Alright, let me tell you about this little project I got myself into a while back. It involves a bit of sweat, some wood, and yeah, even a volleyball.

So, I had this spare room. Kinda dingy, floor was a mess. I got tired of looking at it. Decided it needed a proper floor, something solid. Started looking around, you know, figuring out what to put down. Lots of choices out there. Carpets? Nah, too much hassle to keep clean. Tiles? Too cold, maybe. Then I thought, wooden flooring. Yeah, that sounds about right. Gives a room a nice warm feel.

Started digging into types of wood. Oak, maple, pine… all that stuff. Somewhere along the way, reading about materials and sources, I stumbled onto info about rubber trees. Not for the flooring wood itself, you understand, but just interesting how rubber’s made, tapped from the tree. Made me think about all the rubber stuff we use without thinking, like that old rubber volleyball I’ve had forever.

Anyway, back to the floor. I settled on some decent wooden planks. Looked tough enough. Got them delivered, big stack of them. Then the real fun began. Ripped out the old flooring first. Messy job. Then laying down the new stuff. Had to measure everything twice, sometimes three times. Cut the planks. Trying to get them to fit just right, clicking them together. My knees were killing me after the first day.

Getting the hang of it

It took a few days, working evenings mostly. Slowly, piece by piece, the floor started taking shape. I put down some underlayment first, you know, that thin layer that goes underneath. Think it might have even had some recycled rubber bits in it, funny enough. Helped with sound, they said. Finally got the last plank in. Stood back. Looked pretty darn good, if I say so myself.

The Payoff

The room felt completely different. Solid underfoot. Clean. Had a nice woody smell too. After cleaning up all the dust and tools, I just stood there for a bit. What to do with the space now? Then I remembered that old volleyball.

Went and dug it out. It’s one of those classic rubber ones, nothing fancy. Stood in the middle of my new wooden floor and just bounced it. Thump-thump-thump. Nice solid sound bouncing off the wood. Felt satisfying. Didn’t set up a net or anything, just bounced the ball, tossed it around a bit. Felt good to have done the work myself and then actually use the space. Simple stuff, you know?

So yeah, that’s the story. From thinking about rubber trees to laying down wooden flooring, and ending up bouncing a rubber volleyball on it. A good bit of work, but worth it in the end.