how to install a 3" basketball hoop into a 3.5" sleeve

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outdoorsgal

LifeTime Supporter
Jan 24, 2015
943
Phoenix, AZ
I had decided to break down and pay $250 for the basketball hoop at the pool store for the kid's birthday party when on the way to buy it I passed a yard sale with a basketball hoop/set up for sale. $40 and they would help deliver it. Deal. I thought. Now it's been sitting on the side of the house with a not so happy husband that said it took 4 guys to move it (had sand in the bottom) and the post didn't come off as easy as the guy explained. I think what we have to do is
1. figure out how high we want the basketball hoop to be and saw off the post-the height of where we saw it will depend on how we install it perhaps. The hoop is a professional grade hoop and with a lever in the back it can be pulled up. However, that part of the hoop also makes it heavier. I'm not sure if that's an issue besides being heavy to take out each winter.
2. salt water pool and we water plants right near the 18" deep cement basketball sleeve. The hole/sleeve gets full of water and is probably always full of water. I was thinking of spraying something inside and outside of the pole to water proof the pole.

3. I went to Lowes to look for a 3.5" pipe that I would cut at 2-3 or so, put it in the sleeve, then drill a hole in the top and bolt the 3" basketball pole. I couldn't find a pole and the guy at at Lowes one guy said I needed a metal bushing/reducer that will secure the 3" pipe to the 3.5" hole so it won't move around. He was going to see if he could special order it and call me. I forgot his name and he didn't call me.

The next guy said he thought I should do what I was trying to do with the metal pole, but by using a piece of PVC that has an inside diameter of 3" (I'm not sure if PVC is measured by the inside or outside but I'm thinking this is might be hard to find and it'll hold up for a while in Phoenix, but I'm not sure how long) and on the outside of the pvc, fill it in with rubber cement so it will secure it and if i ever want to get it out it will be easy to get out. (I'm not sure how easy this will be since the hole is 18" or so deep.)

I also thought of finding some hard rubber or something and filling the gap in between the pole and the sleeve, but I'm not sure what is the easiest answer that will keep the pole secure when it's being banged around by basketballs hitting it.

any ideas would be greatly appreciated. thx!!!
 
outdoorsgal said:
I had decided to break down and pay $250 for the basketball hoop at the pool store for the kid's birthday party when on the way to buy it I passed a yard sale with a basketball hoop/set up for sale. $40 and they would help deliver it. Deal. I thought. Now it's been sitting on the side of the house with a not so happy husband that said it took 4 guys to move it (had sand in the bottom) and the post didn't come off as easy as the guy explained. I think what we have to do is
1. figure out how high we want the basketball hoop to be and saw off the post-the height of where we saw it will depend on how we install it perhaps. The hoop is a professional grade hoop and with a lever in the back it can be pulled up. However, that part of the hoop also makes it heavier. I'm not sure if that's an issue besides being heavy to take out each winter.
2. salt water pool and we water plants right near the 18" deep cement basketball sleeve. The hole/sleeve gets full of water and is probably always full of water. I was thinking of spraying something inside and outside of the pole to water proof the pole.

3. I went to Lowes to look for a 3.5" pipe that I would cut at 2-3 or so, put it in the sleeve, then drill a hole in the top and bolt the 3" basketball pole. I couldn't find a pole and the guy at at Lowes one guy said I needed a metal bushing/reducer that will secure the 3" pipe to the 3.5" hole so it won't move around. He was going to see if he could special order it and call me. I forgot his name and he didn't call me.

The next guy said he thought I should do what I was trying to do with the metal pole, but by using a piece of PVC that has an inside diameter of 3" (I'm not sure if PVC is measured by the inside or outside but I'm thinking this is might be hard to find and it'll hold up for a while in Phoenix, but I'm not sure how long) and on the outside of the pvc, fill it in with rubber cement so it will secure it and if i ever want to get it out it will be easy to get out. (I'm not sure how easy this will be since the hole is 18" or so deep.)

I also thought of finding some hard rubber or something and filling the gap in between the pole and the sleeve, but I'm not sure what is the easiest answer that will keep the pole secure when it's being banged around by basketballs hitting it.

any ideas would be greatly appreciated. thx!!!
Click to expand...

The first think I thought of is cutting up an old bicycle tube and wrapping it around the pole, you could use some petroleum jelly to lube it up to slip it down... otherwise still trying to find a reducer. Finding an inside diameter pvc pipe and then sanding down the outside diameter to slip in would work too. There is also this.... Order Aluminum 6061 Pipe in Small Quantities at OnlineMetals.com
 
Might call a machine shop and get an estimate on a spacer the would slip between the two, aluminum, steel, ... . You do need to remember that those guys talk in ten thousands of an inch (0.0000) so there might be a little trouble when you're using 3" and 3.5" but it's just a matter of working the clearance out with them.
 
If that was a real driveway hoop it may be too big for the pool concrete to hold since there was no footing for it. We have a pool version that has a base that is filled with water and works well for us. Then again we aren't slam dunking.
 
thanks for the input. I hadn't noticed I had replies until now and wanted to give an update of the product I discovered

First, as for the responses, all great ideas. the only one that concerns me is wjr75's comment that the pool concrete might not hold it. If you mean size, the post is 3" and the hole is 3.5" so it'll fit, but it'll be too small so we need to do something about the space.

After a few weeks of trying to figure this out I went to Lowes today and the 3" PVC is 3" on the inside and 3.5 on the outside. If I measured something a bit wrong I guess I'd have to figure out how to shave it off a bit-not sure how much of a big deal that'd be. the guy at Lowes came up with what i thought was a fantastic idea and I'm planning on doing this, I think. There's a new product, Jika, Pro Select, Fence Post Mix Post Fix - YouTube. It dries hard and solid so to replace cement for folks putting in fence posts, but it's still a foam so that if I need to take it out it shouldn't be too hard to drill it out or hit it with a rebar and a hammer then wetvac it out. Seems like a cool product and I'm hopeful it'll work fine.

thx!
 
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