So I been wanting a basketball court in my backyard for months, but didn’t wanna pour concrete or mess with permanent stuff. Saw some removable flooring videos online and thought “Hey, maybe I can slap something together myself.”
First steps: Planning & Materials
Measured my driveway space where I wanted the court – turned out to be about 15×10 feet. Went down to Home Depot next morning and grabbed:
- Six 4×8 sheets of plywood (¾ inch thick)
- A bunch of 2×4 lumber chunks
- Two hundred pounds of screws
- Rubber padding rolls
- Wood sealant and paint
Total damage to wallet? Roughly $600. Ouch.
Started cutting those 2x4s into 8-foot lengths with my circular saw right there in the driveway. Made about 20 pieces. Sweat pouring down my face when I realized I didn’t measure twice – screwed up three boards already.
Assembly mess
Laid down plywood sheets first on my garage floor. Took those 2×4 chunks and built frames around each sheet like picture frames. Drilled screws through the plywood into the frames every 6 inches. My cordless drill died halfway through – had to run extension cords everywhere.
Attached rubber padding underneath using construction adhesive. Stuff smelled like death in a can. My neighbor actually walked over asking if something died in my garage.
Making it removable
This was the tricky part. Cut 4-inch wide wood strips to act as connectors between panels. Drilled holes through panel edges and connectors, then used ¾ inch bolts and wing nuts. Took forever to line up properly – kept swearing at panels shifting around when I tightened bolts.
After sealing and painting green, realized the wing nuts stuck out too much – almost tripped twice during test dribbling. Ground down the bolt ends with grinder until they were flush.
Final test & lessons
Took three buddies to lift and connect all panels in the yard. Took us about 40 minutes to assemble. Played full court for an hour – bounced great, no wobble. But when we disassembled?
- Some wing nuts seized up from over-tightening
- Dirt trapped in connector joints
- Ended up scratching two panels dragging them to storage
Overall works decent for pickup games. Would I recommend? Only if you hate money and love busting your knuckles with power tools. Next time I’m buying pre-made tiles.
