So I’m staring at my garage, right? Packed full of junk. Kids bikes, old paint cans, my wife’s gardening stuff… just chaos. I wanted a basketball spot for my boys without turning half the house into a court. That’s how this whole “removable” idea kicked in. Oak boards felt solid enough – durable stuff, figured it could handle some dribbling chaos.

Started with a solid plan… which lasted five minutes. First problem? Finding decent oak without selling a kidney. Priced some boards at the lumber yard and my wallet cried a little. Went online hunting for offcuts, bargain bin oak. Took forever. Finally got enough, though some pieces weren’t perfect. Whatever. Good enough for practice runs.

Let The Sawdust Fly

• Measured my space twice. Taped out a rectangle on the garage floor – gotta visualize it, you know? Gave it an extra inch all round, wanted some breathing room.
• Cutting those oak planks? Earplugs in, goggles on. Used my trusty circular saw. Tried to keep the lines straight. Mostly worked. Made a lot of dust. Swept it all up later.
• Edges felt rough, sanded them down. Like, a lot. Didn’t want splinters flying during a layup drill. Used my orbital sander. Arms were tired after. Felt smooth, looked pretty good.

The “Removable” Puzzle

This was the trick. Needed this thing to lay flat but come apart easily. Thought about fancy metal clips… way too expensive and complicated for what I needed. Stumbled onto the interlocking rubber puzzle pieces people use under gym equipment. Bingo. Found some thick ones rated for heavy stuff. Bought enough to cover the whole court area I planned.

Okay, puzzle pieces down on the clean garage floor, snapped together nice and tight. Felt solid. Then, laid each oak plank carefully on top, right onto the rubber mat. Clicked into place? Not exactly. Needed to screw the planks through the rubber into each other at the edges. Pre-drilled pilot holes through both the oak plank edges and the rubber pieces below – didn’t want the oak splitting. Used some heavy-duty deck screws. Countersunk them so the heads sat flush. Took ages, screwing plank to plank, plank to plank, all connected underneath by the rubber base.

Finishing Touches & Testing Time

Thought about stain… decided nah. Just wanted something protective. Slapped on a few coats of polyurethane, the tough kind for floors. Gave it a good scuff with fine sandpaper between coats. Let it cure for a full day. Smelled strong.

Assembly time: Clicked all the rubber base pieces together like a big, thick rug on the floor. Then lifted each oak panel section onto it – they screwed easily into their neighbours. Whole court clicked together piece by piece. Solid feeling. Dropped the ball. Good bounce! Kid bounced it harder, no issue. The real test? Taking it apart. Unscrewed the panels along their connecting edges. Lifted them off the rubber base. Then just peeled the rubber sections apart. Clean up the garage? Poof, court gone. Oak sections stacked in the corner, rubber base folded up. Exactly what I wanted.

Lesson learned: Messy, cheaper oak can work with enough sanding. Screws and pilot holes are your friends against splitting. That rubber underlay saved my back and made the “removable” part possible. Whole thing cost way less than buying a fancy removable floor. Kids are happy. Garage smells like sweat and poly now instead of rust. Call it a win.