You love playing basketball, but due to the pandemic, you cannot go to the local basketball court for practice sessions. You get anxious because of not getting the chance to burn out all that pent up energy you have stored or remake a move you just saw on the television and thought the referee’s decision was unfair. Or you saw Travis Scott building a basketball court in his hometown and got inspired by it. Why don’t you try directing your energy to build a basketball court right at your home where you’ll have everyday access to practice and replay the matches you see on TV? Below are some ideas regarding how you can build a basketball court right in your own backyard.
Things You’ll Need to Build A Basketball Court
If you have a good amount of space in your backyard or driveway, you can convert it to a basketball court. If you have a small space, you can make a half-court with one hoop attached to your garage door or a free-standing one. And if you do have space for a full-court, then take a look at the following steps:
Find the Perfect Location
It could be a space in your backyard or driveway. However, the ground has to be reasonably flat in order to make a basketball court. That way, you can minimize the costs for excavation work to level the floor.
It is strongly recommended that you construct the court with a concrete base. Concrete provides longevity, good performance, and in the long run, it provides value requiring no continuous maintenance or repair work for many years to come. Other than concrete, you can try other good bases, such as asphalt, pavers, or decking.
There are two things you can do when leveling your backyard:
• You can elevate your concrete slabs or any other bases you intend to use and then fix your backyard landscape accordingly.
• Another option is to place the slabs leveled with your backyard. This will also include excavation work, which involves more money.
Another important tip is to accurately measure the area you want to turn into a court. Accurate measurements will give you the best result. Normally, the whole basketball courtyard measures around 420sqm, but that won’t fit in your backyard. So to suit your space, you can customize it to the size you want by building a half-court. The size can vary from small (24sqm) to large (165sqm) according to your space.
Purchase Basketball Pole Hoops
• Here, too, you have two options.
• You can purchase your hoop and install it before you pour concrete, so it can be anchored.
You can purchase one from the portable basketball hoop review and select the one that suits you.
Level and Pour
Depending on whichever option you have chosen regarding leveling the ground as mentioned above, begin with the construction. If you want an elevated slab, then there’s no need for excavating. However, you need to remove grass and level the ground.
If you opt for level with the surrounding ground, then you need to begin digging and excavating 117mm below surface level: 100mm for the concrete and 17mm for the surface tile.
For the next step, make sure the weather is dry and pour the concrete to about 100mm, and it should be exactly according to your measurements. Leave it for 72 hours to dry and set. If you opt for anchored hoops, this is the perfect time for you to install them while pouring concrete slabs. You can also hire professionals or someone who has experience with concrete to lend you a hand.
Place the Tiles
After 72 hours, once the concrete has been set, you can go ahead and place the surface tiles. Be sure to align with the edges of the concrete, and once the tiles are set according to your desire, mark the edge pieces, remove them and then drill holes into the concrete.
Once that’s done, you can put plugs in the drill holes, place the edge pieces back and screw it tight, securing the edges of the basketball court.
Paint Lines
After the concrete floor is done, the next step is to mark the court with paint lines. For this, you can purchase a court line marking stencil kit or DIY (do it yourself).
If you opt for doing it yourself, you need to study basketball court dimensions and buy the following things:
• Paint
• Masking Tape
• Chalk
• Strings
• Tape Measure
For half court, you’ll need to mark:
• The free-throw line: this measures approximately 15 ft and is drawn in a half-circle from the top, where the basketball hoop is installed in the center.
• The free-throw lane: another half-circle measuring 12ft x 19ft that covers the middle of the half-court.
• If you are building a full-court, you need to mark a horizontal line extending from one side to another in the center of the court.
Embellishments
Now that you have a full-fledged basketball court right at your home, you can accessorize it any way you want. You can paint an artwork of your choice, or you can customize using various art stencils to make your guests go “wow”!
You can also attach a netting system around the hoop and surrounding areas to avoid wasting time on fetching the ball again and again and stop it from going over to the neighbor’s fence.
There are rumors about March Madness in 2021, but until then, a basketball court at home is a good way of keeping your kids busy during the pandemic, helping them to be physically and mentally active. Now that you have a basketball court, you can burn out all that energy that’s been pent up inside and loosen yourself up. You can also have practice sessions with your family and come up with your own home team name.
