March madness is here, the Badgers are a number-one seed, and I’m ready for some exciting basketball. But I have to confess to something many people might find strange—when I’m watching basketball, sometimes my mind drifts off the game and I start looking at the court.
As a hardwood flooring professional, I’m amazed at many of the basketball courts today. Hardwood planks (typically maple) have been the standard for indoor gymnasiums for a long time, but the newest floors are showing a higher degree of creativity and stylishness than I’ve seen before. It’s common now to see hardwood arranged in intricate geometrical patterns, as well as the use of different finishes to mark off sections of the court, such as the three-point area.
As someone with personal experience installing gym floors, I appreciate the work that goes into those floors. It requires skill and care to make a gym floor look beautiful while also ensuring it functions perfectly.
That can’t be forgotten—the durability of hardwood flooring is after all what makes it so ideal for basketball. It’s able to stand up to the bouncing ball, pounding footsteps, and crashing bodies with relatively little maintenance. That’s why “hardwood” has almost become synonymous with basketball, and you’ll hear announcers say, “On the hardwood tonight…” It’s really the only practical choice for the game.
I’ll be honest, I’d much rather be installing customized flooring in a home or business. We don't install many basketball courts however, we’ve learned a lot from working on basketball courts, and we apply that knowledge on all jobs.
An important lesson I picked up on one gym flooring job sticks with me to this day. I learned that explaining things to customers is an important part of what we do. I had gone with my father, who started Ralph’s, to install a gym in a small town. When we arrived, we discovered that we had a sizable audience of people interested in seeing the floor installed in the town’s only gym.
Dad made the determination—correctly—that the wood was overly dry and would pick up moisture once it was installed, causing it to expand. Therefore, he installed it allowing for room for expansion. Many of the onlookers thought he didn’t know what he was doing and complained about the gaps between the planks.
Dad wasn’t about to do the installation wrong, but he could never stand for customers to be upset. So he patiently explained why we were doing what we were doing. There were still some doubters, but Dad won over the crowd, and we were able to finish the job the right way. And just as Dad knew it would, the floor looked perfect once the wood expanded.
That’s an example we still follow at Ralph’s. If a customer has questions, we don’t get irritated, roll our eyes, and give a short-as-possible answer. We take the time to explain what we’re doing and why it’s the best way.
We understand that people don’t just become financially invested in hardwood floors—they become personally invested in the vision they have for the flooring in their home. We love it when our customers have that personal attachment, and we’re glad to explain the installation process to them, including involving them in any choice that will have an impact on appearance or functionality.
Of course, the community-gym floor Dad and I were installing is a far cry from what you’ll find at the NBA (and even college) arenas of today. But that doesn’t stop me from feeling a connection to those floors. I know enough about hardwood flooring, to know what it took to make them look as great as they do. And they make me recall those days long ago installing gym floors with Dad and his commitment to keeping customers happy.
So while everyone else is applauding the dunks, steals, and three-pointers this March, I’ll be giving a silent hand to the people who designed and installed the floors. Way to go, hardwood floor pros!
Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/scoobs/
