Alright folks, let me walk you through how I installed that hard maple pad volleyball setup in my backyard last weekend. Wanted something durable that wouldn’t warp in the rain, you know?

Getting The Timber Sorted

Started by hauling eight hard maple planks from the lumber yard. These suckers were HEAVY – nearly threw my back out loading them into the truck. Tip: measure your vehicle space BEFORE buying timber unless you wanna do the walk-of-shame returning half the wood like I did.

Prepping The Ground

Got home and cleared a 30×30 feet patch with my shovel, sweating buckets under the sun. Raked out every stupid rock until the dirt felt smooth under my boots. Pro tip: wet the soil lightly before leveling – stops that annoying dust cloud that makes you cough for hours.

Here’s how I laid the foundation:

• Mixed five bags of gravel with sand in my rusty wheelbarrow
• Dumped mounds every few feet where posts would go
• Whacked each spot with the tamper until my arms went numb

Setting Those Pesky Poles

Marked pole positions with spray paint, dug holes twice as wide as the posts. Nearly quit when I hit an old tree root at 2 feet deep – took me thirty minutes hacking at it with a hatchet. Worth it though, ’cause when I finally dropped the poles in, they stood perfectly vertical on first try.

The Maple Madness Begins

Screwed horizontal beams between poles at 7 feet height using my trusty impact driver. Had to re-cut two beams when I messed up measurements – always mark twice, cut once, but somehow I never learn. Laid the maple planks vertically across the beams, leaving nickel-width gaps between each for rainwater drainage.

Drilled pilot holes first so the hard maple wouldn’t split! Nearly snapped three drill bits until I switched to titanium ones. Countersunk each brass-coated screw so nobody would skin their elbows during games. Took two full days with all the sanding and sealing.

Final Touches & Regrets

Slapped three coats of weatherproof sealant using this roller-on-a-stick contraption. Wind blew sawdust into the wet sealant twice – still finding shiny patches in my hair. Should’ve worn a hat but was too stubborn to walk back to the garage.

Overall stoked with how it turned out! The maple looks gorgeous when the sun hits it, and my neighbor’s kid tried spiking a ball already – wood didn’t even dent. Only regret? Should’ve bought knee pads – still finding mulch stuck in my skinned kneecaps a week later.