Alright so today I finally tackled that removable volleyball court project I’ve been eyeballing for months. Had this wild idea to make a portable wooden floor for pickup games at the park. Went straight to the hardware store first thing Tuesday morning, sketch crumpled in my pocket.

Starting the Mess

Dragged home 50 planks of that cheap larch wood – stuff felt sturdy enough and wouldn’t bankrupt me. Propped ’em all up against the garage wall like some wonky wooden fortress. Measured twice? More like measured once, cut once, swore a bunch. Ended up making three extra trips back to the store ’cause I kept messing up the board lengths.

Building the Frame Disaster

Laid out the pressure-treated frame beams on the driveway. Thought connecting beams would be quick with screws. Ha! Learned real fast my drill battery dies after like 30 minutes. Charging breaks turned into sandwich breaks. Took me half a day just to get a basic rectangle that didn’t wobble like a drunk pigeon. Had to shove cardboard scraps under one corner ’cause my driveway ain’t level. Already questioning my life choices.

Plank Chaos Begins

Started laying the larch planks across the frame, sweating like crazy. Thought, “Just slap ’em down and screw ’em in.” Reality check:

• First board: Misplaced the starter line by an inch. Whole row looked crooked. Ripped out screws, bent one trying.
• Fifth board: Hit a super hard knot. Drill bit snapped clean off. Threw the thing. Went inside for more coffee.
• End of day one: Covered maybe a quarter of it. Fingers full of splinters. Back hurt from bending over.

Next morning, noticed gaps. Those boards shrank overnight leaving ugly cracks between ’em. Had to unscrew everything, muscle ’em tight with a crowbar while banging them together with a rubber mallet. Felt like wrestling an angry snake. Used like a thousand screws. Seriously.

Sanding: The Never-Ending Dust Storm

Rented a big floor sander. Turned my entire garage into a sawdust snow globe. Covered myself head-to-toe in a painter suit, goggles, mask – looked like a beekeeper on Mars. Thing vibrated so hard my teeth rattled. Went through sandpaper discs faster than I went through my patience. But oh man, running my hand over it after? Smooth like butter. Worth the lungful of sawdust? Maybe.

Portable Test Run

Here’s the removable bit: Bolted heavy-duty casters underneath each corner. Then cut up thick plywood sheets into smaller panels. Screwed brackets onto the sides – the kind you flip open and slot pins into. Carried the first panel out back (thing weighed a ton), flipped the brackets up, slammed the pins home. Clicked together surprisingly solid! Tossed the ball. Bounced sweet and true. Felt like a dang victory parade.

Lessons Learned:

• Cheap larch ain’t perfect – expect shrinkage, knots, tears.
• Portable = Heavy. Built muscles hauling this beast.
• Measure ten times. Cut once. Still get it wrong sometimes. It’s fine.
• Sanding generates unholy amounts of dust. Wear goggles under your goggles.
• Flip-lock brackets for panels? Gold. Pure gold.

Done now. Tired. Sore. Got more splinters than fingers. But hey, volleyball tonight on my own dang portable floor? Yeah. Worth it.