Alright, so here’s the deal. I wanted a volleyball court section for our backyard cookouts, right? Something solid, but not stuck there forever because honestly, sometimes we need the space back. Couldn’t find anything decent to buy that wasn’t stupid heavy or crazy expensive. Typical. Decided to just build my own damn “removable Volleyball hard timber” thing.

Jumping Straight into the Mess

First things first, I hauled my lazy butt to the lumber yard. Grabbed a bunch of:

• 2×6 pressure-treated pine timbers (figured they’d hold up outside).
• A giant stack of coarse-thread wood screws – long ones and short ones.
• Heavy-duty galvanized steel brackets. Looked sturdy enough.
• Pressure-treated plywood sheets – thick stuff for the top.
• A new circular saw blade ’cause the old one was blunt as heck.

Got home, dumped it all on the driveway. My wife just gave me that look. You know the one.

Cutting and Cursing

Measured out the area I wanted – roughly 12 feet by 18 feet. Yeah, ambitious. Marked my timbers for the outer frame and then the inner joists spaced about 16 inches apart. Fired up the circular saw. Sawdust went everywhere, obviously. Neighbor’s dog started barking like crazy. It was already kinda sweaty.

Screwed the frame timbers together at the corners first. Used those L-brackets and like, four screws per corner. Didn’t want any wobble. Then laid the joist timbers flat inside the frame, spaced ’em, and screwed them down into the frame ends and onto the brackets underneath. Took some wrestling. Those timbers are no joke heavy.

The “Removable” Headache

Here’s where it got tricky. I wanted whole sections I could unbolt when needed. So, instead of one giant piece, I built three separate panels, each 6 feet wide by 12 feet long. Way easier to handle, I thought. For joining them, I planned long plywood strips underneath that would straddle the seams.

Plywood time. Cut the sheets to cover one panel frame completely. Laid ’em over the joists, marked where to screw down. Used a ton of screws, counter-sinking them a smidge. Didn’t want any toe-stubbers later. Sanded the plywood tops rough spots quick – splinters suck.

Making it Come Apart (Mostly)

For the removable part, I went simple. Took those plywood strips I mentioned earlier – about 12 inches wide and long enough to cross two panels. Put them face-down underneath where two panels meet. Pre-drilled holes through the strip, the top plywood of one panel, and into the frame timbers of the other panel. Used big, thick galvanized bolts, washers, and wing nuts. Yeah, wing nuts. So I could loosen them by hand without a tool.

Bolted two strips per seam – one near each end. Tightened those wing nuts down pretty darn hard. Checked the join – felt solid. No weird bumps. Did the same thing to connect all three panels side-by-side. Now the whole thing felt like one solid slab.

Rough Test Run

Time to see if this contraption worked. Grabbed a volleyball. Kicked it hard across the seam between panels. Bounced just fine, no weird hiccups. Jumped up and down right on the seam. No buckling, no clunking. Good sign. Then the important part – unbolting it. Loosened the wing nuts on one strip. They turned pretty easy. Wiggled the strip out. Repeated for the other strip. Then me and a buddy could just grab the ends of that center panel and lift it clear off the other two and carry it to the side of the yard. It actually worked!

Is it Perfect? Heck No.

Look, it’s heavy. Moving those panels isn’t a picnic, takes two people. The plywood surface isn’t fancy polished hardwood like a real court – it’s sturdy, it plays fine, but it feels… plywood-y. Had to throw a tarp over it when the forecast said rain. But hey, the point was removable and cheap hard timber for backyard fun. Mission accomplished. Kids were playing on it before I even put my tools away. Got a slightly sore back and a few splinters, but that’s the DIY tax. Probably gonna paint some lines soon. Anyway, that’s how it went down.