Getting Started

Alright, so this whole volleyball court thing kicked off today. You know, that rubber tree everyone’s always kicking balls against? Decided it needed a proper base finally. Ordered a bunch of “snap-together” wooden flooring panels online. Big mistake already.

Unboxing the Chaos

Opened the delivery boxes expecting nice, flat boards. Hah. Joke’s on me. Half the panels looked like they’d been run over by the delivery truck. Warped. Bent corners. Found myself sorting them into piles: “Probably usable”, “Might need force”, and “What even is this?”. Started sweating just looking at it.

Clearing the Ground

Pushed that damn rubber tree sideways – thing weighs a ton. Sweating buckets already. Swept the concrete pad underneath hard. Still had tiny pebbles everywhere. Tried just brushing them off. Bad idea. Learned that lesson the hard way later.

The Laying Begins

Grabbed the first few panels. You line up the short edge tongues and grooves, push down, click. Sounds easy. Wasn’t. Kept gaps appearing on the long sides. Used my rubber mallet. Smacked too gentle – nothing. Smacked too hard – heard cracking noises. Panicked. Dug out scraps of wood to whack against the panel instead. Still felt like breaking stuff.

The Pebble Nightmare

Got maybe five panels in. Looks flat enough. Step onto it. Hear a loud CRUNCH underfoot. Stupid tiny pebble I missed. Instant hollow spot. Had to pry the whole section apart with a screwdriver. Scratched the damn groove surface doing it. Cussed a bit. Swept that area again like crazy. Must have missed three others later too.

The Warp Fight

Those “Might need force” panels? Total liars. Needed superhuman strength and creative leverage. Jammed my foot against the previous row, pulled with both hands, shoved down with my knee… Felt my back creak. Neighbor walked by and asked if I was building furniture or performing wrestling moves. Almost threw a panel at him.

The Rubber Tree Encounter

Finally inching towards where the tree trunk sits. Realized those solid panels weren’t gonna work right against the rough bark. Found leftover spacers. Carefully measured the trunk’s base. Cut little half-circle chunks out of three panel edges. Fixed that rubber tree right in place. Used a coping saw – slow going, tons of sawdust in my face.

Finishing Touches

Kept snapping. Mallet whacking. Cussing. Sweating. Got to the far side. Last panel wouldn’t fit perfectly. Too wide by maybe half an inch. Seriously? Chopped the edge off crooked with a hand saw. Forced it in. Looks kinda rough, but it’s locked. Pushed the whole tree base back upright onto its spot on the new floor. Done.

The Aftermath

Took way longer than those DIY videos ever show. Knees sore. Back feels broken. Hands full of splinters and mallet blisters. But hey, the ball bounces true off the rubber tree now. Floor’s mostly flat. Probably shoulda just hired someone. Live and learn? Doubt it. I’ll probably do something else dumb next week.