Hoop-la: The Backstory of the Backboards
The exciting thing about shopping thrift stores or garage sales is that you never know when you’re going to find that super-cool something that you didn’t know you were looking for, but have been waiting to find. That was the case when I found these beat-up vintage basketball rims for $1 each at my local Goodwill.It was definitely a “buy now, figure it out later” moment. I knew I could put them to use somehow in Grant’s room, but wasn’t sure how. But, by the time I drove them home, I had this vision in my mind…And fortunately for me, I married a guy with the man skills & power tools necessary to make it happen. He started with some pallets…He took them apart & used the reclaimed wood to create the backboards. A few 1″ x 2″s on the back made the brace to hold the pieces together.Next, I painted them using an old paintbrush & Sherwin William’s Attitude Gray. Then I used painter’s tape to mask the shooter’s square & painted it white.Then my husband bolted the rims on for me.To make the chalkboard plates, I fired up the table saw myself & cut some rectangles out of a heavy-weight, dense cardboard I had lying around. Then I drilled some holes & sprayed them with Chalkboard paint, & added some jute twine for hanging.To hang them on the backboards, I hammered small nails on the tops & hooked on the twine.Getting them hung on the wall was my husband’s department. These are fairly heavy, so he used very large screws, found studs in the wall, & screwed them in. I had the tough job of standing & watching. Ahhhhhh…Isn’t he cute?Ok- where was I? The top 1″x 2″ on the backboard rests on the screws to hold it on the wall. A couple of rubber furniture pads on the back protect the wall from too much damage. Obviously, these are not functional backboards & I have already informed my son that these will in no way withstand a slam dunk. Lightweight toy basketballs will just have to do in this case.And that’s the story of the new backboards. In case you missed the rest of the room, you can see that here.As always, thanks for stopping by!
Beth @ dot...in the city
November 22, 2011 @ 4:25 pm
Wow, I love this idea! My favorite part is the word "visitor" on the second bed đŸ™‚ so creative!
Goings on at the Glenn's
November 22, 2011 @ 5:39 pm
awesome! What a great idea! I bet they love it!
Carli
November 22, 2011 @ 8:25 pm
This is great-such a good idea!
Irene
November 23, 2011 @ 3:30 pm
They look awesome! Great job.
Bethany
March 9, 2015 @ 7:03 pm
I have been wanting to make something similar to this for our play room and after a search of the web, found your blog! I have a couple questions, if you have the time to answer…
1. What are the overall dimensions of the backboards?
2. Did you have to do anything special to the back of the backboards so the rims will stay on?
I'm not planning on any major slam dunks happening with ours either, just light toy basketballs, like yours, however I'm concerned that the rim seems really heavy for the 1" board it is attaching to.
Thanks for your time and great work!!!
Julie
March 9, 2015 @ 11:52 pm
So glad you like these! The backboards are approximately 38×28. We did not do anything special to attach the rims, just bolted them on thru the existing holes in the rim bracket.
We actually just took these down from my son's room because we got him a new bed and changed some things around, but they worked well for him for the past few years!! Good luck with yours!