I thought it would be great to have a basketball floor at home that doesn’t shake too much when jumping around, so I started this project to make a shock-absorbing setup with pine assembling wood. It all began one weekend when I had a day off and felt bored, figured why not build something fun and useful instead of sitting around.

First, I gathered up all the stuff I needed. I headed to the local hardware store and picked out some basic pine wood planks, plus extra pieces for assembling. I also grabbed rubber pads because they help with making things soft when playing hard. Here’s what I piled up:

• Wood pieces – about ten long ones, nothing fancy, just regular pine.
• Rubber bits – to act as shock absorbers, sticky and easy to stick on.
• Screws and nails – for holding everything tight.
• Measuring tape and saw – because I had to cut stuff down to size.

Next, I cleared a big space in the garage and laid everything out. I measured the floor area roughly with my hands and eyes – no math here, just guessing how big it should be for shooting hoops. Then, I started cutting the wood into chunks with the saw. It was messy, bits flying everywhere, and I thought I might cut my finger at one point. But I took it slow, fitting them together like puzzle pieces.

Putting the pine assembling parts into place took ages. I screwed them down one by one, making sure each piece connected solidly. About midway, I hit a snag – the wood kept shifting when I stepped on it, and it felt bouncy in a bad way. It was wobbling all over, and I remembered I forgot the shock part. So, I stopped, laughed at myself for being rushed, and stuck those rubber pads under each corner of the planks. That calmed things down right away, like magic.

Finally, I tested it out by jumping around and dribbling a basketball. It didn’t shake much at all, felt soft under my feet, and made the game way more fun. It took about half a day in total, with breaks for coffee when I got frustrated. Not perfect, but now it’s a hit in our backyard games.