Discovering the Problem

So last weekend I was watering my rubber tree near the volleyball court when I noticed something sketchy. The wooden flooring around the tree base had totally come apart. Like, boards were sticking up like crooked teeth, and dirt was spilling everywhere. My volleyball always rolled into that stupid gap too. Figured it was time to fix this mess once and for all.

Gathering Supplies

First I raided my garage stash:

• Old rubber mats from the volleyball court resurface project last year
• Half-used wood glue that survived three monsoons
• Random screws from that broken bookshelf
• Scrap plywood pieces collecting spider eggs

Dusted everything off thinking “this might actually work”.

Starting the Fix

Kicked aside the wobbly floorboards first. Dug out all the wet mud under them – nasty job. Shoved those volleyball rubber chunks into the holes like they were puzzle pieces. Pound-pound-pounded them down with my sneaker until the ground felt solid. Couldn’t resist jumping on it like a trampoline to test.

Reassembling Floor Frankenstein

Squirted that ancient glue like toothpaste on every cracked board. Held them together with rusty clamps while the stuff set up. Where the wood splintered? Slapped on plywood patches like band-aids. Screwed everything down with those leftover shelf screws. Two snapped halfway, of course. Just left ’em sticking out like metal whiskers.

Final Disaster Check

Three volleyball test launches later? No wobble! Rubber tree standing tall without tilting. Mud stays put now. Board gaps look kinda like an abstract art project, but hey – my volleyball doesn’t get stuck anymore. Would a pro do it this way? Hell no. Did it work? Heck yeah!

Another jungle mess fixed with garage leftovers. Next victim: that coconut palm eating my badminton net.