Man, this removable volleyball court project almost killed me. Saw some folks playing on fancy wooden floors and got this stupid idea to build one in our backyard. Ordered that “hevea assembled flooring” kit online, sounded easy enough with all those puzzle-piece boards.
Unpacking Nightmare
Box arrived looking like it fought a bear. Inside? Just rubber blocks, wooden planks and zero instructions. Total chaos. Dug through crumpled paper until I found the so-called manual – one sad little folded paper in three languages. Diagrams looked like my toddler drew them.
The Sweaty Struggle
Started with the border first. Those interlocking edges? Pure evil. Had to crawl on all fours hammering those connectors with a mallet. Sweat pouring down my neck within ten minutes. Halfway through row one, realized I put it backwards. Cursed. Tore it apart. Started over.
Then came the actual panels. Heavy beasts! Each had to lock sideways AND downwards. Got into this awkward crab-walk stance:
- Shove board sideways hard
- Jump on it to click the bottom layer
- Almost fall over every single time
- Find splinters in weird places later
“Removable” My Foot
Got the whole mess assembled after three weekends. Time to test the “removable” part. The instructions said “lift gently”. Yeah right. Wrecked my back prying up the first panel. Used a crowbar on the second one and snapped a connector clean off. Boss lady made me stop after denting three pieces. Guess this court lives here forever now.
What really matters? Lesson learned:
- Measure twenty times before smashing parts together
- Wear gloves unless you want permanent splinters
- Assume “removable” means “wrestle with a crowbar”
- Cold beers ready BEFORE starting the project
Still, seeing the kids bump that volleyball tonight? Yeah. Worth it. Even if my back screams every time I look at that court.
