Okay, so I finally got around to tackling that flooring project I mentioned. Called it my ‘rubber Volleyball engineer board’ job, mostly ’cause the stuff I picked felt kinda sturdy, like something you’d want on a court, and it was that engineered wood plank type. Plus, the room might see some action, maybe even a casual volleyball bounce or two downstairs, who knows? Anyway, the old floor was just shot.

Getting Started – The Prep Work

First things first, I had to clear out the room completely. That took longer than I thought, always does. Then, the subfloor needed a good cleaning. Swept it, vacuumed it, made sure it was level enough. Found a couple of low spots, nothing major, just patched ’em quick. Pulled the baseboards off carefully, hoping to reuse them later.

Then I hauled in the boxes of the engineered boards. Left them in the room for a couple of days, like the instructions said. Something about letting the wood get used to the room temperature and humidity. Seemed important, so I waited. Patience isn’t my strong suit, but I didn’t want warped boards later.

Gathered my tools:

• Tapping block (just a scrap piece of the flooring, really)
• Pull bar
• Mallet (rubber one, felt appropriate)
• Spacers
• Tape measure
• Saw (used my jigsaw for the tricky cuts, miter saw for the straight ones)

Laying it Down – The Real Work Begins

Rolled out the underlayment first. This thin foam stuff, probably the ‘rubber’ part of my project name in spirit. Taped the seams together. Pretty straightforward.

Now, the first row. This part is always a bit nerve-wracking. Gotta get it perfectly straight against the longest wall, using those little spacers to leave an expansion gap. Measured twice, triple-checked. Tapped the first few boards together end-to-end. Took some fiddling to get them locked in tight without damaging the edges. That tongue and groove system needs a firm but careful touch.

Once the first row was down and straight, things started to pick up speed. Staggering the joints is key, makes it look better and stronger. So, I used the leftover piece from the end of one row to start the next one, as long as it wasn’t too short. Click, tap, click, tap. It became a rhythm. You lay the board, angle it in, push down, give it a little tap with the mallet and block to seat it snugly against the previous row. Then tap the end joint tight.

Had a few tricky cuts around a doorway and a weird corner. That’s where the jigsaw earned its keep. Slow and steady, measuring carefully. Made a couple of mistakes, sure, cut one board too short. Annoying, but part of the process. Just tossed it in the scrap pile and grabbed another.

Finishing Up and Final Thoughts

The last row was another fiddly bit. Often have to rip the boards lengthwise to fit, leaving that expansion gap again. Used the pull bar here quite a bit to snug the boards into place since there’s no room to swing the mallet near the wall.

After all the boards were down, I pulled out the spacers. Went around and re-installed the baseboards. Covered up the expansion gaps nicely, makes it look finished. Put in a transition strip in the doorway.

Stepped back and looked. Honestly, felt pretty good. Did it myself. Took the better part of a weekend, lots of getting up and down off the floor, but worth it. The ‘engineer board’ looks sharp, feels solid underfoot. Maybe not quite a professional volleyball court, but perfect for what I needed. Solid weekend’s work.