Kicking Off the Project
Last Saturday decided our volleyball court needed serious upgrading. Dug through garage storage hunting for materials but only found cracked concrete slabs. Ordered hevea wood planks online after reading they’re bouncy yet durable. Took three days for delivery with one box arriving soaked – had to dry those planks under sun for hours before starting.
Prepping the Base Layer
First cleared the whole area with steel rake. Discovered old concrete had serious dips that’d mess up flooring. Mixed leveling compound like thick pancake batter, poured it unevenly at first then spread with trowel wearing kneepads. Let it cure overnight only to find two areas still uneven next morning – had to redo those patches.
Assembling the Wooden Sections
Unboxed planks and sorted by shade variation. Started snapping tongue-and-groove boards together at corner near fence. Halfway through third row, boards stopped locking properly. Turned out one deformed plank jammed the sequence – pulled whole section apart like frustrating puzzle. Trimmed the warped plank with rusty handsaw since circular saw died. Wasted two hours here.
Key mistakes made:
- Didn’t check wood moisture levels – some planks swelled after rain
- Used cheap spacers that collapsed under pressure
- Forgot expansion gaps causing bulge in center section
Securing the Final Stretch
By sundown reached critical perimeter areas near poles. Measured cutting points four times still messed up angles on first try. Ended up tracing cardboard templates before touching planks. Hammering final pieces with rubber mallet made palms blister. Sweating buckets when last plank wouldn’t drop into place – shaved millimeter off edge with pocket knife.
Post-Assembly Adjustments
Thought job was done until testing jumps revealed squeaky spots. Crawled underneath using phone flashlight finding three loose connectors. Reinforced them with extra brackets from old shelf units. Then spread wood filler over minor dings from clumsy hammer swings. Whole crew came Tuesday evening – flooring held firm during intense spikes and dives.
Total time: Four backbreaking weekends. Still satisfied seeing mud patch transform into proper court. Next project? Building spectator benches with leftover planks.
