How to Attach a Basketball Hoop to a Garage

Transform your driveway into a court and bring one-on-one games to life with the addition of a basketball hoop to your garage.  You don’t have to be a handyman extraordinaire to tackle this project, only an owner of a ladder and a drill and the knowledge to use them.

Home Court Advantage

Installing a basketball hoop can turn any empty area into a playful zone of H-O-R-S-E games and casually shooting hoops with friends and family.  The best places that make home-courts are roomy driveways, preferably hanging the hoop on the roof in front of a double garage.  The best pseudo-courts are level and smooth, but anywhere with wide enough playing space will do the trick.  Plenty of homeowners with single door garages have make their narrower driveways work in their favor.

Installing a roof-mounted basketball hoop is one of the easiest ways to turn your driveway into a court.

There are a few things you should consider before climbing up to your roof and installing your new garage-mounted hoop:

• Your mounting surface needs to be secured and able to support the hoop without fear of it falling or wobbling off (especially onto your car or yourself).
• Mounting on your garage means you should avoid the hoop being obstructed by the roof line.
• The hoop, when installing it on against the garage, should be as flat as possible.
• Be sure that the place where you’re installing the basketball hoop is free and clear of any mechanisms around the garage door area.

Installing Your Basketball Hoop to Your Garage: Step-by-Step

The NBA’s regulation backboard size is 72 by 42 inches and the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA’s regulation height for the hoop’s rim is 10 feet from the playing surface, with the rim measuring 18 inches in diameter and net hanging 18 inches from the rim itself.  This is your court, and you certainly don’t have to follow any strict regulations to have a fun game of basketball, so just decide ahead of time how high you want your hoop and if you want to match the pros.

Step One

Scout the area where you’d want your basketball hoop to go.  Next, mark where you’ll be putting the mounting brackets for the hoop.  You’ll want to attach your hoop against the roof’s studs in the center of the roof, which you can locate with an electronic stud finder.

Now, gather your tools:

• Ladder
• Drill
• Stud finder
• Crescent wrenches
• Level
• Tape measure
• Your basketball hoop kit
• Any additional tools recommended by the kit’s instructions

Step Two

Install your mounting brackets on the places you previously marked on your garage’s roof.  Do this by following your hoop kit’s installation instructions.  The majority of basketball hoop kits will have adjustable brackets that accommodate for different roof pitches and other unique garage features.

You’ll be drilling pilot holes for your lag bolts, so you’ll want to use a drill bit that’s ¼ the size of the bolts you’re using.  Now, line up the holes and attach the bracket to the roof with your lag bolts.  Attach the mounting bracket with a socket and ratchet.

Step Three

With the help of a family member or friend, attach your backboard.  Your kit will likely come with nuts and bolts, which you’ll use along with your power drill to install the backboard.

Next, use water-resistant, exterior caulking to seal any holes or gaps left behind.  This will keep your newly installed bolts from rusting and stop water from sneaking into places it doesn’t belong.  Rainwater can also be the culprit behind rotted out studs.  Test the backboard while on your ladder to ensure that it’s installed securely.

Step Four

Finally, attach the net to the rim.

Installing a basketball hoop is an easy project that only demands a few moments of your time.  Most of us have a ladder, a drill, and the appropriate wrenches lying around to mount a backboard, a task that can be completed in thirty minutes or less.  Mounting a backboard basketball hoop to your garage is decidedly easier than attempting to install an in-ground basketball hoop.

Once you’ve mounted the brackets, hung the backboard, and attached the net to the rim, take a step back and remove the ladder away from the basketball hoop.  Check to see if the backboard appears straight, even tossing the ball a few times to make it’s not hitting the backboard at any odd angles.

Periodically, you’ll want to check to see if you need to re-caulk around the areas where you drilled for your lag bolts.  You’ll also want to ensure that the backboard is still secured as outer elements like strong winds and storms can wreak havoc on exterior installed accessories.

Do You Need A Garage To Attach Your Hoop To?

At Danley’s, we have all the garage styles and sizes that will improve the value of your home. All the stuff that you wanted to move out of the garage can be stored inside a two-car or even a three-car garage. Speak to a specialist about garage sizes and get a free quote online today.