Alright folks, let me tell you about my weekend project – this removable volleyball court floor thing. Sounds kinda fancy, right? Total pain in the butt to figure out, honestly. But hey, gotta document this mess.

The Big Idea & Materials

So my nephew whines about wanting a volleyball net for his birthday party, but our backyard is grass and rocks. Concrete slab ain’t happening. My brain goes: removable wooden sections! Gotta be easy to lay down and pack away.

Went lumber shopping Saturday morning. Total confusion. Picked out these heavy-duty plywood sheets. Figured thicker is better, right? Then grabbed a bunch of 2x4s for the frame underneath. Had to make like five trips back and forth in the truck – totally underestimated how heavy this all is.

Cutting Stuff Up (A Real Disaster)

Got home, unloaded everything. Dragged the circular saw out. Measured the plywood to make standard panels, maybe 4ft x 8ft each. Eyeballed it mostly. Marked my lines like this:
“Measure once, cut twice?” More like measure half-assed, cut wrong, swear loudly. Messed up at least two sheets. Kicked the pile of useless scraps – hurt my foot. Stupid.

Cutting the 2x4s for the frame was even worse. They gotta fit snug around the plywood edges like a border. Kept cutting them too short or way too long. The pile of rejected lumber grew. Felt like wasting money fast.

Assembly Time & The Real Headache

Okay, plywood sheets cut (mostly). Frame pieces cut (sorta). Time to put a panel together. Slapped the 2x4s around one plywood sheet. Started driving deck screws down through the plywood into the frames. Seemed solid enough… until I flipped it over. Wrong kind of screw! Pointy ends sticking out the bottom like little daggers. Perfect for stabbing feet or scratching the patio. Had to unscrew every single one. Used different screws without points. Way better.

Tried connecting two panels. Needed something simple. Saw online about these cam lock things for furniture? Bought a bunch. Drilled holes for them along the edges where panels touch. Thought it would click together smooth. Reality? Panels never quite matched up. Gaps big enough to trip over. Spent hours fiddling, sanding edges, trying to force them. Made the wood splinter. More swearing. More coffee. Almost gave up.

Finally Making Progress (Sort Of)

Got desperate. Tried heavy-duty velcro strips along the edges instead. Sounds weird? Worked kinda okay! Mostly held the panels together side-by-side. Ground wasn’t perfectly flat though. Some panels wobbled when someone stepped near the edge. Kid tested it – almost ate dirt. Not good enough.

Added little adjustable rubber feet underneath each corner of every frame. Like the things on washing machines. Got a wrench and tried cranking them up or down till the wobble mostly stopped. Wasn’t perfect, but felt a lot safer.

Hit the court surface with sandpaper to smooth out the splinters and screw holes. Felt rough like barn wood. Didn’t want splinters in knees. Took forever. Hands were cramping up.

The Big Reveal (And It Actually Works!)

Sunday evening, totally wiped, laid all six panels out in the driveway. Locked the cams where I could, used the velcro where the locks still sucked. Threw the net poles in little buckets filled with concrete we had lying around – stuck the poles in those. Tensioned the net rope. Looked… passable.

Hollered at the neighbor kids to come try it. They bounced the volleyball on it – solid thump! No weird echoes like plywood sometimes does. They passed it a bit, then tried a little spike. Nobody fell down! Panels stayed put! Even moved easily when we dragged a panel away later. Called it a win.

Does it look professional? Heck no. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But did it work for the birthday party without breaking or maiming anyone? Yep! Removable? Packed it all behind the shed! Mission mostly accomplished. Next time? Maybe less inventing, more following a plan. Or just rent a court!