Starting This Crazy Idea
So my knees were screaming bloody murder after streetball games last month. That cement pavement just hammers your joints. Saw some dudes online talking about shock-absorbing courts using hard maple timber. Sounded fancy, but I figured why not try building a mini version in my driveway?
Gathering Stuff Like a Squirrel
First thing Tuesday morning, hauled my lazy butt to the lumber yard. Grabbed:
- 10 planks of hard maple timber (burned my wallet good)
- Rubber padding strips that looked like giant black licorice
- Wood glue that promised to stick forever (we’ll see)
- Regular toolbox junk – hammer, nails, measuring tape
Got home and realized I forgot the damn saw. Had to borrow neighbor Bob’s rusty one.
The Messy Building Part
Laid out the maple planks parallel on my driveway. Bob came over chewing tobacco going “that ain’t gon’ work”. Ignored him – smeared glue between planks like I was icing a cake. Nailed down planks WHILE the glue was wet. Big mistake. Half shifted sideways like drunk caterpillars.
Scraped off glue blobs cursing. Round two: only glued three planks together first. Weighed ’em down with old encyclopedias. Waited overnight like watching paint dry.
Rubber Time
Sliced those rubber strips into 1-inch squares with Bob’s dull saw. Looked like chewed gum. Wedged ’em between the maple planks like sandwich fillings. Harder than it sounds – kept popping out. Ended up supergluing my thumb to a plank (don’t ask).
Stress Test Party
After 48 hours sweating over this Frankenstein court, grabbed my basketball. Started dribbling hard – BOUNCE sounded deeper, kinda muffled? Jumped up and down. Knees didn’t feel that jolt from the concrete. Even did that stomp test like buying melons. Timber barely vibrated! Bob tried it and grunted “Huh. Less shaky than my false teeth.”
Ball rolled weird though. Some planks sat slightly higher. Had to sand down edges wearing that cheap dust mask making me look like Darth Vader with allergies.
Final Thoughts
Would I do this for full court? Hell no – cost more than my car tires. But for a shooting spot? Golden. My knees ain’t creaking like rusty hinges now. Learned:
- Maple’s heavy as sin but eats shock like cake
- Glue first, nails later
- Never trust neighbors named Bob
Next project? Maybe shock-absorbing flip-flops. Or just buy knee pads.
