So my garage volleyball court floor has been bugging me forever. That hard wooden surface had all kinds of problems – splinters waiting to happen, uneven spots that messed with every jump serve, and boards creaking loud enough to drown out game calls. After wiping out during a match last Tuesday (my knees still hurt btw), I finally cracked and told the crew: “We’re fixing this crap now.”

The Absolute Mess I Started With

First thing Saturday morning, I grabbed my hammer and started poking around. Found like half a dozen loose boards right away. They wobbled like a loose tooth when you stepped near them. No wonder people kept tripping. Some nails were sticking out – no idea how nobody impaled their foot yet.

• Stepped hard near the edges: boards flexed like diving boards.
• Scraped a coin across the surface: caught on every bump and crack.
• Dropped a volleyball: bounced sideways like it had a grudge against us.

Clearly just slapping a layer of sealant over it would be useless. Gotta fix the bones first.

Fighting With Loose Boards

Alright, time to make things less wobbly. Hauled my heavy toolbox over and went to town:

• Found all the loudest squeaky spots. Shoved carpenter’s glue into every gap using an old syringe I washed out. Let it sit overnight while I drank cheap beer.
• Next day, hammered in two-inch galvanized nails every six inches along each board edge. Sounds simple? My arm felt like jelly afterwards.
• Pounded down every single raised nail head until they vanished. Hit my thumb twice doing this. Yelled words that scared my neighbor’s cat.

Went back Monday after work – sweet silence when I jumped on it. Felt kinda proud until I ran a hand along the surface. Still rough as sandpaper.

Smoothing Out the Beast

Rented this massive drum sander from the hardware store. Thing shook the whole garage like an earthquake. Dust went everywhere, even though I taped plastic sheets everywhere. Looked like a flour bomb went off.

• Started with 36-grit sandpaper: sounded like a dragon chewing rocks.
• Went diagonally across the planks until those ugly ridges disappeared.
• Switched to 60-grit once the surface wasn’t trying to eat my sandpaper.
• Finished with 120-grit passes going with the grain just to feel fancy.

Took hours. My ears were ringing. But dang, touching that smooth wood afterward was worth it.

The Final Touch

Chose a water-based polyurethane finish. Oil-based smells terrible and takes forever to dry. Three coats applied with a foam brush:

• Wiped down every inch with tack cloth first. Felt like I was collecting alien fur.
• First coat soaked right in like the wood was parched. Looked sad and patchy.
• Waited overnight, lightly sanded with 220-grit paper, wiped it clean again.
• Second coat went on smoother. Started seeing that shine.
• Third coat? Glass. Pure smooth glass.

Made everyone wait three whole days before stepping on it. Torture.

Game Night Test

Our usual crew came Friday. First reaction? “Whoa. Did you replace the whole floor?”

• Ball bounced true every single time.
• Zero splinters found!
• That satisfying solid thump instead of hollow clatter when we landed.
• Nobody ate dust. Nobody tripped. Nobody cursed at the floor.

Sweat, dust bunnies in my hair, a sore thumb, and two weekends gone. But seeing the team dive without hesitation? Best feeling ever. We played till midnight.