So last weekend I looked at my garage floor and thought: dang, that concrete’s way too hard for volleyball practice jumps. My knees were screaming after drills. Figured I’d slap down some wood flooring to soften the landings. Heard laminate’s cheap and easy, so off to the store I went.

Stuff I Grabbed

Turns out you absolutely need:

• Laminate planks

• – Got the waterproof kind because sweat puddles happen

• • Foam underpad – The squishy stuff that goes under the planks

• • Tape measure & pencil – For marking cuts

• • Hand saw

• • Rubber mallet – To smack planks into place

• Spacers – Little plastic bits to keep gaps at the edges

Total cost? Bout $150. Cheaper than knee surgery.

Clearing & Prepping The Mess

Swept all the dust and pebbles off the floor first. Found three dead spiders and an old wrench. Then rolled out the foam underpad, cutting it with kitchen scissors where it overlapped. Taped seams together with duct tape – forgot underpad tape, sue me.

Laying The Planks Down

Started in the corner furthest from the door. Placed spacers along the wall so planks wouldn’t jam against concrete. First row was simple: just locked short ends together with that clicky groove laminate has. Second row needed offset joints, so cut a plank in half randomly. Measured nothing, eyeballed everything. Smacked long sides together with the rubber mallet – whack whack – until they snugged up.

Ran into trouble when hitting pipes near the wall. Traced pipe shapes on planks with pencil, sawed awkward rectangles with hand saw. Edges looked like dog chew toys. Didn’t care. Shoved spacers back in place.

Whole thing took half a day, mostly cuz I kept cutting pieces wrong. Pro tip: laminate sawdust gets everywhere. Swept four times.

Final Touches & Testing

Popped spacers out after last plank. Hammered quarter-round trim around edges to cover gaps with leftover glue. Kicked a volleyball immediately. Ball bounced normal, floor didn’t crack. Did some jump blocks on it yesterday – knees thanked me. Not perfect but beats concrete.

Final result? Looks janky close up, but totally playable. Might upgrade to vinyl plank next year. Or not. We’ll see.