Once the barn structure was complete and the utilities were in place, the next step was building the basketball court floor. The floor is the part of this project I receive the most questions about. What type of flooring did we use? How is it installed? Is it something you can DIY? Was it difficult? And most commonly, how much did it cost?

This post walks through how we chose our flooring, the materials involved, the installation approach we used, and what we would or would not do again. If you are considering building your own indoor court, or even just installing hardwood in a large open space, this guide will give you a realistic sense of what to expect.

Why We Chose Reclaimed Maple Gym Flooring

New gym flooring is made from first grade maple hardwood. It is incredibly durable, responsive, and long-lasting. However, it is also expensive. To build a full court floor from scratch using new maple flooring and the recommended subfloor layers, the material cost alone would have been approximately $35,000. That estimate includes the plywood layers beneath the hardwood and the hardwood itself.

We chose instead to use reclaimed gym flooring. There is a company called Waste Equals that salvages hardwood gym floors from schools and athletic facilities, then resells the flooring in large panels. These panels include the hardwood surface along with the plywood layers already attached. This meant we did not have to build the subfloor from scratch.

We spent about two months communicating with Waste Equals to review available inventory, panel sizes, pricing, and shipping. Reclaimed flooring does not come in a standardized layout. You are purchasing what has been removed from an existing building, and the inventory changes often. It took some patience to find a full set of panels that worked for our court dimensions and layout. In the end, the reclaimed option was both cost-effective and aligned with our preference to reuse materials where possible.

Planning for Moisture and Expansion

Before any wood goes down, a moisture barrier is required. We laid a continuous plastic vapor barrier directly over the concrete slab. This prevents moisture from wicking up into the wood over time. Wood floors, especially hardwood gym floors, need room to expand and contract with temperature and seasonal changes. For that reason, the flooring is not installed flush to the perimeter walls. We left a gap around the edges of the court to allow for natural movement. This gap is later covered by base transition trim.

Understanding the Panels

The reclaimed flooring we purchased came in large sections, each approximately four feet by eight feet. Each panel was heavy, weighing over two hundred pounds. This is because the panels included two layers of plywood subfloor plus the maple hardwood top layer. Moving and positioning the panels required two people and some physical effort. There is no way around that part. If you are planning a project like this, plan for extra hands during the installation stage.

Each panel was labeled to indicate where it had originally been in the gym it came from. Fortunately, those labels helped us align the seams correctly. If your panels are not labeled, you may have to square and trim them to make the seams align cleanly. That requires a track saw and multiple blades. We began to cut and square panels at first, but we used up blades very quickly. After realizing that our labeled panels fit together well without extensive trimming, we stopped cutting and relied on the labeling system to place each piece where it would align correctly.

Skipping the squaring step saved time and money. However, this decision only works if the panels you receive are clearly labeled and cut consistently.

How We Joined the Panels

There were two primary options for joining the panels together:

1. We could have laid down an additional layer of plywood, then screwed through the hardwood into the subfloor. This would have been fast and secure, but it would leave visible screw holes in the hardwood surface. We did not want visible screws in the finished floor, so we ruled this option out.
2. The method we chose was to connect the panels to each other using wooden joinery. We used domino joiners, which are similar in purpose to biscuits or dowels but provide more strength. We used 6 millimeter dominoes and wood glue to connect each row of panels to the next row. Within each row, the hardwood tongue-and-groove edges allowed the panels to interlock tightly.

We joined the panels in rows. For example, row A was joined together using the tongue-and-groove hardwood connection. Row A was joined to row B using domino joiners. This approach allowed us to push the panels together horizontally without having to lift or angle them in ways that would have been impossible, given their weight and the presence of support posts inside the barn.

The goal during installation was to ensure that all seams sat level with one another so that bouncing a basketball anywhere on the floor would feel consistent. We took time with this stage and adjusted as needed. The result is that we have no dead spots on the court. The ball bounces evenly everywhere, which is a direct outcome of careful installation and alignment.

After Installation: Sanding, Sealing, and Court Lines

Once the panels were installed and secured, the floor needed to be sanded, sealed, and lined. We chose to hire out this part. The sanding stage requires high-powered commercial sanders and a large amount of ventilation. The sanding alone took several days. After sanding, the company applied two coats of sealer, allowed it to dry, taped and painted the court lines and center logo, and then applied two final coats of finish.

If you are installing a court floor of this scale, I recommend hiring out the sanding and finishing. Painting the lines is something you could do as a DIY project, but sanding a full gym floor is intensive, dusty, and time-consuming. A professional crew completed this stage in about ten days, and the floor needed an additional week to fully cure before we used the space again.

Final Thoughts on the Basketball Court

The court flooring was one of the most rewarding parts of the project. It took planning, careful installation, and time, but the result is a high-quality playing surface that performs well, looks beautiful, and will hold up for many years. Using reclaimed gym flooring allowed us to create a professional-style basketball court at a significantly lower cost than building one from new materials.

If you are considering installing a court floor, whether reclaimed or new, thoughtful planning at the beginning will make all the difference. Measure carefully, expect the panels to be heavy, allow time for adjustments, and know which parts to DIY and which parts to hire out.

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Building Our Pole Barn
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DIY Pickleball Court in Your Backyard
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