Alright so this whole thing started because my dumb nephew wanted to play volleyball during our family cookout last summer. Ground was all bumpy near the grill area, kid nearly broke his ankle, total mess. Got me thinking: gotta make something temporary but solid. Enter my “bright idea”: a portable wooden floor for volleyball.

Step One: Hunting Down Junk (I Mean, Materials)

Scoured my garage first. Found some leftover deck planks from when I tried (and failed) to build a tiny patio. Those became the main surface. Didn’t have enough though, obviously. Went to the local big box store, bought the cheapest lightweight lumber I could find for the frame – nothing fancy, just basic pine 2x4s. Grabbed a box of those metal angle brackets too, the kind you can screw together. Oh, and heavy-duty casters with brakes. Wheels felt key.

What I grabbed:

• Old deck planks (like 20 of ’em, dusty as hell)
• New pine 2x4s (cheapest ones, kinda warped already, whatever)
• A handful of metal angle brackets
• Four heavy-duty swivel casters with brakes
• Screws, screws, and more screws (various sizes)
• A bucket of wood stain (mistake)

Building The Franken-Frame

Measured out a rectangle in the driveway. Big enough for maybe two players at a time. Cut the 2x4s for the outer frame. Easy. Then cut shorter pieces for inner supports. Tried laying them out flat on the driveway. Looked right-ish. Started screwing the damn frame together using the angle brackets. This is where things wobbled. Literally. Screwed brackets to one piece, tried to connect the next piece… stuff wouldn’t sit flat or line up right. Sweat dripping, voice rising. Nearly quit. Ended up clamping everything to death and pre-drilling holes just to force it square. Didn’t feel sturdy. Added way more diagonal braces than I planned. Finally had a lopsided rectangle that didn’t collapse when I kicked it. Victory? Sorta.

Attaching The Top & Wheels = Frustration City

Laid my old deck planks across the frame. Should have been simple, right? Screw them down. Nope. Gaps were uneven. Some planks twisted. Had to wrestle each one like a cranky alligator. Screw in one end, plank pops up at the other. Drove me nuts. Finally got them all mostly flat, with screws at every joist. Felt solid walking on it! Then came the wheels. Marked the corners under the frame for the casters. Pre-drilled holes. Bolted the first caster on… and immediately saw the problem. The frame was SO low. The caster stem pushed the whole panel up a good inch! Didn’t think about clearance before. Duh. Now one corner was lifted. Looked stupid, wobbled badly. Had to unscrew it all and add thick wood blocks to each corner underneath JUST to raise the frame high enough for the caster bolt heads. Pain in the neck. Re-mounted all four casters. Spun it around the driveway. Smooth enough. Success tasted like dust and regret.

The Stain Disaster

Figured I should make it look nicer. Ha! Big mistake. Slapped on that bucket of stain like it was going out of style. Didn’t let it dry long enough before a little drizzle came. Result? Sticky, patchy mess. Had to sand half of it off, which sucked. Then it rained again. Left it to weather naturally after that. Looks rustic? Let’s go with rustic.

Testing It Out… Does It Work?

D-day: cookout round 2. Rolled the thing out onto a flattish part of the lawn. Locked the brakes. Shoved it a bit. Didn’t slide. Me and my nephew bounced a ball on it. Solid. He dove for one. Floor stayed put, didn’t flip. He didn’t eat grass. Got a thumbs up. Actually used it!

What I Learned (The Painful Way)

• Measure clearance for wheels BEFORE building. Saved myself that headache if I’d just thought for 10 seconds.
• Buy STRAIGHT lumber. Cheap warped wood is cheap for a reason – it fights you.
• Stain is evil outside unless you baby it. Or have perfect weather and patience. I have neither.
• Temporary ain’t always simple. Getting stability without permanent anchors took way more engineering (and clamps!) than I figured.
• Worth it? Mostly. Kid loves it. Doesn’t look like much, but it stops the twisted ankles. Rolls into the garage corner when done.

Would I do it again? Maybe, now that I know the traps. But man, maybe I’d just buy a giant yoga mat next time.