Alright folks, grabbed that “pad volleyball engineer board timber” kit yesterday for my backyard court project. Figured it’d be simple, but let me walk you through how it actually went down.

Opening the Box Chaos

Tore open the package thinking everything’s ready to roll. Nah. Spilled screws everywhere – big mistake. Dug through the mess: metal plates, weird brackets, and these massive timber slabs that smelled like fresh-cut pine. Realized I forgot my work gloves too. Genius move.

Dry-Fitting Like a Puzzle

Started matching pieces without screwing anything yet. These U-shaped brackets needed sliding under the timber edges. Took three tries to figure the angle – kept facing them backwards. Pro tip: count how many pre-drilled holes your board has before grabbing hardware. My third slab had extra holes, almost bolted wrong plates.

Major screw-up phase

Got cocky. Slapped the center post into my concrete base. Tried hanging the first timber board solo – nearly dropped it on my boot! Had to yell for my neighbor Mike. We held each plank flush while:

• Jamming anchor bolts through bracket slots
• Fighting with rusted washers that wouldn’t sit flat
• Using my thigh to shove the board upward while Mike cranked the wrench

The Leveling Nightmare

Stood back to admire our work… saw the right side sagging like a sad noodle. Always bring a 4-foot level – my dinky 6-inch tool was useless. Had to loosen all the bolts again, wedge scrap wood shims under the brackets, and eyeball it while retightening. Wasted 45 minutes redoing this.

Final Stretch Victory

Last board clicked in surprisingly smooth. Smacked the surface hard with my palm – solid thunk, no wobble. Finished by blasting the whole thing with weatherproof sealant from a spray can. Hands reeked of chemicals but smelled like success.

Key takeaways? Buy extra washers. Recruit muscle. And for god’s sake, pre-sort those screws before they volcano out the box. Tomorrow’s project: actually playing volleyball after I ice my shoulder.