So I had this crazy idea to finally fix up that old sports hall floor that’s been bugging me for months. Realized the concrete was cracking everywhere when I tripped during badminton last week – my knees still ache.
Digging into the Mess
Started ripping out the old rubber tiles yesterday. Big mistake doing this after work – arms felt like jelly peeling them up. The adhesive underneath was all gooey and black, stuck to my jeans permanently. Threw those pants out this morning.
The Wood Hunt
Drove to three lumber places before finding decent maple planks at Hank’s Hardware. The guy kept pushing fancy bamboo flooring, but I wasn’t buying it. Got the thick stuff cause those basketball kids will destroy anything thin.
What I hauled back:
- 40 boxes of maple flooring (almost killed my back loading these)
- This ugly green underpad roll that smelled like old tires
- 5 tubes of wood glue that leaked in my trunk
- Rented a floor sander from Pete’s Shop – overpaid for it too
Battle with the Concrete
Spent Thursday night with a scraper getting the stupid glue patches off. Sweat dripping everywhere. Took a break to grab pizza at midnight – cheese kept falling on the clean concrete, drove me nuts.
Laying Down First Boards
Thought this would be the easy part. Woke up Saturday and realized my stupid measuring tape was in centimeters! Boards ended up too short on the first row near the bleachers. Had to pull up 8 planks while glue was half dry – totally messed them up.
Sanding Nightmare
That rented sander felt like wrestling a tractor. First pass looked like waves – deep gouges everywhere. Neighbors actually banged on the door complaining about dust clouds. Took me three passes with different grits before it felt smooth under my bare feet.
The Grand Finale
Slapped on three coats of finish over the weekend. Still smells like chemicals in there. But man, when the afternoon sun hit those fresh boards yesterday? Kids dribbling balls sound like drumbeats now – worth every splinter and aching muscle.
