Why I picked sports timber floors this time
My old concrete garage floor was killing my knees during weekend badminton matches. After that last game left me limping for days, I finally caved and drove to the hardware store. Stood staring at flooring options for like an hour before settling on timber boards.
Here’s exactly how it went down:
Step 1: Tearing out the junk
- Hauled out rusted tools and cardboard boxes collecting spiders
- Scraped decades-old oil stains with this metal brush thing
- Found three dead mice behind the water heater – nasty surprise
Step 2: The wood buying disaster
Measured the garage twice but still messed up the square footage. Brought home 20% less boards than needed. Had to make four(!) extra trips when the boards kept cracking during cutting. That sawdust got everywhere – even found it in my coffee mug next morning.
Step 3: Laying the boards
- Put foam underlay first – unrolled it like cheap carpet
- Started nailing boards near the door because that seemed smart
- Big mistake – ended up with crooked gaps by the back wall
- Pried up half the boards while swearing at the nail gun
The turning point
Took a beer break and watched some guy’s YouTube tips using my phone. Changed strategy – worked from the center outwards using chalk lines. Suddenly boards started clicking together nicely like puzzle pieces. Felt like a genius until I ran out of finishing nails at 10PM.
Final stretch
Put the last board in upside down before noticing the grain pattern. Sanded the whole surface twice because first pass looked patchy. Applied varnish with all windows open – still got lightheaded from fumes. Woke up to find paw prints where the neighbor’s cat walked through.
How it actually turned out
Took three weekends instead of one. Spend double my budget replacing botched cuts. But damn does it feel good underfoot now! Played two hours of basketball yesterday without knee pain. Still finding sawdust in weird places though – probably be vacuuming it up for months.
Worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Hell no – next time I’m hiring some kid with actual experience.
