Alright, so my backyard volleyball court’s portable wooden flooring got totally wrecked after last season’s rainstorms. Gaps everywhere, boards wobbling like loose teeth. Saw a repair quote online? Forget it! Five hundred bucks! No way I’m paying that. Decided to tackle this myself.
The Scary Inspection
Dragged all the floor panels out into the driveway. Sweeping off dirt and leaves, I noticed the worst spots – mostly along the edges where the “hevea” wood (sounds fancy but honestly just cheap rubberwood) panels connect. Water seeped in, making the wood swell then shrink, leaving ugly cracks big enough to lose a marble in. Some panels looked warped like bananas. Great.
My Stupid Plan Was Simple:
- Brush out every crack with a stiff wire brush
- Fill gaps with wood glue mixed with fine sawdust
- Weigh down the warped panels overnight with concrete blocks
- Sand everything smooth once dried
- Hit it with outdoor waterproof sealant
Started scraping. Sawdust flying everywhere, mixed it with plain white wood glue in an old yogurt tub until it looked like lumpy peanut butter. Shoved that goop into every gap using a putty knife, squeezing it deep like frosting. Felt ridiculous. For the banana-panels? Slapped ’em flat on the concrete, piled on every heavy thing I could find – toolbox, spare tires, even my neighbor’s borrowed dumbbells. Left them sweating under a tarp overnight.
Next day? Glue mix dried rock-hard. Sanded like crazy with coarse 60-grit paper attached to my orbital sander. Dust cloud so thick I looked like a powdered doughnut. Wiped it down, then rolled on two thick coats of sealant. Took forever – that stuff stinks like chemical nightmares.
The “Fixed” Result
Reassembled it yesterday. Does it look perfect? Hell no! Still some small bumps where the filler settled unevenly, and two panels still have a slight curve, but guess what? The ball rolls mostly fine now without catching. Feels solid underfoot, no scary creaks. Costs me about $12 for glue and sandpaper. Those repair guys wanted five hundred? I’ll enjoy my ramen tonight laughing at them. Should probably charge my neighbors 500 bucks for lessons now.
