Okay, let me tell ya about putting together this rubber basketball sleeper thing on my wooden floor. Decided to try it ’cause my old hoop setup was garbage, just rattling all over the place. Figured a sleeper base glued to the floor would be solid.
Gearing Up & False Starts
First off, I dug out the kit I bought online – this big rubber base with bolt holes in it, screws, anchors, and some crazy strong adhesive glue. Felt heavy, kinda promising. Hauled it out to the section of my room with that old wood flooring. Looked sturdy enough, but who knows?
Cleared all the junk off the floor area, swept it real good. Dust bunnies be gone! Laid the rubber sleeper base down roughly where I wanted the hoop to be. Looked… well, it looked like a big ugly rubber mat. Started marking where the bolts would go through its holes onto the wood with a pencil. Easy so far, right?
The Annoying Anchoring Mess
Here’s where it got dumb. Instructions said drill pilot holes for these plastic anchors. Grabbed my trusty drill, got the right bit size. Started drilling carefully into the marked spots. Bad news. Hit a super hard spot under the wood on the second hole – probably an old nail or something buried. Drill bit just screamed and barely scratched it. Felt stupid. Had to shift the whole sleeper base a couple inches sideways to avoid that stupid spot. Redid all the markings. Annoying.
Finally got all six pilot holes drilled properly this time. Then hammered those plastic anchors in. Some went in smooth, one felt a bit wobbly. Pounded it extra hard, hoping it wouldn’t be a problem later. Probably wasn’t the smartest move.
Glue Time & The Rush
Next step: the adhesive glue. Opened that tube – whoa, that stuff stinks! Instructions screamed “Work Fast! Bonds in minutes!” No kidding. Squeezed out these thick snake lines of glue underneath the base, right around each bolt hole area. It was messy, and I knew I had seconds before it started setting up.
Yanked the sleeper base into its new spot over the anchors, pressed down hard. Had to fight to get the bolt holes lined up right over the anchors while the glue was already grabbing. Sweating buckets! Managed to get a bolt started in each anchor hole, wiggling and twisting until they all caught. Quickly grabbed my wrench and tightened them all down snug, but not crazy tight – didn’t want to crack the rubber.
Looked underneath – glue was oozing out a bit around the edges. Panicked a little, wiped off the excess with a rag I sacrificed to the cause. That rag is ruined now, stiff as a board.
Waiting & Hoping
The instructions said to let the glue cure for 24 hours before putting any weight on it. Like leaving cookies to cool, but way less fun. Felt like forever. Kept poking at the edge lightly, hoping it wasn’t just stuck with dust bunnies. Smell hung around too.
The Moment of Truth
Next day, finally. Time to see if it was all worth the hassle. Hauled the actual pole and hoop assembly over, fitted it onto the bolts sticking up from the sleeper base. Put the nuts on, tightened everything up real solid this time. Took a deep breath, gave the pole a good shake. Then a harder shake. Held firm! No wobble, no rattle. Felt planted, stuck hard to that wood floor. Even jumped on the rubber base a bit – didn’t budge an inch. Glue must’ve done its job.
So, what’s the verdict?
- The anchoring part was a pain in the butt, especially hitting that hidden hard spot under the wood. Took way longer than it should’ve.
- Working with that fast-setting glue was stressful. Felt like defusing a bomb, messy bomb.
- But hey, the end result? Solid as a rock. My hoop isn’t going anywhere now. Worth the fight? Yeah, I guess so. Glad it’s done.
