Installing a home basketball court

Having a practice court at home is one of the best ways to develop and fine-tune your shooting skills. Add a few friends, and you'll be ready to practice a whole range of offensive and defensive game techniques. Figure A Figure B Figure C Figure D Figure E Figure F Figure G

If you've got a suitable space with an even playing surface, creating an at-home basketball practice court is a fairly simple endeavor. Installing a fixed goal requires only a few steps.

Materials:

Basketball goal and installation hardware
Quick-drying concrete, approximately 500 pounds

1. First, make sure you've selected a suitable location for the goal. Preferably it will be adjacent to a flat court surface (such as in a driveway) and will be away from street traffic, obstacles or anything breakable such as windows.
   
   
   
2. To install a permanent goal, you'll need to dig a hole that's about 2 feet deep and about 1-1/2 feet wide. Make certain that there are no cable, phone or utility lines in the area in which you intend to dig.
   
   
   
3. Since you'll be anchoring the base of the goal in concrete, you'll need about 500 pounds of quick-drying concrete to fill the hole. Mix the concrete and fill the hole about one-third full to form the foundation. Next, carefully insert the base, and then fill the hole the rest of the way with concrete. As you anchor the base, make certain that it is straight in the ground -- not tilted or angled -- and that the top of the base is even with ground level. As you fill the hole with concrete, add enough so that the top of the concrete base is raised slightly above ground level to allow for runoff of rainwater (figure A).
   
   
   
4. Allow the concrete to set and dry for 24 hours.
   
   
   
5. Most basketball-goal kits come in three or more sections. Installation will be easier if you preassemble the goal and support post according to the manufacturer's instructions before installing it in the ground.
   
   
   
6. You may need some assistance from a couple of friends to position and carefully insert the preassembled goal and support pole into the base (figure B). Be certain that the pole goes in straight and seats securely (figure C).
   
   
   
7. Once the assembly is seated properly, you can adjust the angle of the goal (figure D). There may be levers or wing-tabs on the support (figure E) to make this easier.
   
   
   
8. Once you've got the goal angled exactly as you want it, secure the assembly in place with the locking base-cap.
   
   
   
9. To finish the installation, pour additional concrete directly into the hollow pole to further secure the assembly.
   
   
   
10. With the goal positioned and locked in place, you can adjust the goal to the desired height using the adjusting levers on the support pole (figure F). Regulation height is 10 feet. Most goals can be adjusted from 7 feet to 10 feet in order to accommodate different ages or skill levels.
    
    
    
11. With the goal installed, and if you have ample space, you may want to mark off a key and sideline boundaries to simulate the markings on a real court (figure G). The dimensions of a regulation key are a 16-foot width and 15 feet from the basket to the free-throw line. The circle that goes around the free-throw line is 10 feet in diameter. Stencil kits are available to help you mark off regulation boundaries. You may choose to make permanent markings using paint, or temporary ones using street chalk.

Source http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/os_sports/article/0,2033,DIY_14151_2271358,00.html