Okay, so I decided to put wooden floors in my home gym last month. Yeah, I know some people think that’s weird – rubber mats or whatever, right? But I wanted that nice look for my garage setup, plus wood feels solid under your feet when lifting.

Stripping the Old Mess Out

First thing was ripping up the nasty old carpet. Man, that thing smelled like dirty socks and dust. Took me two whole weekends just pulling staples outta the concrete. Sweated buckets scraping off glue chunks with a putty knife.

Shopping Drama

Went to the big box store for wood planks. The dude there kept saying “You sure about this for a gym?” like five times. Picked oak cause it’s hard, but man was it heavy. Loaded eight boxes in my truck – almost killed my back carrying them inside later.

Measuring Twice, Messing Up Anyway

Laid the underpad stuff first, easy peasy. Thought cutting planks would be simple with my saw. Wrong! Messed up four pieces before getting the angles right near the wall corners. Had to keep running back to garage to re-cut pieces. Sweating bullets trying not to waste expensive wood.

The Click-Clack Nightmare

Installing? Hah! Those “easy click lock” planks? Total lie. Spent three hours just on the first row cause nothing lined up right. Had to literally kneel on boards and bang them with a mallet. My knees were purple bruises for days. Dropped one plank right on my toe – still hurts!

Gaps & Cursing

Suddenly saw gaps between planks after doing half the floor. Panicked thinking humidity would warp everything. Slammed them together so hard the mallet handle broke. Ended up using weight plates to hold boards down overnight like a crazy person. Woke up at 3am to check if they moved.

Sealing It Up

Put three coats of polyurethane finish. Stunk up the whole house for a week even with windows open. Couldn’t walk on it for days cause it kept getting tacky like flypaper. Wife threatened to throw out my weights if the smell didn’t clear soon.

Was It Worth It?

Month later – got two dents where I dropped dumbbells. Adds character, whatever. Looks fantastic when light hits the grain. Sweat wipes right off though, and no more carpet stink. Would I do it again? Hell no! But the blisters? Totally earned those battle scars.