Okay folks, buckle up, because this week’s project wasn’t some fancy tech, just good old beating things with hammers. It all started simple. Found this old volleyball equipment box behind the shed. Thing must have been holding down the fort since, like, dial-up internet was cool. The wood felt weird – spongy, you know? Like pressing on a cheap sponge cake. Didn’t smell great either. Big ol’ warning sign flashing right there.

The Ugly Truth

First, I tore off the old felt lining inside. Nasty stuff. Underneath? Wow. The bottom timber piece was straight up rotten. Not just a little soggy, I mean mush-city. Like, I poked it with a screwdriver and it just… crunched in. Disgusting. Clearly this box saw way too many rainy days outdoors without any love. Totally forgotten.

So, plan of attack:

• Gutted the whole box. Yanked that sad, rotten bottom piece right out. Good riddance!
• Measured the hole it left. Yeah, needed to know exactly what size timber I needed to fix this mess.
• Went rummaging. Hit up the scrap pile. Found some pressure-treated timber pieces I saved ages ago – figured it was finally their time to shine.
• Cut the new piece to size. Used my rusty handsaw. Measured twice, cut once, you know the drill. Took a bit of muscle, I ain’t gonna lie.
• Got it to fit. Made sure the new timber sat snug in the hole. Hammered it gently at first. Needed some persuasion later.
• Secured the sucker. Brought out my trusty deck screws. Not messing around this time. Used longer ones to bite deep into the existing good sides of the box.
• Gave it the wobble test. Seriously, shook that box like it owed me money. Solid! No more mushy feeling. Big win.

Was it Perfect?

Nah. The new timber is kinda ugly. Different color, you know? And replacing just the bottom means the sides are still that ancient, weathered wood. Looks a bit funky. Might slap some sealant on the whole thing later, weatherproof it proper this time. Or maybe just toss it back behind the shed with a stern warning to stay dry. Mostly, I just wanted it functional again, not necessarily winning any beauty contests.

Whole thing probably took… eh, maybe an hour? Honestly, more time was spent finding those decent scrap pieces and wrestling with the saw than actually fixing it. Feels good though. Saved something useful from becoming compost. Cheap thrills, people. That’s the practical life. Now where’d I leave my beer…