The Mess That Started It All

Okay, picture this. Last Sunday, me and the guys are smashing the volleyball around in my backyard court. Been using this larch wood floor for a couple seasons now, felt solid before, right? Suddenly, wham! My foot kinda sinks near the sideline. Feels… squishy. Like walking on a soggy cracker. Stopped the game right there.

Got down on my hands and knees, poking around. Found it. A whole section, maybe 3 feet by 3 feet, just kinda bouncing. Like the wooden slats weren’t glued or nailed down properly underneath anymore. Water must’ve gotten in somewhere – larch is tough, but nothing’s perfect. Big ugly gap opening up. Game over, man. Total bummer.

The “Well, This Sucks” Investigation

Next day, I drag out the heavy stuff. Pry bars, crowbars, whatever I could find. Got rough on that loose section. Took way more muscle than I expected – some parts were still stubbornly stuck, others lifted easy like peeling a band-aid. Underneath? Pure grossness. Old adhesive turned into this weird, crumbly, black gunk. Looked like ancient chewing gum someone spilled dirt on. And guess what? No sign of the blocks or support timbers being screwed together right under there. Just… floating planks relying on the gunk. No wonder it wobbled!

Realization hit: this wasn’t a “tighten one screw” job. Needed a full re-assembly of that zone. Gutted.

Getting Dirty (Like, Literally)

• Scraping the Gunk: Man, this was the worst. Hours with scrapers, chisels, even wire brushes. Trying to get down to clean wood on both the planks and the concrete pad underneath. Dust mask glued to my face. Gunk flying everywhere. My garage floor looked like a tar pit afterward.
• Drying & Sanding: Had to wait two whole days for things to properly dry out. Then attacked the plank undersides and the concrete pad with a big belt sander. Needed that smooth, clean surface for the sticky stuff to actually stick this time. Clouds of sawdust. Neighbors probably thought I was building a coffin.

Operation: Stick it Back Right

• Adhesive Time: Bought this super heavy-duty construction adhesive. The kind the tube says “for permanent bonding.” Shoved it into my caulk gun like loading artillery. Took two whole tubes! Laid down thick, wiggly snakes all over the clean concrete pad. Smelled awful. Like chemical death.
• Plank Placement: This was nerve-wracking. Had the level ready. Carefully, carefully lowered those cleaned larch planks back onto the sticky goo. Pressed down hard with my hands first, walked all over them, then piled on every heavy thing I could find nearby – bags of sand, concrete blocks, my old anvil. Needed serious pressure so the glue squished out nice and the planks sat totally flat. Wiped off the excess sticky stuff with old rags. Big mess.
• Sealing the Deal: Left all that weight sitting for a solid 48 hours. Just let it cook. Patience ain’t my strong suit, but rushing this meant wasting a weekend and ruining good wood. Finally, took the weights off. Checked the level again… dead on. Poked around – not a wiggle. Solid as my grandma’s dining table.

The Big Stomp Test (and Result)

Took out my heaviest boots. Went full tap dance mode right on the repair spot. Jumped. Stomped. Twisted my feet like I was grinding gum. Nothing. Not a creak, not a bounce. Totally fused back down. Way better than before! Felt satisfying, man. Like actually fixed something properly.

Lesson learned? Those pre-fab wood sport floors? Don’t trust the assembly underneath until you’ve practically rebuilt it yourself. Worth the sweat and gunk though. Got the court back, and my foot ain’t disappearing anymore!