Honestly? This whole idea started cause I got sick of playing basketball on concrete. My knees were screaming, you know? Saw some fancy portable hardwood floors online but the price tag? Nah. Figured I could build my own pad, basketball friendly, with soft maple – supposedly easier on the joints and kinda bouncy. Maple sounds fancy, but okay, let’s try it.
The Hunt & Dump Trip
First thing, needed wood. Real maple planks from the lumber yard were crazy expensive. Ended up grabbing a pile of reclaimed soft maple boards someone dumped behind the old furniture factory downtown. Free wood! Score! Felt good finding something useful instead of it rotting away. Hauled it all back in my pickup. Dirty as heck, needed serious cleaning.
Making Sense of the Mess
Got home, dumped it in the garage. Big mistake. Dust everywhere. Wifey was not impressed. Spent ages cleaning each board with wire brushes and sandpaper. My arms were dead afterwards. Still looked rough, but kinda charming? Hoped it would work. Measured the space I wanted – about 10ft by 10ft.
- Cutting Chaos: Laid out boards. Sizes were all over the place. Needed to cut them roughly the same length. My old circular saw sounded like it was dying. Sawdust? You wouldn’t believe the dust cloud. Garage looked like a blizzard hit it.
- Joining the Puzzle: Laid the clean-ish boards face down. Screwed thin plywood strips across the back to hold them together. Kept checking the top – gaps here, bumps there. Had to unscrew and adjust, unscrew and adjust. Tedious? Heck yeah.
- Flip & Flop: Finally flipped the whole panel. Heavy beast! It sorta lay flat… ish. Still some wobble spots where boards weren’t perfectly lined up. Sanded the top surface again, trying to smooth it out. More dust, obviously.
- Finish Fiasco: Wanted a smooth finish that wouldn’t be slippery. Got this water-based “gym floor” varnish. Applied the first coat… dried streaky and bubbly in spots. Lightly sanded again, cringing the whole time. Second coat looked slightly less bad. Good enough.
The Big Test… And Reality
Recruited my nephew and his buddies. Dragged the huge panel to the driveway. Dribbled the ball. Sounded kinda nice, that thump thump hardwood sound! Then… took a jump shot. Landed. The panel rocked side-to-side! Boards creaked. Nearly wiped out. Dribbling was okay, but actual playing? Moving fast? Panels shifted slightly under our feet. Sketchy.
So, What Now?
It’s usable. Sorta. For casual shooting? Yeah, okay, better than concrete. Looks… rustic? But “portable basketball hardwood floor”? Nah. More like a heavy, wobbly maple plank monster. Learned a ton:
- Free wood ain’t always easy wood.
- Building something flat and stable is harder than it looks.
- Sawdust gets everywhere, forever.
- Sometimes, just paying the dang money is easier.
Would I do it again? Probably not. But hey, got a unique patio decoration now, I guess? And really sore arms.
