Deciding to Tackle the Basketball Flooring Project

So my garage was collecting dust and old tires, and I figured why not turn it into a mini basketball spot? I saw videos showing how wooden floors can crack from ball bouncing, so the shock absorber idea stuck in my head. Grabbed my wallet and hauled myself to the local hardware store.

Gathering the Stuff

First I grabbed:

• Cheap pine planks – the warped ones were on discount
• Rubber puzzle mats from the fitness aisle
• A box of mismatched screws that looked sturdy
• Industrial-grade glue labeled “FOR EVERYTHING”

Total cost was about 60 bucks because I reused some scrap plywood from last year’s failed dog house project.

The Assembly Struggle

Started by laying those rubber mats on the concrete floor – they kept curling up like bacon in a pan. Had to duct tape the corners down, which took forever. Then came the wood planks. Some were bent like bananas, so I stacked heavy toolboxes on them overnight to flatten.

Drilled pilot holes wrong twice and split three boards – swapped to thinner screws halfway through. Used that “everything glue” like caulk between planks which oozed everywhere. The wobble was insane until I shoved wood shims under the sagging spots. Sweat dripped into my eyes so bad I sanded one spot completely raw.

Final Push and Victory

After four hours of fighting warped wood and my drill battery dying twice, I tossed the last board down. Tested it by jumping with both feet – the bounce felt softer than my old sofa cushions! Then dribbled the ball hard: no ear-splitting echoes, just a deep thump. Still found gaps between planks though, so I dumped sawdust into the cracks and sealed it with more glue.

Took messy photos for my blog with sawdust in my hair. Left the garage door open to air out the glue fumes, but man – stepping back to see a shock-absorbing court I built myself? Totally worth the blisters.