Getting Started

So last week I jumped straight into building my own shock absorbing basketball court after twisting my ankle on concrete. Grabbed plywood sheets from the garage, but realized halfway they were too thin when my heel punched right through. Total facepalm moment.

The Messy Process

Rushed to Home Depot and bought thicker wooden panels. Measured my driveway area sweating buckets in noon heat. Cut the boards with my jigsaw – wood chips flying everywhere like a damn snowstorm. Kids next door thought it was hilarious watching me sneeze sawdust.

• Laid rubber padding first (stole my wife’s yoga mats before buying proper ones)
• Hammered plywood sheets over padding like a madman
• Spent three hours sanding edges after getting splinters

Disaster Strikes

Tried testing the bounce by dropping a bowling ball. That sucker just THUDDED dead. Realized I put the rubber layer UNDER the wood instead of BETWEEN layers. Had to pry up all the boards next morning with a crowbar, almost snapped my back doing it.

The Fix

Layered properly this time: wood base -> thick foam tiles -> final maple surface. Glued them like my life depended on it. Sealed the whole thing with outdoor varnish during a gnat invasion – still finding bugs in the coating.

Final Test

Dribbled the ball hard – beautiful THUMP-THUMP echo! Did a test jump landing on my heels. Felt like clouds compared to concrete. Knee didn’t scream at me for once. Wife still thinks I’m nuts for turning half our driveway into a court though. Worth every splinter.