Alright, let me walk you through how I hacked together this portable wooden floor thing for “Pad Basketball Sleeper”. Basically, I needed something for my kid to play that mini hoop on inside without wrecking the actual floor.
Getting the Idea & Materials
First off, saw this “Pad Basketball Sleeper” game thing online. Supposed to be quiet indoor hoops, right? Problem was, my floors are kinda old and scratch easy, plus the ball bouncing? No way. Needed a barrier. Remembered seeing pallets stacked behind the hardware store. Free wood? Okay. Drove down there, talked to the manager guy. He was cool, said take what ya want. Grabbed four decent looking pallets. Threw ’em in the back of the van. Messy.
The Teardown & Prep
Got home, dragged ’em into the garage. Hardest part? Ripping those suckers apart. They nail ’em together like Fort Knox. Used:
- My old crowbar
- A hammer
- A whole lotta elbow grease (and maybe some bad words)
Ended up with a pile of planks and some chunky frame pieces. Sweeping up splinters took forever. Next up: sanding. Oh man. Borrowed my neighbor’s orbital sander. Dust EVERYWHERE. Covered my nose and mouth with an old t-shirt. Still sneezed sawdust for hours. Just wanted the dang wood smooth enough for socks and little feet.
Figuring Out the “Portable” Bit
Okay, got a pile of smooth-ish wood. Needed to make it fold or something. Easy to stash. Looked at the planks. Too short individually. Had to join ’em. Brainstormed hinges. Found some heavy-duty strap hinges buried in a toolbox – leftover from some forgotten project. Worked out the width I needed for the hoop pad. Measured roughly where the hoop legs would sit. Marked spots on the wood for the hinges. Drilled pilot holes carefully. Screwed the hinges onto the planks. Felt pretty sturdy when I lifted it! Tried folding it… clunky, but it folded. Score!
Assembly Time & Tweaks
Now, just had bare planks connected by hinges. Needed the “floor” feeling. Grabbed the best pallet frame pieces I had. Cut ’em down to shorter lengths with the handsaw – super uneven cuts, not gonna lie. Placed these under the hinged planks to act like supports / legs. Made sure they sat flat when the floor was unfolded. Used those crazy thick nails I pulled out of the pallets to hammer them into place underneath the top planks. Banged my thumb. Ouch. Finally stood the whole contraption up. A bit wobbly? Yeah. Used a level app on my phone. Shimmed one corner with a scrap of cardboard folded up. “Good enough,” I thought.
The Big Test
Unfolded the whole mess on the living room carpet. Got the Pad Basketball Sleeper unit plopped onto my wooden floor panels. Had my kid step on it. “Does it feel funny?” I asked. “Nope!” was the response. Success! Then came the ball. Thump. Thump. WAY quieter than on the bare floor! The ball bounced reasonably well, and the hoop pad itself didn’t wobble or tip on the wood base. Tried folding it up afterward. Bit noisy with the hinges, but it slid behind the sofa easily.
Final Thoughts (Kinda)
Is it pretty? Ha! Not even close. Rough cuts, old pallet wood grain, those industrial hinges look weird. Did it take way longer than I thought? Oh yeah. Sweat, splinters, dust… the works. But hey, it works! Ball bounces okay, muffles the noise, kid loves it, and I can hide it when people come over. Total cost? Some screws and borrowed sandpaper. The wood was free. Call it a win for a Saturday project. Might add some grip tape later if socks start sliding too much.
