Alright, let’s talk about this little project. It all started cause my driveway concrete is rough, like really rough. Trying to bounce a basketball on it? Forget it. So I got this dumb idea, what if I put something down?

First thing I did was drag my butt to the hardware store. Needed stuff. Found these rubber squares, meant for like gym floors or something? They were kinda spongy underneath but had this grippy top. Grabbed a few of those. Then I remembered my buddy had chunks of that old rubber tree root lying around. You know, the heavy, kinda tough stuff? I called him, begged him for some bits. He looked at me like I was nuts but gave me a few.

Got home, cleared a patch of the driveway. Swept all the dirt and little stones off. Messy job, got dust everywhere. Then I hauled out those rubber squares. They were awkward to carry, flopped around. Laid them down side by side, pushed ’em together real close. They sort of stuck together a bit, which was handy.

Then came the weird part. Those rubber tree chunks were heavy and lumpy. Didn’t look like anything useful. I got out an old saw I found in my shed – kinda rusty, made a heck of a noise. Spent ages cutting those big lumps into smaller, flatter pieces. Didn’t need perfection, just needed ’em kinda flat enough to put under the rubber pad.

So I started putting these cut rubber tree pieces underneath the rubber pad squares, right? Like puzzle pieces filling the gaps under the main pad. Jammed ’em in wherever there was a hollow spot between the pad and the uneven concrete underneath. Used a hammer sometimes to really wedge them in tight. It was messy work, hands got dirty.

My idea was simple:

• Rubber pad on top (for the bounce).
• Rubber tree chunks jammed underneath (to fill the gaps and level it out).
• Concrete driveway was the base (obviously).

Did it work?

Well, mostly. Slammed the ball down on it. Wow. Bounced way better than before! Didn’t feel like it was hitting rocks anymore. Pad wasn’t sliding around either, thanks to the grip and the stuff underneath holding it mostly still. It ain’t perfect – still got a tiny wobble in one corner where my tree-chunk shimming isn’t ideal. Gotta fix that later.

Honestly? It worked way better than I expected it to. Looks absolutely weird, kinda like Frankenstein’s driveway patch. But who cares? Ball bounces now! Might add another layer of pad or mess with the stuff underneath someday. For now? Good enough to play.