So here’s the thing – I got real fed up with my buddy complaining about his knees after shooting hoops on his concrete garage floor. Said it felt like jumping on a damn highway. When I spotted some beech wood planks going cheap at the salvage yard, I figured why not? Let’s build some shock absorbing flooring.

The Hunt & Haul

First step was dragging this mess home. Heavy? Oh yeah. Nearly busted my back loading those thick beech planks into the truck. Priced super low ’cause they had some dings and dents – perfect for me, not building no fancy living room here. Got some thick rubber matting too, stuff they usually put under industrial machines. Heavy as lead bricks, that was fun.

Clearing the Battleground

Garage was a disaster zone. Tools everywhere, old oil stains. Took me a whole sweaty morning just to clear enough space for a decent playing area. Swept hard, really hard. You DON’T want tiny stones under your fancy new floor. Found some uneven spots near the door – busted out the level and a bag of quick-dry concrete filler. Just slapped it down and smoothed it rough. Ain’t gotta be perfect, just gotta be flat.

Laying Down the Rubber

Measured the area. Twice. Cut the rubber mats with a box cutter. Sounds easy? Hah! Thick rubber fights back. My hands were raw. Laid them down tight against each other on the clean concrete. Taped the seams with industrial duct tape. Looked like a giant black patchwork quilt. This stuff? This is where the magic happens, the shock eating layer.

Beach Wood Wrestling

Now for the noisy part. Laid the beech planks on top of the rubber. Trying to line them up straight felt like herding cats. These weren’t tongue-and-groove, just solid planks with rough edges. Had to hammer them tight together. Splinters? Plenty. Sweat? Buckets. Used a million spacers against the wall. Ran my orbital sander over them when done – felt smoother, still looked beat up, which I liked. Gave it character.

Locking It Down & Feeling the Bounce

Finally, screwed the sucker down. Pre-drilled every single hole – beech is hard, didn’t want it splitting. Used deck screws. Put them deep so the heads sunk below the surface. Vacuumed up all the sawdust, wiped it down. Time for the test.

Result? My friend bounced the ball. Dropped hard. Thump. Not that harsh crack like concrete. Felt… quieter. Weaker. Then he jumped straight up and landed. Big dumb grin. “Knees ain’t screaming!”. Yeah. The beech looks tough, the rubber underneath? Soaks up the smash. Looks rough, works sweet. Totally worth hauling that wood.