Alright guys, today I finally got this crazy idea working – removable wooden flooring for volleyball. Sounds simple? Yeah right. Here’s how it went down, splinters and all.

The Struggle is Real

Started cause we run weekend volleyball tournaments at the community center gym.

Big problem: Gym’s main floor? Thin rubber stuff. Totally ruins your knees after hours of jumping. Plus, that awful screech-screech from sneakers? Drives everyone nuts. Needed a real wooden court feel, temporary style. Can’t damage the gym floor though. No way.

Saw some fancy systems online. Wayyyyy outta budget. Like, who’s spending that? Decided to build my own – cheap, tough, removable.

Materials & Missteps

Head straight to the lumber yard. Grabbed:

• Lots of 1-inch thick plywood planks – birch. Felt sturdy. Not crazy expensive.
• A big tub of waterproof wood glue. Cause sweat drips everywhere.
• Heavy-duty brass screws. Shiny.
• Foam pads – thick, squishy kind. Found ‘em on clearance. Bonus!

Measured the gym court. Cut planks to size in my garage. Dust EVERYWHERE. Made a nice pile of sawdust mountains. First try joining planks just with glue? Big mistake. Laid ‘em flat, glued the sides, pressed together… waited overnight. Next morning? Grabbed one end to flip the slab…SNAP! CRACK! Whole thing split down the middle. Just pathetic. Glue ain’t enough for jumping humans. Felt like an idiot.

Getting Clever (Finally)

Scratched my head for days. How do you make wood planks lock together quick? Remembered those jigsaw puzzles… The tongue and groove! Got a special router bit for my drill. Cut a sticking-out ‘tongue’ along one edge of each plank. Cut a matching ‘groove’ slot on the opposite edge. Took hours. Messed up four planks learning to hold the drill steady. Almost lost a thumb.Rips rag to wrap bleeding thumb. Worth it? Hopefully.

Tested just two planks. Tongue on plank A, slide it into the groove on plank B. Fit snug? Did a little happy dance. Wiggled it. Solid? Like glued. Tried to pull it apart. Stuck fast? Yesss! But needed more grip? Glued the tongues AND the grooves? Overkill? Probably. Did it anyway. Clamped the ever-loving hell out of them. Used every clamp I owned. Looked like a clamp monster ate my project. Screwed brass locks diagonally through the sides too. Extra insurance. Sanded the top surfaces super smooth. Sweat stains? Bad juju.

Putting It All Together

D-Day – Tournament Saturday.

• First, laid out foam pads end-to-end over the gym rubber. Like a big black carpet. Tape ‘em together quick. Cheap masking tape.
• Starting corner? Felt like placing the first puzzle piece. Slot plank #1 down.
• Take plank #2, angle it, drop the tongue into #1’s groove. Hear that THUD-CLICK. Magic sound.
• Just kept going. Slide, thud-click. Slide, thud-click. Built row after row.

Whole thing took maybe 30 minutes? Two helpers later. Sweaty work. Standing room only court? Boom. Full removable hardwood volleyball court. Solid. No gaps. Players walked on? Felt like the real deal. Perfect bounce, satisfying thump. Saved everyone’s knees? Success. Players were stoked.

Pack up? Reverse order. Pull up planks one by one. Stack ‘em on a trolley. Roll up the foam pads. Done? In 20 minutes flat. Garage? Stacked neat for next time. Wipes sweat. Project complete? Finally. Worth the splinters.