Man, this volleyball floor project just hit me outta nowhere last month. See, our community center gym still had that nasty old carpet – like stepping on wet noodles when you jump. Some guys from the neighborhood team kept complaining, and I’m sitting there drinking coffee like… “I could probably fix this”.

The Lightbulb Moment

First thing popped in my head? Gotta be wood. Concrete ain’t right for diving, proper wood courts cost a fortune. That’s when I thought: birch plywood sheets. Not too hard on the knees, slides nice, and get this – totally removable. No glue, no nails wrecking the concrete underneath. Just slap it down during games, roll it up afterwards. Saw some school gyms doing similar stuff overseas.

Hunting for Boards

Found a lumberyard downtown selling 4×8 birch plywood, half-inch thick. Grabbed 16 sheets right there. Sales dude looked at me like I’m nuts hauling that much plywood in my pickup. Explained it’s for volleyball, he just shrugged. Had to measure our court twice though – 30 feet by 60 feet exactly. Did the math: 16 sheets gives us the full court with one spare sheet. Sweet.

The Blood, Sweat & Splinters Part

Cutting day came. Rented a panel saw. Made straight cuts for the long sides, smaller pieces for ends. Sawdust EVERYWHERE. Forgot my goggles first hour – big mistake. Spent 20 minutes digging a splinter outta my eyelid. Then the router work for smooth edges so nobody gets shredded knees sliding. More dust. My garage looked like a snow globe. Finished edges with sandpaper – arm still hurts from sanding. Key stuff I learned:

• Clamp plywood sheets TOGETHER before routing so edges match perfect
• Vacuum every 5 minutes unless you wanna eat sawdust sandwiches
• Wear gloves unless you want hands feeling like sandpaper

The Puzzle Floor

Cleaned the concrete floor real good. Down went the squishy rubber pads first – gotta protect those knees. Not too thick though. Laid the birch planks like giant puzzle pieces. Corner piece goes here, long side piece snaps against it… took 3 guys 3 hours. Hardest part? Getting seams flat. One warped board wrecked two rows – that’s why I brought a spare sheet. Swapped the warped one out, finally clicked smooth. Sweat buckets that day.

Test Drive

Next weekend, had the neighborhood team over. They walked in, eyes popped. First serve bounced different – good different. Guys sliding for digs, no splinters, no busted knees. One dude actually faceplanted during a dive – got up laughing, no blood! Real win: game ended, we rolled the whole court up in 20 minutes using pipes under the plywood. Concrete underneath totally untouched. Custodian bought us beers after.

Only hiccup? Some lazybones dragged equipment over the bare birch instead of lifting. Scratched two boards good. Gotta drill it into their heads: No dragging! Lift it or suffer my wrath! Thinking about spraying a protective coating next month too. But for now? Worth every splinter and backache hearing that solid thump when the ball hits the wood.