So I got this idea for a backyard basketball court but didn’t wanna mess up the grass or pour concrete everywhere. Saw expensive portable floors online and thought – heck, I can build something like that myself.

Step 1: Hunting for Materials

Rummaged through my garage first – found some leftover pressure-treated 2x4s from that failed garden bed project last summer. Drove to the lumber yard and grabbed plywood sheets that weren’t too warped. Guy at checkout gave me that look like “what’s this fool building now?”

Step 2: The Measuring Disaster

Laid everything in the driveway and started cutting panels. Messed up the first three cuts ’cause I forgot my circular saw blade was dull. Wasted half a sheet of plywood before realizing the measurements were all wrong – been staring at metric YouTube videos but my tape’s in inches. Had to restart twice.

Step 3: Assembly Nightmare

Started screwing the 2×4 frames onto plywood bases. My drill battery died halfway, had to use manual screwdriver like some caveman. Fingers still hurt. The panels kept warping when I stacked ’em – ended up clamping them together with every heavy thing in my garage: old encyclopedias, toolbox, even my wife’s yoga weights (don’t tell her).

Step 4: Surface Trouble

Wanted that smooth court feel so I sanded every panel twice. Looked patchy like my dog chewed it. Borrowed neighbor’s orbital sander – overdid it in corners, nearly sanded through the plywood. Stained it but the color came out blotchy. Finished with three coats of outdoor varnish that took forever to dry.

Final Mess

Tried connecting the panels yesterday. My interlocking system works but needs a sledgehammer to connect properly. Took me 45 minutes to lay out 8 panels – longer than our actual basketball game. Had to bribe my kid’s friends with pizza to help move them. Thing weighs a ton and scratches the grass anyway. But hey – at least it’s movable, right?