Okay so yesterday I got it in my head that I needed a better surface for practicing dribbling at home. The concrete garage floor was murder on my old knees, y’know? Ended up diving into this pad Basketball solid wooden flooring project. Here’s how it all went down.
Stumbling Around the Idea
First thing was realizing my “perfect” practice spot sucked. That garage concrete felt like ice skating crossed with an earthquake under my shoes. Started browsing online, saw people building these mini wooden courts. Looked slick. Figured, how hard could it be? Spoiler: harder than it looked.
Gathering the Stuff (Chaos Included)
Went to the big hardware store – always an adventure. Needed:
- Solid wood planks – picked oak ’cause it felt tough
- A truckload of underlayment foam pads
- Wood glue (more on that mess later)
- A measuring tape that definitely didn’t betray me… until it did
- Safety goggles (learned that lesson years ago)
Got home, dumped everything in the garage. Dog thought the foam pads were her new bed.
The Measuring Fiasco
Thought I knew my garage dimensions. Spoiler: I did not. Measured once, happily started cutting planks. Got halfway through laying ‘em out… realized I was like 6 inches short on one side. Gutted. Had to drive back, get more planks. Of course, they were out of the exact same batch. Slight color difference? Added character. Yeah, let’s go with that.
Glue Nightmares & Foam Floor Wrestling
Lay down the underlayment foam. Easy, right? Wrong. That stuff wrinkles like cheap dress pants. Spent an hour flattening it out, swearing softly. Then the wood glue stage. Opened the tub, poured like a mad scientist. Too much. Way too much. Glue squishing out between the planks like toothpaste. Panicked wiping with a rag just smeared it everywhere. Looked terrible. Had to sand it later. So much extra work.
Assembly Line From Hell
Finally started putting the planks together, edge to edge. Knocked ‘em with a rubber mallet to get ‘em tight. Hands started hurting after plank #10. Remembered the safety goggles only after a wood chip ricocheted off my forehead. Genius. Dog stayed clear, sensing the frustration. Good dog.
The Final Stretch & Bounce Test
Took way longer than my “couple of hours” estimate. More like eight, including panic runs to the store. But finally, laid down the last plank. Stepped onto it. Took a test dribble. BOUNCE! Solid. Way better than concrete. Ball didn’t die halfway. Knees didn’t scream. Worth the glue disaster? Almost. Still finding sticky spots.
Overall? Looks kinda janky up close with my mismatched planks and glue smears. Doesn’t feel janky though. Feels legit. Next time? I’d measure five times, cut once. And use WAY less glue. Way less.
