Alright folks, let’s talk about my garage floor project today. Started noticing ankle pain every time I jumped during workouts, so I knew my beat-up concrete slab had to go. Sports wood floor it is!
Clearing Out The Chaos
First thing? Hauled everything outta there. Old paint cans, broken chairs, that rusty bike from ’09 – straight to the curb. Swept concrete like crazy with this stiff-bristle broom I grabbed from Walmart. Damn thing kept shedding bristles everywhere though. Found two huge cracks near the back wall after moving my rusty weight rack. Grabbed Quickrete filler straight away.
Moisture Disaster Strikes
Made the rookie mistake of skipping moisture checks. Laid those fancy tongue-and-groove maple planks right over tar paper padding. Big surprise when planks near the garage door warped like crazy after two rainy weeks! Had to rip up half the damn floor. Rented this moisture meter gadget after crying over the invoice for new wood – turns out moisture readings were 30% higher than specs allowed.
The Real Installation Grind
This time I got serious:
- Cut rigid foam boards to size with a box cutter
- Double-taped every seam with this heavy duty construction tape
- Placed moisture barriers overlapping like shingles
- Test-fit every piece before nailing
Borrowed my neighbor’s pneumatic nailer – nearly blew a hole through the first plank cause I didn’t set the pressure right. Took three evenings of nailing while crawling around on my knees. My back still reminds me every morning.
Finishing Touches Battle
Went with oil-based urethane cause everyone said it’s tougher. Mistake one? Didn’t open windows enough. Got so dizzy I nearly painted myself into a corner. Mistake two? Applied thick coats like icing a cake. Ended up with sticky patches and dust nibs everywhere. Sanded the whole surface again with 120-grit by hand and used water-based poly this time. Three thin coats with old t-shirts. Perfection.
So yeah, the jump squats feel amazing now but let me tell you – moisture barriers aren’t just marketing crap. And always triple-check those nailer settings.
