Okay, so my dumb backyard volleyball net setup under the rubber tree? The wooden floor panels I made were supposed to be portable, right? But guess what? They warped like crazy after one rainy season. Total garbage. Couldn’t just toss ’em – way too much effort went into building those things the first time. So, fine. Operation “Fix the stupid portable floor” kicked off.

First, I dragged all the warped pieces outta the shed. Stuck ’em flat on the driveway under some heavy cement blocks I had laying around. Figured pressing them flat for a few days might help. Yeah… didn’t do squat. Still curled up like bananas. Time for Plan B.

Went digging in my scrap wood pile and found a couple old two-by-fours – decent shape, not rotten. Cut four pieces, about two feet long each. Grabbed my power drill and some thick screws. Laid each warped floor panel on the grass, flipped upside down. Positioned one of those two-by-fours across the worst-bent part. Like, right where it looked like a damn slide. Screwed that board down HARD into the panel at both ends, forcing the warped middle flat against it. Felt kinda violent. Did that for every panel that needed it. Four of ’em got this brutal correction therapy.

• Step 1: Identify the banana-shaped warping.
• Step 2: Find heavy scrap lumber to use as straight braces.
• Step 3: Flip the panel upside down so the bend faces up.
• Step 4: Smack the brace on top of the bend like you mean it.
• Step 5: Drill long screws through the brace and into the panel ends, pulling the middle DOWN.
• Step 6: Repeat the beatdown on any other rebellious panels.

Left ’em braced like that in the sun for, like, two days. Hot weather helped, I think. Unbolted everything… and hey! Mostly flat again. Not perfect museum flat, but damn flat enough for shoes and volleyballs.

But the “portable” part? Failed that big time before. Used to stack ’em leaning against the shed – probably why they warped. Needed a better storage solution. Found an old discarded tarp in the garage. Cut it way oversize. Laid it flat. Put the first fixed panel on top. Rolled the tarp edge over the end a bit. Plonked the next panel on, rolled the tarp over THAT one. Kept stacking and rolling like burritos. Tied the whole wrapped bundle up tight with bungee cords. Now they store stacked flat under the tarp wrap, protected from rain and warping temptations.

Tested it yesterday. Slapped the panels out under the rubber tree. No banana curves. Rolled ’em back up and shoved ’em in the shed corner quick before the rain hit. Actually feels portable now. Total fix? Probably not forever – wood’s stupid. But hey, they’re playable again without buying new junk. Thumbs up for scavenged wood and sheer stubbornness saving the backyard volleyball vibe.