How to Make a Basketball Hoop for Your room

Here are instructions for making a basketball hoop with a backboard for your bedroom. This basketball hoop is made to mount directly onto a wall.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drill
• 1/8 drill bit
• 3/16 drill bit
• 1 piece fiberboard 18"x24"
• screwdriver
• 2 pieces 1"x2"x24" lumber
• 2 pieces 1"x2"x15" lumber
• 1 piece 1"x2"x6" lumber
• 14 3/4 inch long wood screws
• 2 2 inch sheetrock screws
• 1 metal coat hanger
• 1 inch wide painters tape - optional
• paper clips - optional
• string - optional

1. 
    

   On a flat surface lay out the four pieces of lumber so they form a square. The 1"x2"x24" pieces are the top and bottom of the square. The 1"x2"x15" are the sides of the square. The 1"x2"x6" piece is going to act as a clamp for our rim. Do not attach this piece to the fiberboard in this step.

2. 
    

   Take the piece of 18"x24" fiberboard and set it on top of the wood square you just formed. The fiberboard should completely cover the wood square. Now with the drill and a 1/8" drill bit pre drill all four corners of the fiberboard and insert a 3/4 inch long wood screw in each hole. Pre drill another eight holes around all the edges of the fiberboard and insert the 3/4 inch long wood screws. After all the screws are in, the four pieces of wood should be attached to the fiberboard. This is the backboard for the hoop.

3. 
    

   Flip the backboard over so the four pieces of wood are now facing up. Using a tape measure, from the edge of the fiberboard, measure in eleven inches and put a pencil mark on the side of the wood. From the same edge of the fiberboard, measure in thirteen inches and put another pencil mark on the side of the wood. Now drill a 1/8 inch hole through the fiberboard at each of the pencil marks. The holes should be drilled through the fiberboard only. Do not drill these holes through the wood.

4. 
    

   Flip the backboard over so the fiberboard is now facing up. Straighten the wire hanger and insert each one of the ends through the holes you just made in the backboard. Pull approximately eight inches of the hanger through the holes and bend the hanger straight up. Place the 1"x2"x6" piece of wood over the hanger. From the front of the backboard, insert two 3/4 inch wood screws through the backboard and into the 1"x2"x6" piece of wood. This will clamp the hanger between the backboard and the 1"x2"x6" piece of wood. Form the wire hanger on the front side of the backboard into a hoop. On the top edge of the backboard, measure in four inches from the corners, and drill a 3/16 inch hole. These holes are for the sheetrock screws, so the backboard can be mounted to the wall.

5. This step is optional. Apply one inch wide painter tape to all four edges of the basketball hoop backboard. Make a square behind the rim using four pieces of tape. The square on this basketball hoop backboard is nine inches long by six inches high. For the basketball net, use twelve pieces of string that are each ten inches long. Tie one end of the string to a paper clip. Take the twelve paper clips with the string tied to them and attach them to the rim. For the bottom of the basketball net, make a paper clip chain using about twenty-five paper clips. Tie the other end of the strings to the chain.

Tips & Warnings

• If using the 1"x2"6" piece of wood as a clamp is to difficult, try twisting the eight inches of wire hanger going up the back of the basketball backboard together. This should work just as well at holding the rim in place.