Okay, so I’ve been meaning to get this project done for ages, and today was finally the day. I’m talking about fixing up the floor in my makeshift volleyball practice area. It’s basically just a corner of the yard, but the ground was uneven and kinda rough. I wanted something smoother, and I had this idea to use some leftover soft maple timber.

First things first, I gathered my materials. I had a bunch of these maple boards – they were actually scraps from another project, which is perfect. I also grabbed my trusty tools: a saw, a level, a hammer, some nails, and a measuring tape. Pretty basic stuff, really.

The Prep Work

The area I was working with wasn’t huge, thankfully. I started by clearing out any rocks, weeds, and other junk. I wanted a nice, clean base to work with. Then, I spent a good chunk of time just trying to level the ground as much as possible. I used the level and some extra dirt to fill in any low spots. It wasn’t perfectly level, but hey, it’s a backyard volleyball court, not a professional stadium!

Laying the Battens

Next up, the actual timber. I decided to lay the boards down as battens – basically just laying them side-by-side across the area. I measured the space and figured out how many boards I’d need to cover the whole thing. It’s soft maple which i hope will be sufficient.

I started at one end, carefully placing the first board down. Then, I used the level again to make sure it was relatively straight. After that, it was pretty much rinse and repeat. I laid down the next board, making sure it was snug against the first one, and so on. I used a few nails here and there to keep things from shifting around too much, especially since the ground wasn’t perfectly even.

The Finishing Touches

Once all the boards were down, I went back and added a few more nails just to be sure. I didn’t want any of these things popping up while I was diving for a ball! I also took some extra dirt and packed it around the edges to kind of smooth out the transition from the grass to the wood.

And that was it! Honestly, it took a few hours, but it wasn’t rocket science. Now, I’ve got a much smoother surface to practice my volleyball moves on. It’s not perfect, but it’s a huge improvement over the bumpy ground I had before. Plus, it feels good to have finally tackled this project and used up those leftover timber pieces. Time for a game, I think!