Alright, so I’ve been wanting to redo my home basketball court for a while now. The old surface was, let’s just say, well-loved. I decided to go all-in and get that classic, shiny parquet look. You know, like the pros play on. Figured I’d document the whole messy process.

First, I ripped out the old flooring. This was surprisingly brutal. Lots of dust, splinters, and general yuckiness. Wear gloves and a mask, people! Seriously.

Leveling the Subfloor

Next came the fun part (not really): leveling the concrete subfloor. It was way more uneven than I thought. I used a self-leveling compound – basically, you mix it up, pour it on, and it magically finds its own level. Except it’s not quite that magical. I still had to spread it around and make sure it got into all the low spots.

Let that dry for a good long while. Like, a really long while. Patience is key, even though I’m not a patient person.

The Keel System

Now for the keel! This is the framework that goes under the wood, giving it that nice bounce and that classic basketball sound. I went with a floating keel system. Basically, it’s a bunch of these interlocking pieces that create a grid. It took some figuring out, and a few choice words, but I eventually got it all laid out and connected.

• Measure twice, cut once (or, in my case, measure five times and still mess it up a little).
• Make sure everything is nice and snug. You don’t want any squeaks or wobbles.

Laying the Parquet

Finally, the moment of truth: laying the actual parquet. I ordered these pre-finished timber squares. They looked gorgeous, all shiny and new. The interlocking system was pretty clever, kinda like giant puzzle pieces.

I started in one corner and slowly worked my way across the room. It was slow going, making sure each piece was perfectly aligned. A rubber mallet was my best friend during this phase. Lots of gentle tapping (and some not-so-gentle tapping when things got stubborn).

Cut to: a few days, several blisters, and a whole lot of sweat later… it was DONE. My very own parquet basketball court. It looked amazing. All that hard work definitely paid off.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go shoot some hoops. All that’s left to do is test it!