavy-duty deck screws, made sure it was square-ish.
• Felt solid. Good start.

Building the Platform Top

Next up, the floor part itself. Needed a smooth surface:

• Took narrower larch decking planks, cut ’em to fit lengthwise across the frame.
• Laid ’em out side-by-side on top of the frame, leaving a tiny gap between each – figured rain could drain through.
• Grabbed the drill again, sunk screws through the planks down into the frame every foot or so. Took forever, arms were aching.

Stood on it, bounced a bit. Definitely stiff, no bend. Shoved a ball on it – rolled real nice. Happy times!

The “Portable” Part Was Trickier

Okay, so I built this thing, but it weighed a ton! Needed wheels. Dug around the garage found two heavy-duty casters.

Added wheels:

• Measured spots near one end of the frame.
• Bolted those casters on good and tight underneath.

Now it tilted? Needed handles on the other end.

• Screwed on a fat, comfy piece of scrap wood as a handlebar right across the non-wheel end.

Tried tilting it. Wheels bit into the grass! Need bigger wheels for sure. Sigh. Back to the shed…

• Swapped the puny casters for two big ol’ pneumatic wheels – the kind from an old wheelbarrow. Much better!

Grabbed the handle, tilted it back, rolled it across the grass like a dolly. Easy peasy. Finally “portable” was working.

Finishing Touches

Almost done. Didn’t want splinters:

• Used a palm sander, went over every plank surface and edge until they felt smooth.
• Brushed some wood glue into the bigger gaps just to lock things in more.

Dribbled the ball hard on it – solid bounce, zero wobble. Perfect.

In the End…

Rolled it out to the spot, leveled it on the uneven pavement with a couple of shims. Took my practice shots. Felt amazing having that smooth, predictable surface underfoot. Made practicing way more fun.

Cost? Basically free with scraps. Time? A full weekend mostly fighting with tools and wheel sizes. But honestly, rolling my own portable court around never gets old. Might paint lines next!