Alright folks, let me tell ya about my weekend adventure putting down that pad volleyball sleeper floor in my basement. Saw it online, looked easy enough, figured I’d give it a shot. Boy, was I in for a ride.

The Grand Unboxing

First thing, the boxes showed up. Heavier than I expected, I’ll tell ya that. Had to drag ‘em downstairs one by one. Nearly threw my back out wrestling the last one. Opened up the first box, and wow, just stacks of these long, skinny wooden boards all wrapped up neat. Dug out the underlayment pad stuff too – felt like thick, squishy cardboard in a big roll. Also found the stupid plastic bits they call spacers, a mallet thingie, and this weird pull bar tool.

Floor Prep Mode

My basement floor was concrete, kinda dirty. So first, I swept that bad boy like my life depended on it. Got every bit of dust and grit off. Didn’t want any bumps ruining my nice wood. Then, I unrolled that pad thing. Unfurled it across the whole floor area. Important bit! Trimmed the excess around the edges with an old knife. Made sure the pieces butt right up against each other, no overlaps. Taped the seams down with some heavy-duty stuff I had lying around.

Let the Clicking Begin (Or Not)

Okay, time for the fun part. Grabbed the first board. Felt smooth, looked good. They call this a sleeper system? Thought sleepin’ meant easy. Ha! Laid it down in the corner, groove side towards the wall. Put those little plastic spacers about every foot between the board and the wall to leave some breathing room. Grabbed the next board, lined up the long tongue into the groove of the first one. Supposed to just click together at an angle. Did it click? Barely. Gave it a gentle tap with the mallet… Nothing. Tapped harder. Still nothing. Got mad, whacked it good. CRACK. You kidding me? Split the end right off! That’s what you get for rushing.

• Started over with a fresh board.
• Put it at an angle like the pictures showed.
• Used that pull bar thing as a lever to very slowly pull it down while pressing in.

FINALLY heard a satisfying little ‘click-snap’. Progress! Did the whole first row like this – slow as molasses, scared to break another one. Used the mallet through the pull bar just to gently nudge things tight. Spacers kept popping out and I spent more time crawling around chasing them than laying boards.

Row After Row

Next rows were supposed to be easier. Offset the joints, keep ‘em random-looking. Place a board at an angle to the previous row, click in the short end first, then lower and click the long side. Simple? Not always. Sometimes it clicked perfect, other times it felt like the groove and tongue were wrestlin’. Used the mallet and the pull bar constantly to persuade stubborn pieces into place. My back started protesting around row four. That neighbor kid who always asks for weird stuff came by halfway through. Said he wanted to learn. Ended up mostly fetching me water and holding the stupid spacers while I swore under my breath trying to lock the dn pieces together.

The Final Stretch (& Trim)

Getting towards the opposite wall was a pain. Had to measure each board for the last row individually ’cause my walls weren’t dead straight. Marked ‘em, cut ‘em on my old sawhorses outside with a circular saw. Remembered safety glasses! Getting these last boards into place was like playing Tetris with lead weights. Needed the pull bar again to get the leverage to lock them in without damaging the wall. Took off those plastic spacers carefully. Popped on these little quarter-round trim pieces around the edges to cover the gap and make it look finished.

Standing Back… Exhausted

Wiped the sweat off my brow, stared at the finished floor. It actually looked pretty sharp! Had a few spots that felt maybe too snug, but overall, it felt solid underfoot, no creaking (yet!). The pad underneath? Maybe helped, felt softer than just concrete for sure. Took me the entire freakin’ weekend. Would I call it easy? Well… the title lied a little. It was fiddly, frustrating, and physically harder than advertised. But hey, it’s down! Now, anyone wanna come play volleyball?