This whole wooden floor project started cause I got sick of doing planks on my cold, hard concrete basement floor. My knees would ache like crazy after workouts, and the echo from dropping weights? Forget about it. So I thought, why not put down some wood like real gyms? Figured it couldn’t be that hard. Ha.
Finding the Actual Wood
First, I needed wood. Seemed easy enough, right? Wrong. Went to the big box store, stared at their “sports flooring” section. Prices were insane. Talked to some kid working the lumber aisle who clearly knew less than me. Left confused. Ended up researching online late one night. Forget fancy maple or oak; maple’s too expensive for my garage space. Saw people using basic plywood sheets. Grabbed my truck, went back to the store, bought a bunch of 3/4 inch thick plywood sheets labeled “standard”. Felt rough, but hey, it’s wood.
Cutting, Measuring, and Sweating Buckets
Got the sheets home. My garage ain’t huge, needed to cut them to size. Measuring tape out, chalk line snapped. Broke out the circular saw. Loudest noise ever in my tiny garage. Sawdust everywhere. Instant regret about not cleaning the place beforehand. Sneezed like crazy. Took ages to get even one sheet cut properly – kept messing up the angles near the wall. Was bent over, sweating, covered in sawdust, questioning my entire life. This stuff is heavy! Hauled one sheet into place. Didn’t fit right. Trimmed it. Didn’t fit again. More sawdust.
Sealing the Deal (and the Wood)
Once the pieces were finally kinda sorta cut and fitted down snug on the concrete, mostly, I knew it needed protection. Sweat, dropped weights, general nastiness – raw plywood would soak it up and warp in weeks. Read online reviews for hours on sealers. Chose a basic water-based polyurethane thing, supposed to be tough. Poured it into a cheap roller tray, used a rough roller pad. It smelled awful. Made my eyes water. Applied the first coat thin. Took forever. Let it dry a whole day. Sanded the rough spots by hand – felt like sandpaper torture. Applied a second coat. Smelled worse. Still, looked shinier, felt smoother.
Putting Stuff Back & The Slight Panic
Once the sealer finally stopped smelling like chemical death (mostly), I had to move my weights and bench back in. Slowly, carefully slid stuff across the new surface. Prayed I didn’t scratch my shiny finish. Dropped a small dumbbell. Held my breath. Nope, didn’t leave a dent. Wiped my sweaty face. Left a smear. Crap. Grabbed a rag. Wiped it off. Phew. Sweatproof seemed to hold.
How It Actually Holds Up?
Been using it for about two months now for mostly weights, some yoga stuff. Here’s the real deal:
- Feels Way Better: Knees don’t scream during planks anymore. Floor has a little bit of give. Less slippy too.
- Noise Down: Dropping weights isn’t shaking the whole neighborhood now. Big win.
- Sticky Spots? Yeah, sometimes after a hard session, if I sweat a literal puddle, it leaves a slight tacky feeling until I mop it the next day. Annoying but liveable.
- Scratches? Got a few light scrapes moving the bench around. Not horrible. Didn’t go through the sealer.
- What Sucks? The edges. I swear one sheet near the door is lifting maybe an eighth of an inch. Humidity maybe? Need to weight it down again or something. And the sawdust… found some lurking in corners just yesterday.
Overall? Yeah, I’m glad I did it. Saved a fortune compared to proper gym tiles. Looks decent. But man, way more time, sweat, sawdust, and that cursed sealer smell than I ever thought. Next time? Maybe I pay someone.
