Okay, so I finally got around to that basketball pad thing in the driveway. Been staring at that cracked concrete all winter, thinking about how the kids kept tripping over the bumps trying to dribble. Needed something smoother, cheaper than pouring new concrete, and honestly, I just wanted to see if I could do it. Pine boards came to mind ’cause it’s way cheaper than that fancy hardwood stuff.
How It All Started
Got all fired up one Saturday morning. Dragged out the measuring tape first. Measured how much space the kids actually use near the hoop – roughly 12 feet by 10 feet. Figured that should cover the bad spots where they shoot mostly. Wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper and jumped in the truck. Headed straight to the big box store lumber section.
Found the untreated pine planks. They come in all kinds of lengths and widths. Picked the widest boards they had that looked pretty straight – 1x6s. Did some quick math in my head (probably wrong, looking back) and grabbed what I thought was enough. Also snagged a giant box of those outdoor deck screws, the fancy coated ones. Threw it all in the cart, paid, and wrestled the big pile into the back of the truck.
The Fun Part (Yeah, Right)
Got home, dumped the wood in the driveway. Grabbed my dusty old circular saw. Figured I’d just cut the boards to fit the pad shape. Marked out some cuts on the first few boards. Fired up the saw… rip rip rip… okay, not too bad. But man, pine is soft! You gotta be real careful pushing it through or it splinters like crazy on the edges. Made a couple of ugly cuts.
Then, tried laying out the first row along one edge. Realized the driveway ain’t perfectly flat. Had to shim a few spots with little scraps of plywood I found in the garage just to keep the first board level. What a pain! Screwed that first row down, drilling pilot holes first so the wood wouldn’t split. This part took way longer than I thought.
Kept going, row after row. Butt the ends together tight as I could. Used spacers – basically just a pack of cheap playing cards – to keep a little gap between each board for when they swell up later. Took forever, kneeling there, drilling, screwing. Back started screaming at me halfway through. The pile of wood looked huge when I started, but disappeared fast!
The Final Stretch (Literally)
Got close to finishing, maybe the last two rows. Guess what? Ran out of wood! Totally screwed up the math earlier. Had to drag myself back to the store for another four planks. Felt like an idiot. Finished up the screwing part as the sun was going down. Swept off all the sawdust and wood chips.
Threw the basketball down. The kids took it for a spin. It rolls so much better than the cracked concrete. Way smoother. The sound of the ball bouncing off the wood is kinda nice too, different. Only thing? Pine is soft, like I said. Already got a little dent where the ball landed hard near the hoop. I figure it’ll get a bunch of dings and weather pretty fast. Might look kinda cool, like an old gym floor? Or maybe just beat up. We’ll see how long it lasts before it looks too rough.
Would I do it again? Maybe. It worked. The kids love it. But damn, that was a lot more screwing and kneeling than I bargained for. And running back to the store? Classic me.