Ok so lemme tell you about this basketball floor headache I tackled last weekend. Whole thing started cause my kid kept complaining his knees hurt after dribbling on our concrete garage floor. Yeah, that concrete’s a killer. Saw some fancy shock-absorbing setups online but man, those prices? Pure robbery.

Digging In & Figuring Stuff Out

First thing I did was raid my shed like a squirrel hunting nuts. Found some half-inch plywood sheets left over from that shelving disaster last spring. Took my tape measure – rough measured the garage space. Needed about 16 feet by 10 feet. Did some head-scratching math: divided it into 2 ft x 4 ft panels for easier handling. Total panels? Did 8 panels and one little leftover piece. Not perfect but good enough.

Here’s what I gathered before starting:

• The plywood sheets (enough for those panels, thankfully)
• A bunch of those black rubber shock pads I bought years ago for God-knows-what
• Wood screws – not fancy hardwood ones, just decent 1.5 inch deck screws I had
• Bottle of wood glue – crusty cap was stuck, almost broke it prying it open
• Circular saw that sounded like a dying chainsaw when I fired it up
• Power drill with a nearly dead battery (classic)

The Real Dirty Work

Plugged in the dusty saw, marked out the cuts on the plywood with a wonky pencil. First sheet? Went fine. Second sheet? Blade caught and splintered the edge bad. Cursed. Sanded the bejeezus out of it later. Cut all pieces needed – stacked ’em messy on old drop cloths.

Sweeping the garage floor clean took longer than cutting the wood. Felt like sweeping back the tide. Finally laid out the shock pads where the panels would go. Pads were thicker than I remembered – hoped this would actually work.

Alright, assembly time. Plonked the first panel down, knelt on it (knees yelling at me). Drizzled that yellow wood glue along the edges where they’d butt together. Felt sticky and gross. Lifted the next panel up, clumsy like, pressed it hard against the glued edge. Heard stuff squeezing out. Grabbed my drill – screwdriver bit wobbled loose twice before I tightened it properly. Sunk three screws along each joined edge. Did this over and over: Glue. Press. Kneel. Screw. Screw. Screw. Sweat dripping down my neck.

Finishing Touches? Kinda.

Left little gaps between panels near the walls – maybe quarter inch? Seen pictures online where wood flooring buckled without space. Better safe.

Stood back. Looked rough. Plywood edges weren’t perfect, some screw heads were proud. Sanded the tops lightly – more dust everywhere. Cleaned again. For grip, slapped some cheap adhesive grip tape strips near the free throw line spots. Good enough.

The moment of truth? Dumped my old basketball – gave it a good solid bounce right in the middle. Whoosh-thump. Felt… different. Way softer landing. Kid ran out, bounced it himself. “Woah! Softer!” Grinned like an idiot, tired back aching. It ain’t NBA quality. Might need replacing in a year or two. But zero knee complaints since. Took most of Saturday, but that bounce? Priceless. Learned: Bigger gaps next time, better saw blade. Worth it.