Okay, so I’ve been wanting to set up a little practice area for volleyball in my backyard for a while now. I didn’t want anything too permanent, and I definitely wanted something that wouldn’t kill the grass completely. That’s when I stumbled across the idea of a portable wooden flooring system. This “keel volleyball birch portable wooden flooring” thing seemed like it might just do the trick.

The Hunt Begins

First things first, I needed to find the materials. I looked around at a few different kinds of wood, and birch seemed like a good balance of strength and cost. I mean, I’m not building a professional court here, just something that can take a bit of a beating.

Putting it Together

The whole “keel” part of the name is basically these support beams underneath. I measured out the area I wanted to cover, then cut the birch planks to size. I’m no carpenter, so this took a bit longer than I expected, had some trial and error for sure. I laid out the keel beams first, making sure they were spaced evenly to support the flooring on top.

Next, I started placing the birch planks across the * idea is that they interlock, creating a stable surface, but also easily removed if needed to be taken off grass.

Trial and Error (Lots of It)

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, I realized that some parts of the ground were slightly uneven. So, I had to go back and add some extra support under the keels in those areas. I even used some scrap wood to shim things up and make it all level. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but I managed to get it pretty darn close.

The Finished Product (Well, Almost)

After a few days of tinkering, I finally had a usable surface. I’ve tested to do few jumps and it seems to be it can handle it. I even invited a couple of friends over to try it out, and it held up pretty well! We played a few games, and while it’s not the same as a real indoor court, it’s definitely good enough for some casual practice.

I still need to figure out how to best store it when I’m not using it. I’m thinking of stacking the planks and keels in the shed, but I might need to build a little rack to keep them organized. For sure, I learned a ton from this project.