How This All Started

So last Tuesday morning, I spilled coffee on my laptop keyboard while researching volleyball court ideas. Totally fried it. That’s actually how this whole floor project happened. Got so frustrated I just decided to build something physical instead. Went to the hardware store down the street, bought twenty bundles of those pine planks they keep by the checkout counter.

What Actually Worked

Tried putting them together like regular flooring first. Big mistake. When I jumped to test it, boards went flying everywhere like dominos. Took me three hours to clean up that mess. Then remembered seeing those interlocking plastic tiles at the sports store. Went back next morning, got the cheapest ones they had.

• Laid towels under boards for grip
• Hammered connectors sideways so boards wouldn’t shift
• Cut corner wedges from milk crates to hold edges

The Disaster Part

Third test jump? Boards still slid apart like butter. My dog ran through the mess thinking it was playtime. Neighbor saw everything from his balcony, yelled “need weights, dummy!” Felt stupid for not thinking of that. Stuffed old textbooks under the corners. Still wobbled like crazy.

Finally Got It Working

Took all the boards apart again. This time made grooves at the ends with my rusty handsaw – looked terrible but whatever. Hammered in rubber door stoppers as anchors instead of textbooks. Took four tries before it stopped looking like a drunken puzzle. When I finally spiked a ball and nothing collapsed? Almost cried real tears.

What I’d Change Next Time

Never buying cheap connectors again. Saw how the plastic ones cracked already after two days. Will hunt for those steel ones from car parts shops instead. Also learned towels get moldy if left under boards overnight. That smell almost killed me. Gotta use rubber mats instead.

Whole mess cost less than replacing my coffee-ruined laptop, so that’s something. My back still hurts from hauling boards though.