Okay, folks, let’s dive into my little weekend project: putting together some batten volleyball birch assembly wooden flooring. I’m no expert, just a regular guy who likes to get his hands dirty, so bear with me.

First things first, I gathered all my materials. This was mostly just the flooring planks themselves, the battens, some underlayment (because, you know, gotta protect those floors!), nails, and the usual suspects like a hammer, saw, measuring tape, and a pencil. I eyeballed most measurements, because who has time for perfect accuracy?

The Prep Work

Next, I cleared out the room. This involved a lot of shoving furniture into other rooms and a fair amount of grumbling. My wife wasn’t thrilled, but hey, progress requires sacrifice, right?

Then, I laid down the underlayment. This part was pretty straightforward – just roll it out and cut it to size. It’s like wrapping a giant, slightly crinkly present. I just made sure they are aligned and next to each other, with no overlaps.

Batten Down the Hatches (or, uh, Floors)

Now for the battens. These are the wooden strips that the flooring planks will attach to. I spaced them out evenly across the floor, using my highly scientific method of “that looks about right.” I nailed them down to the subfloor, making sure they were nice and secure. I was making sure they wouldn’t move.

Plank You Very Much

Here comes the fun part! I started laying the actual flooring planks. I clicked the first row of planks onto the battens, It was tricky, and then nailed them in place. I’m not gonna lie, there was some trial and error involved here. A few planks didn’t want to cooperate, but I persuaded them with some… gentle hammering.

I continued laying planks, row by row, making sure to stagger the joints (because that’s what you’re supposed to do, apparently). This part took the longest, and my back definitely started to complain. It was very painful and long.

It’s super satisfying to slot everything together.

The Finishing Touches

Finally, I reached the last row. I had cut some of the end of the planks. This usually requires some careful measuring and cutting, but I managed to get it done without losing any fingers. I nailed down the last few pieces, and voila! A (mostly) finished floor.

Okay, it’s not perfect. There are a few gaps here and there, and maybe one or two slightly uneven spots. But hey, it’s my uneven floor, and I built it myself! And most importantly, it’s sturdy enough to handle a decent volleyball game (in theory, at least). I’m pretty proud of it, even if it did take me all weekend and a few extra trips to the hardware store.