So my cousin’s been bugging me about upgrading that old concrete patch in his backyard into a legit pad volleyball court. He’s got the space, just needs the surface. Figured it was time to tackle this project head-on, and lemme tell ya, budgeting was the real beast here. Didn’t wanna go in blind and wreck my wallet.

Getting My Hands Dirty: What We Needed

First off, me and my cousin measured that patch like five times – couldn’t afford screw-ups later. Roughly 30 feet by 60 feet for a decent court size. Then started digging into what this fancy ‘parquet flooring’ stuff actually meant for outdoors. Turns out it’s these interlocking plastic tiles made to take weather and spikes. Pretty cool, but oh boy, the price tags got my eyeballs popping.

Started calling around and scouring sites. Found a bunch of brands – some felt flimsy, some looked solid. Settled on one that got decent reviews for toughness without being stupid expensive. Big lesson learned straight up: prices per square foot vary wild. Saw everything from two bucks all the way past seven bucks. Doing the math? Yeah, heart attack territory. Just the tiles alone were looking at over two thousand bucks just for our court size. Gulp.

The Bottom Line: Crunching Those Numbers

Alright, figured the tiles were the main chunk, but nah, you gotta think bigger:

• Tiles: Yep, the giant elephant in the budget. Chose a mid-range one around $3.75/sq ft. Total sting? $3,375. Ouch factor high.
• Prep Work: His backyard was mostly level, thank goodness. Still needed some sand and gravel to smooth out a couple of dips. Maybe $100-$150 for materials. Didn’t need to rent a compactor, just sweat labor – me and him shoveling like maniacs for half a day.
• Edging/Restraint: You can’t just have tiles floating off! Needed some plastic edging to lock it all down. Another easy $80 gone.
• The Little Killers (aka Sundries): Glue for the edging? Check. Spare clips? Check. Shipping for those heavy tiles? Big CHECK. Another surprise $150+.

Adding it all up? We busted past $3,700 real quick. My cousin nearly choked on his coffee when I showed him the spreadsheet. Had to tell him, “Dude, this ain’t dollar store turf.”

Actually Putting the Beast Together

After bleeding cash, it was time to sweat. Unloaded pallets like we were dockworkers. Laid out the grid pattern – kinda like giant puzzle pieces. Started snapping them together along the short ends first. The first few rows? Felt smooth, kinda satisfying. Then we hit the middle… and of course, things didn’t line up perfectly. Always happens, right? Had to backtrack, tap a few stubborn tiles harder with a rubber mallet. Wrestling with the perimeter edging and glue was its own special workout too. Hot day, cold beers mandatory afterwards.

Was That Wallet Pain Worth It?

Whole thing took two hardcore weekends, mostly ’cause of the prep. But standing back looking at it? Yeah, feels pretty dang good. Plays way smoother than concrete, looks pro. Cousin’s stoked. Wallet definitely cried a bit, but knowing the numbers upfront stopped us from a financial meltdown.

My blunt budget advice? Measure obsessively. Price shop those tiles like your life depends on it. And don’t be dumb like we almost were – budget at least an extra 10% for the sneaky stuff (shipping, clips, glue, coffee runs!). If your base ain’t level? Tackle that first or pay way more later. This ain’t cheap, man, but doing it smart makes the sting worth it. Feel like a DIY rockstar now, even if my back’s killing me.