Alright folks, grab a cuppa because this one took some sweat! Let me walk you through the absolute marathon that was fixing up my new Volleyball maple floor thingy – this assembled wooden flooring kit.

The Big Unboxing Mess

First off, the delivery guy basically dumped this giant, heavy-as-hell box on my porch. Took me three trips just to haul it into the garage. Seriously, my arms were noodles after. Inside the box? More boxes! Felt like peeling an onion made of cardboard. Unpacked all these bundles of flat wooden planks with fancy maple tops and these little plastic bits underneath. Plus a bag of weird connectors and another bag with soft foam strips. And the instructions? Just a single piece of paper with tiny pictures. Not exactly confidence-inspiring.

Getting The Floor Ready

My basement spot wasn’t exactly level – surprise, surprise. So day one was me crawling around with a long spirit level, groaning. Found the high and low spots like a detective on a bad case. Had to sprinkle some self-leveling goop here and there and smooth it out. Then waited a whole day for it to dry solid. Patience isn’t my strong suit.

Once that was rock hard, I rolled out this black plastic sheet they called a vapor barrier. Like putting down giant tape. Had to cut it to fit the corners with an old box cutter. Then came these soft foam pads. You’re supposed to stick the pieces together edge-to-edge like puzzle pieces. Sounds simple, right? Took me forever to get the seams tight and the whole area covered without wrinkles. Sweating buckets already.

The Puzzle Floor Begins

Time for the actual wood! Started in one corner. Each plank has this tongue sticking out on one side and a groove on the other. The trick was getting the first one perfectly straight using a long level and lots of muttered threats. The long sides also had these weird, thin plastic tabs sticking out underneath. No idea what they were for yet.

Grabbed the next plank. You gotta hold it at an angle and bang it down into place so the tongue slides into the groove of the first one. Sounds easy. Requires way more force than you’d think. My trusty old rubber mallet earned its keep that day. Whack! Whack! Whack! My arms screamed protest. Got the first few lines in. Slowly, the floor started looking like… a floor.

Locking It Down – Cue the Panic

So those plastic tabs on the short ends? Turns out they’re the key. When you slide the next piece in, you’ve gotta really push it home until you hear this sharp “click” sound. It means the tongue has locked. Took me a few tries to get the hang of it. There was this one stubborn plank halfway through… I pushed, I shoved, I banged it with the mallet like it owed me money. Nothing. Almost gave up right then. Sat down, drank some ice-cold water, and looked at the instructions again – useless. Finally, just threw all my weight onto it with a grunt and – CLICK! Thank goodness.

The Home Stretch (And Mistakes)

Kept clicking and banging my way across the room. Felt good seeing it all come together. But then… disaster. Got distracted, misjudged the angle, and snapped the tongue right off a plank. Yeah. That was a loud minute of shouting bad words at the wall. Had to pop the broken piece out and start that section over. Lost probably an hour. Remeasured obsessively after that.

The last row against the wall was a pain. Had to measure each plank super carefully and cut it lengthwise to fit the gap. Sawdust everywhere. Didn’t have one of those fancy pull bars, so getting that final plank clicked in involved me wrestling with it like an alligator, using scrap wood blocks and the mallet for leverage. More sweating. More muttering.

Done? Finally!

Popped in the last piece. Did a victory lap around the basement (avoiding the wet leveler spots!). Sweaty, sore, dusty, probably dehydrated, but man… that pure maple surface looked incredible. Smooth and solid underfoot, no creaks (yet!), just a satisfying firmness.

What I Learned:

• Read the whole instruction picture before starting. Seriously.
• Having a helper would have saved literal hours and gallons of sweat.
• A proper pull bar tool is worth its weight in gold.
• Your rubber mallet is your best friend… but measure twice, swing once.
• Patience is mandatory. Rushing causes breakages and wasted time.
• Waterproof knee pads are not optional gear.

It looks great now, and I’m itching to spike a volleyball on it! But let’s be honest, this wasn’t a quick “assemble in an afternoon” job. It was a fight. A dusty, exhausting, satisfying fight. Would I do it again? Maybe… after a long nap. If you’re thinking about tackling one of these fixed Volleyball maple kits, clear your schedule and stretch first!