Okay, here’s my blog post about building a basketball court floor, told from my personal experience and using simple language:

So, I decided to build a little basketball practice area in my basement. I’ve got some decent ceiling height, and I figured, why not? The biggest part was gonna be the floor. I wanted something that felt right, you know? Not just concrete.

First thing I did was measure everything out. Twice. Maybe three times. I wanted to make absolutely sure I knew how much wood to get. I sketched it out on some paper, like a super rough blueprint.

Then came the sleepers. Now, these are basically just long pieces of wood that sit on the concrete and give you something to nail the actual floorboards into. I went with pressure-treated 2x4s. My concrete floor was pretty level, lucky * it was uneven, I might use small wooden blocks to get the height right.

I laid out the sleepers, spacing them about 16 inches apart. This is important. Too far apart, and your floor will feel bouncy. Too close, and you’re wasting wood. I used a chalk line to make sure they were all straight. It’s like drawing a line on the floor with chalk, super handy.

After that, I need to fix these wooden strips to the floor to give the whole thing a solid base. I drilled holes in the concrete. This was a bit of a pain, gotta admit. You need a special drill bit for concrete, and it makes a lot of dust. Wear a mask! I put some anchors in the holes, and then screwed the sleepers down tight.

Next up was the plywood.I chose the thicker one. I figured it would hold up better to all the bouncing and jumping. I laid the plywood sheets over the sleepers, making sure the edges lined up with the center of the sleepers. This gives it more support.

Then, the fun part – nailing it all down! I used a nail gun, which is way faster than hammering by hand. If you don’t have one, you can rent one. Just make sure you use the right kind of nails, ones that are long enough to go through the plywood and into the sleepers.

I went over the whole thing, making sure all the plywood was securely attached. No loose boards allowed! And that’s pretty much it. It’s a solid, sturdy base for a basketball court.

The final step is add the surface. I’m still deciding what kind of finish I want. Maybe some interlocking rubber tiles, or maybe I’ll paint it like a real court. But the hard part – the wooden floor part – is done!