How to Install a Freestanding Basketball Goal

Improve your basketball skills at home with your own practice basketball hoop. Here are instructions for installing the freestanding kind.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Four 80-lb. Bags Concrete
• Shovels
• Basketball Goal Kits
• Basketball Hoops
• Levels
• Shovels

1. Choose a location near the surface you plan to use as the court. Driveways and patios work well.

2. Purchase a post-mount basketball goal kit from a sporting goods store, home improvement center or lumberyard. The kit should include the backboard, rim, net, post mounting bracket and possibly the mounting post. (In some cases you'll have to purchase the post separately. If so, obtain the specifics for the size of the post from the instructions provided with the goal kit.)

3. Buy four 80-lb. bags of sack-crete (concrete) from a lumberyard.

4. Dig a hole adjacent to the playing surface at least 36 inches deep and 18 inches in diameter.

5. Place the base of the post into the hole. You'll need guide wires, wooden bracing or a friend to help hold the post in a vertical position while working. Use a level to check its position often.

6. Mix the sack-crete according to the instructions on the bags. (Remember to keep the mix fairly dry. It will dry more quickly and will help support the post better as it dries.)

7. Fill the hole gently and evenly with the concrete mix to a level about 4 to 6 inches below ground level.

8. Allow cement to dry for at least 48 hours.

9. Fill the rest of the hole with dirt and pack it in tightly.

10. Attach the backboard to the post according to the instructions provided with the goal kit, then mount the rim to the backboard.

11. Hang the net and you're ready to play.

Tips & Warnings

• Mobile basketball hoops are a fantastic, less permanent alternative. These units, which can be moved around on their wheeled bases, require little assembly and cost a bit more than standard poles.
• Retractable poles are available; they allow easy adjustment of basket height for different skill levels.
• Some of the materials are fairly heavy and awkward. This is a project that might be a good two-person job.

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