So, I got this idea to make a portable basketball floor that’s shock absorbing and hard, cause my knees were starting to hurt after all those backyard games. Figured it had to be wooden to keep it tough but still easy to move around, like for when I want to play at different spots.

Picking Up the Stuff

First, I drove over to the hardware shop and bought some basic pine boards because they’re cheap and easy to cut. Grabbed a roll of rubber padding too, thinking it would handle the shock part. Then I loaded everything into my truck—felt like it weighed a ton already, and I knew this was gonna be messy.

Cutting and Measuring

Got back home and dragged all the materials into my garage. Started by measuring the boards with a tape measure, but man, I messed up twice on the length. Had to recut them with my saw, and wood chips flew everywhere. I ended up with six panels, each about 2 feet by 4 feet, so they’d snap together easy for portability.

Adding the Shock Part

Next, I stuck that rubber padding under each board using glue, but the glue wouldn’t hold strong enough. So, I switched to screws instead, drilling them in through the wood and into the padding real slow. This took forever, and I kept poking myself with the drill bit—ouch, blood on the wood! But after a few hours, I got it all layered up, feeling a bit like a cushion now.

• Attached the padding strips tightly
• Made sure it didn’t slide around
• Tested it by jumping on one piece first

Assembling the Whole Thing

Then I hooked the panels together using metal clamps, thinking it would make them portable. But when I tried to fold it up, the clamps got stuck and one board almost snapped. Frustrated, I took a break, ate some chips, and came back. Ended up using hinges instead—much smoother. Finally, I carried the whole assembly outside to my driveway.

Grabbed my basketball and started dribbling on it right away. First few bounces felt kinda dead at first, like the padding was too thick, but then I adjusted how I glued it down tighter. Boom, worked like a charm! Less knee shock, ball bounced high and true, and I could lift the whole floor by myself—it wasn’t heavy at all.

Overall, learned that DIY stuff always takes longer than you think, but now my backyard games don’t wreck my joints. Plus, when friends come over, we just unroll it and play anywhere. Totally worth all the cuts and glue mess.