Getting started

So today I finally got around to building that removable volleyball court for my backyard. Been saving pallet wood for months, had this sketchbook drawing of how it should work. Dug out all my tools from the garage – circular saw, drill, measuring tape, bunch of screws. Didn’t bother buying special wood, just used those shipping pallets I’d been hoarding behind the shed.

Cutting and framing

First I measured out a rectangle about 9 meters long. Marked lines with chalk right on the grass, looked crooked as hell but whatever. Chopped pallets apart with my saw – man that wood splinters like crazy! Ended up with uneven planks, some too thin, some split down the middle. Only had like ten decent pieces when I was done.

• Screwed four long boards together for the base frame
• Drilled holes before putting screws so the wood wouldn’t crack
• Used my kid’s plastic toy bricks as temporary supports

Making that floor click together

Now here’s where I got clever – made notches on each plank’s edges with my jigsaw. Spent two hours cutting those teeth shapes so boards could lock together. Took four tries before they actually clicked tight. Then laid them across the frame sideways, hammered them flush with a rubber mallet. Surprise – ended up with gaps everywhere where the wood warped!

For the remountable part I attached metal L-brackets underneath. Stole these from old Ikea furniture in my basement. When I undid all the wingnuts, whole section came apart in chunks. Took like 10 minutes to disassemble, carried the pieces to my garage to avoid rain damage.

Final tweaks & disaster

Tested it with my neighbor’s kid bouncing a volleyball. First three bounces were perfect! On the fourth bounce, the damn thing slipped through a gap and hit my tomato plants. Had to chase after muddy vegetables. Wind caught another board and the whole west side lifted like a see-saw. Added tent stakes with rope through the frame corners to weight it down.

It’s holding okay now. Not Olympic quality but definitely playable. My wife says it looks like a drunk carpenter built it. Still – kids played four matches without it falling apart. Worth the splinters!