Got obsessed with this idea last Tuesday – why not build my own portable volleyball court? Saw those expensive engineered boards online and thought, nope, I can hack this myself. Gotta be removable, gotta be wood, gotta be tough enough for jumping around. Seemed straightforward, right? Hah.
The Plan in My Head Was Simple
First, I dragged myself down to the big home improvement store. Wandered the lumber aisles forever. Knew I needed something strong but not crazy heavy. Ended up grabbing a bunch of those square panels made from compressed wood stuff – particle board? MDF? Something like that. They felt sturdy and were nice and flat. Seemed perfect.
Back home, lugged it all into the garage. Measured the space I had. Grabbed my circular saw and got to cutting. Spent a whole afternoon slicing those panels into smaller, more manageable squares. Thought I was being brilliant. Dust everywhere, of course. Garage looked like a woodchip factory exploded.
Hit the First Wall – Moisture
Right, so I got the squares all cut. Pretty proud moment. Then my brain kicked in – what about rain? Or morning dew? Particle board and water are worst enemies. If this court sits outside even overnight, those panels would puff up like wet bread. Total disaster. Panic set in.
Rushed back online. Searched like crazy for a wood sealing trick. Found people talking about epoxy resin or this special marine-grade waterproof stuff. Prices made me wince. Seemed way overkill for a backyard volleyball court. Back to square one. Felt pretty stupid just then.
The Big Pivot Moment
Was almost ready to give up, honestly. Scratched my head for days. Suddenly remembered my buddy had some leftover marine plywood from his boat project. Called him up – “Hey man, you still got that waterproof plywood?” Bless him, he did. Swung by his place, loaded up my truck bed with these chunky plywood sheets. Lifesaver.
Lessons learned! Marine plywood comes already treated to laugh at water. Perfect. Got back home, recalculated everything. More saw time, more dust storms in the garage. Cut new squares, making sure they were the same size as the doomed particle board ones.
Building the Removable Part
Okay, waterproof? Check. Now, how do you make these panels stick together easily but come apart fast? Saw online some systems use like, a metal track thing. Looked complicated. Wanted cheap and simple.
My bright idea? Drill holes! Drilled two matching holes on the edge of each plywood square. Then grabbed a bunch of super beefy, long bolts, big washers, and those wingnuts – the kind you can tighten just by hand.
- Line up two squares
- Slide bolt through the holes
- Slap a washer on the bolt end
- Screw the wingnut on tight
Worked like magic! Held the squares together solidly. To pack up? Just unscrew the wingnut by hand, pull the bolt out, and bam – separates instantly. Super chuffed with this part.
Finishing Touches and Testing
Had to make it playable. Needed grip, needed durability. Slapped on a couple of coats of that tough, outdoor deck sealant. The kind for patios? Dries kinda grippy. Perfect for keeping shoes from sliding.
Let it cure for a whole day, smelling up the garage. Couldn’t wait. Dragged the test panel out back. Dropped it on the grass. Jumped on it. Stomped. Did a little pretend spike. Solid. No creaks. Bolts held firm. Felt awesome under my feet.
Went back inside, made a celebratory coffee, and started linking more panels. Took maybe two hours to bolt together a whole decent-sized court. Looks rough around the edges? Yeah. But functional? Hell yes.
Why Bother?
Sure, took longer and cost more than expected – those marine ply sheets ain’t cheap! But now I’ve got this whole stack of wood panels I can chuck in the shed. Takes maybe an hour to set up a court anywhere flat-ish in the yard. Take it apart just as fast when we need the space back. Feels real satisfying knowing I built it from scratch, even with the hiccups. Wife still complains about the sawdust in my hair, though.
