Alright folks, let me walk you through this whole pad basketball floor mess I tackled. Decided to put down oak assembly wooden flooring in my garage, ’cause the concrete was murder on my old knees. Figured how hard could it be? Famous last words.
Getting Started (Or How I Learned to Hate Instructions)
First things first – dragged my lazy self down to the big hardware store. Grabbed a pile of those pre-finished oak planks, the click-together kind. Looked easy on the box picture. Ha. Snagged a rubber pad too for some bounce. Forgot the moisture barrier tape like an idiot. Had to drive back same day, cussing in traffic.
Ground Zero: My Garage Floor
Cleared out all the junk – bikes, half-used paint cans, that broken lawnmower. Swept concrete like crazy. Found fossilized dog treats. Nice. Laid down the moisture barrier first, sticky plastic sheet stuff. Made the floor sweat like me in July. Taped seams with that fancy blue tape I remembered the second time.
Next came the pad. Unrolled that grey rubber roll. Heavy sucker. Got it flat-ish. Cut edges with a rusty box cutter ’cause I lost the new one. Had to patch a slice I made. Used leftover tape scraps. Felt janky but figured it’d stay.
The Click-Clack Nightmare Begins
Started laying planks against the long wall. Seemed okay! Felt clever clipping the first two rows together. Angled ’em, gave ’em a whack. Sounded satisfying. Third row? Disaster. Gaps ya could lose a quarter in. Couldn’t figure why. Panic-sweated onto the oak.
- The Ugly Truth: Forgot spacer blocks against the wall. Whole mess shifted crooked. Had to yank up two whole rows. Splintered one plank. Used words my grandma wouldn’t like.
- Tool Frustration: Borrowed Larry’s mallet. Too big. Put a dent in the tongue of plank five. Hid it under where the hoop pole goes. Used my rubber mallet after that. Still awkward.
Wrestled the middle rows okay once I remembered spacers. Mostly straight… ish. Saved the worst part for last: cutting planks for the end. Measured twice. Cut once. Measured wrong both times. Ended up with ugly, splintered ends needing trim covers. Called it “character”.
The Final Hurdle & My Victories
Getting the last row in? Forget it. Walls ain’t straight. Had to rip-cut the planks narrower with a skilsaw upside down. Dust everywhere. Looked like a ghost sneezed. Got ’em hammered in, tight as could be with the crowbar. Left the trim covers loose – knew they’d need adjusting after winter.
Sat on a bucket afterwards, staring at it.
- Wins: It stayed down! No crazy bounce! Actually kinda level!
- Bruises: Knees black and blue. Four wrecked planks. Half a tube of caulk hiding edges.
Still gives me splinters if I kneel. But man… feels legit. Kid bounced a ball on it yesterday. Sounded like a court. Worth every cuss word and dent. Moral of the story? Spacers are your friend. And your garage floor? Probably not level.
