Okay, here’s my attempt at a blog post, following your instructions and example:

Alright, so I got this project to do – laying down some LVL volleyball court flooring, the kind made with hard maple. Sounds fancy, huh? It kinda is, but mostly it was just a lot of work. Let me walk you through how it all went down.

The Prep Work

First things first, I had to get the area ready. This wasn’t just slapping wood on concrete. I cleared out EVERYTHING. Old furniture, some random boxes, you name it. It all had to go. Then came the fun part – cleaning. I swept, vacuumed, and then swept some more. I needed that subfloor to be spotless, no dust, no debris, nothing.

Next up, checking the subfloor itself. Turns out, it was kinda uneven in a few spots. Nothing major, but enough to mess with the finished floor. So, I got out some self-leveling compound and patched those areas up. Had to wait for that to dry completely, which took, like, forever (okay, maybe a day or two).

Getting the Wood Ready

While that was drying, I focused on the actual flooring. The hard maple planks arrived, and I gotta say, they looked pretty good. But they needed to acclimate to the room. Basically, I just stacked them in the room, leaving space between them for air to circulate. This prevents them from warping or expanding too much later on. Left them like that for about a week.

Laying it Down

Finally, the real work began. Starting along the longest wall, I laid down the first row. This is super important – get the first row straight, and the rest is (relatively) easy. I used a chalk line to make sure I was on track and some spacers to keep a consistent gap from the wall (for expansion, you know?).

Then, it was a matter of laying down each plank, one by one.I fit tongue into groove, ensuring the planks are joined correctly, It felt like putting together a giant, wooden jigsaw puzzle. Some planks needed a little, uh, “persuasion” to fit snugly, so I used a tapping block and a mallet to gently nudge them into place. No smashing, just gentle taps.

Finishing Touches

After all the planks were down, I installed the baseboards. These cover up the expansion gap and give the floor a nice, clean look. I used a nail gun for this, which made things way faster.

Lastly, fill the nail holes with putty and wait for it to dry before sanding.

So yeah, that’s pretty much it. Took me a good chunk of time, a bit of sweat, and a few sore muscles, but the finished floor looks awesome. The hard maple is beautiful, and it’s super solid. Ready for some serious volleyball action!