Got this wild idea to make portable flooring for shooting hoops after my kid kept complainin’ about our bumpy driveway. Saw that fancy “engineer board” stuff online but man, it was pricey as hell. Figured I could whip up somethin’ workable myself with wood.

Started Messin’ Around

First thing, grabbed some cheap rubber mats from the discount bin at the hardware store – the kinda stuff you put under washing machines. Thought it’d be cushiony enough. Cut ’em to size with my rusty box cutter. Looked real janky. Next, busted out some old plywood panels squirreled away in the garage. Measured ’em rough and laid the rubber on top. Thing was wobbly like my gramps’ kitchen table.

The “Oh Crap” Moment

Stepped on the damn thing to test it, slipped straight off like walkin’ on a banana peel. That rubber just slid right off the plywood. Sweat started drippin’ down my neck. Decided to flip the whole operation. Put the plywood underneath the rubber mats this time.

• Screwed the plywood panels together real tight with some L-brackets – used like twelve screws per corner.
• Smashed the rubber mats down on top, stretched ’em flat as I could.
• Went nuts with heavy-duty contact cement glue, coated both surfaces thick like peanut butter.

Making It Stick (Literally)

Slapped those glued surfaces together so fast my arms burned. Threw every heavy thing I owned on top – dumbbells, toolboxes, even the damn dog food bags. Let it sit for two whole days while the glue stank up the whole garage. Used my jigsaw to trim the ugly rubber edges hanging off – damn blade kept snagging on the rubber.

Last-Minute Fixes

Tried rolling the whole thing up – snapped one corner bracket clean off. Swapped all the L-brackets for beefier steel ones I found rusting in my shed. Added handle cutouts on the sides using a janky hole saw bit. Wasn’t pretty, looked like a drunk beaver chewed ’em out.

Finally dragged it to the driveway. Tossed a basketball at it. Didn’t bounce like glass, but didn’t thud like mud either. Kid dribbled on it for five minutes without complainin’ once! Called it a win even though the lines are still crooked as hell. Sweaty and covered in sawdust, but hey – got a bounce.