Noticed the old volleyball court flooring had gaps wide enough to swallow ankles whole last weekend. Figured it was time to fix it myself instead of waiting months for some fancy contractor.

Getting My Hands Dirty

Dragged my dusty toolbox out of the garage Tuesday morning. Felt kinda optimistic, you know? Bought these pre-cut engineered wood planks labeled “Easy Install” – yeah right. Tools I grabbed:

• My ancient but trusty cordless drill
• A bag of heavy-duty wood screws
• Rubber mallet (for convincing stubborn planks)
• Measuring tape
• Carpenter’s pencil
• Level – couldn’t find the long one, used the dinky one
• A whole lot of patience

Started by ripping out the loose planks near the center line. Dust flew everywhere, made me sneeze like crazy. Underneath was worse than I thought. Some of the joists looked damp and felt kinda soft. Cussed a bit. Had to run back to the hardware store for replacement joist sections and concrete blocks to prop things up – that ate half the morning.

The Actual Assembly Part (Where the Cussing Got Louder)

Got the new joists in place around noon, sweatin’ buckets. Finally laid down the first new plank. Measured twice, drilled pilot holes, screwed it down. Felt pretty good! Then came plank number two.

That dang “Easy Install” tongue-and-groove fought me like a racoon. Whacked it with the rubber mallet. Adjusted the angle. Whacked some more. Almost chipped the edge. Finally got it to click… only to see it was slightly crooked. My small level confirmed it. Yanked it back out, shaved a tiny bit off the groove with a utility knife, and tried again. Got it flush. Repeat this nightmare for like, the next six planks.

My knees were killing me. My back screamed every time I stood up. The drill battery died just as I started a screw, leaving it half-stuck. Had to dig out the manual screwdriver to finish it, nearly snapped my wrist. Swore the neighbor’s dog probably learned new words.

Finishing Touches and Sitting Back

Somehow, by late afternoon, the final plank slid in. Didn’t even need the mallet for that one – pure luck. Swept all the sawdust and wood chips off the court. Even gave it a quick mop with a damp cloth.

Stood back and looked at it. Was it absolutely perfect, like a pro install? Heck no. If you squint real hard near the service line, you can see one plank is a tad higher than the others. But the gaps are gone. The bounce feels solid when I stomped on it. No more ankle traps!

Ended up sore, covered in sawdust, and totally drained. But looking at that fixed court? Yeah. Worth every sore muscle and muttered curse. Feels real satisfying to see something you bashed together with your own two hands actually work.