Okay so I gotta share this project I finally got around to finishing – that removable volleyball court using birch floor panels. Honestly, it took way more sweat (and maybe a few grumbles) than I thought, but man, seeing it done is satisfying.

First Up: Figuring Out the Messy Pile

Right, so the big boxes arrived first thing. Heavy buggers! Hauled ’em into the garage where I planned to work. Opening them felt like Christmas… but instead of toys, just tons of wooden bits and hardware. All these birch boards – longer side pieces, shorter middle planks – plus a million screws, those weird plastic connector thingies, and a bunch of metal hardware for locking it together. Felt overwhelming for a sec.

Dug out the instruction sheets. Took like twenty minutes just spreading everything out on the floor, trying to group similar pieces together. Found the end caps, the little corner pieces… sorted the screws by size. Basically just tried to make some sense of the chaos before starting. Learned real quick: label stuff early or you’ll go nuts later.

Building the Frame Blocks

This part felt kinda like those big Lego sets. Started assembling the smaller panels first – figured they’d be easier to handle. Each section needed its own frame:

• Laid out the side rails first, those long birch pieces.
• Popped in the spacers every foot or so between them – those stop the planks sliding around later.
• Screwed in the cross pieces at each end. Found using a speed square super helpful to keep things actually square. Don’t trust eyeballing it!

Once the frame felt solid, started laying the birch planks inside the frame. Had to really push some to fit right against the spacers; others went in easy. Hammered a few lightly to seat them flush. Used deck screws from underneath to secure each plank to the frame rails. Yeah, my wrists felt that after the fifth panel!

Putting the Whole Dance Floor Together

Finally had like nine smaller panels looking like actual floor tiles. Now the fun part: linking them into one big volleyball court. This is where those “removable” connectors came in.

Started in one corner, got two panels nice and snug. The hardware is sorta clever:

• Drop these metal hooks onto pins sticking out from one panel.
• Slide the next panel close so the pins align on its side.
• Use that special lever tool (looked like a big flat wrench) to turn the hooks, pulling the panels super tight together.

Heard a nice “clunk” when it locked, and the join almost disappeared – gaps were tiny. Repeated this all the way down the rows. For the last row, had to attach the end caps and those corner protective pieces. More screws, but easy enough.

Done and Dusted (and Jumped On!)

Took most of a weekend, gotta be honest. Muscles I forgot I had were sore. But dragging the linked panels out onto the driveway? Awesome. Felt incredibly solid underfoot – no squeaks, no wobbles. Threw down some boundary tape.

The real test? Jumping. Ran some laps, pretended to dive (didn’t actually dive, I’m not crazy), bounced a volleyball hard. Rock solid! It locked together way better than I expected. The birch surface was smooth, no splinters worry. Packing it back up after the game was the reverse – unlock those levers, pull apart the panels, stack ’em in the garage. Done.

Messy at the start? Absolutely. Heavy lifting? You bet. Worth it? Totally. Seeing folks actually play volleyball on something I pieced together from a giant pile of wood? Priceless. Just maybe grab a buddy to help with the heavy stuff next time.