So last weekend I finally got around to tackling that shock absorbing basketball floor project in my garage. Ordered a truckload of those prefab wood parquet panels specifically made for bouncing balls. Big promise was “easy assembly” and “pro-level shock absorption”. Yeah, right. Let’s see how that held up.

First Contact With the Materials

Two pallets arrived. Nearly gave the delivery guy a hernia getting them down. Opened up the first box – wow, those panels felt solid. Thick wood, nice finish. Then I saw the underlayment foam rolls. Looked decent. Initial optimism kicked in. Ha!

Unpacking Was Half the Battle:

• Separated all the foam rolls and panels by type. Sweating buckets just moving stacks.
• Cleared the garage floor like a maniac. Swept, vacuumed, even wiped it down. Dust is the enemy.
• Laid out the foam rolls first. Had to cut them with a box cutter. Took forever. Those rolls fought back.
• Rolled out the moisture barrier plastic sheeting over the foam. Simple enough.

Locking Those Panels Together Was a Workout

Started laying panels corner to corner, short side first like the instructions said. Pressed down hard, heard that satisfying click. Felt good for the first three rows. By row five, my thumbs were screaming. Those tongue-and-groove joints are stiff. Had to tap them with a rubber mallet. Tap-tap-BANG. Tap-tap-BANG. Neighbors probably thought I was building a coffin.

Hit a snag around the middle. One plank just wouldn’t lock in. Bent down, eye-level. Saw a tiny wood chip jammed in the groove. Dug it out with my pocket knife finger. Shoved the plank down with my knee. CLICK. Victory.

What Nearly Broke Me:

• Forgetting to stagger the seams on row four. Had to yank half a row apart. Wood groaned. I groaned louder.
• The trimming around the garage door rail. My jigsaw skills are… rustic. Let’s just say one cut looks like a drunk beaver did it.
• Getting the very last panel in the corner under the workbench. Swore a blue streak crawling under there with the mallet.

Finally Standing On It

Done. Leaned back against the tool chest, sweaty and covered in wood dust. Dropped my trusty old basketball. That sound – that deep THUMP instead of a harsh SLAP. You can feel the difference in your knees just standing still. Dribbled hard, jumped. Felt that foam layer sucking up the shock. Ground didn’t shake, balls didn’t fly wildly on the bounce. It just feels… right. Solid underfoot but springy. Worth every knuckle bruise. Garage just leveled up.