Getting Started

So I got this wild idea after watching the Olympics – why not make my driveway handle basketball, badminton, and street hockey without destroying it? Found these interlocking rubber tile samples dumped near the gym dumpster. Snagged about twenty of ’em thinking hell yeah, free materials. Dragged those babies home in my pickup truck, sweated buckets unloading them alone.

Setting Up the Battlefield

First I hosed down the whole driveway real good, took the broom and scrubbed off old oil stains. Still damp when I started slapping tiles together around 3PM. Sun was brutal – sweat kept dripping into my eyes while kneeling. Alignment went to shit twice when my dog chased squirrels across my half-done floor, sending tiles flying everywhere. Took three tries locking the corners right.

Major Snags Hit:

• Tiles bulged up near the garage slope
• Edges lifted whenever someone stepped near perimeter
• Morning dew made the surface slicker than ice

Trial and Error Fixes

Next morning I ripped up the sloped section, threw down non-slip drawer liner underneath like ghetto underpadding. Weighted the edges with cinderblocks from my failed tomato garden project. Tested bounce with my old basketball – rock solid in center but dead spots near the edges. My nephew wiped out bad during street hockey, said it felt like skating on greased concrete. Almost called it quits right there.

Final Tweaks

Spray painted neon warning lines where the dodgy edges were. Stuck rubber door stoppers under lifting corners – gaffer taped those ugly fixes to death. Made neighborhood kids swap cleats for sneakers. Lasted two weeks before rain warped everything. Salvaged ten tiles for garage flooring; rest went back to the dumpster.

Epilogue

Would I do it again? Hell no unless paid good money. Cost me zero dollars but two weekends, one tetanus shot from the cinderblock incident, and owing my nephew new kneepads. Temps worked okay for light use but humidity? Forget it. Better stick to single surfaces unless you enjoy sweating and swearing more than actually playing sports.