Alright, so I’d been itching to build a proper volleyball court in my backyard for ages, but the whole “permanent concrete base” thing scared me off. What if I moved? Or wanted the space back? Total headache. Then it hit me –why not make a wooden floor you can actually take apart? And since pine’s cheap and smells kinda nice, that’s what I went for.

Starting From Scratch (Literally)

First up, I needed a flat spot. My lawn? Forget it, lumpier than lumpy oatmeal. So I grabbed a shovel and just started digging. Spent a whole sweaty Saturday leveling out a patch maybe 15 feet by 30 feet. Compacted the dirt by stomping around like an angry giant, then laid down some super thick weed blocker. Didn’t want anything green poking through and messing it up later.

Hunting Down Wood & Making Frames

Went to the big box hardware store – you know the one. Wandered the lumber aisles looking for decent 2×4 pine. Needed stuff that wasn’t too warped or knotted up. Loaded a whole bunch onto a flat cart, sweating bullets trying not to crush my toes. Got home and immediately cut all those planks down. Did I measure twice and cut once? Nah, winged it a bit, leading to some “oops, too short” moments. Typical me.

Next came building the actual base frames – basically big wooden rectangles. Think giant picture frames for the floor. Used my drill and slapped those together with 3-inch decking screws. Made five rectangles total, aiming for about 5ft wide by 8ft long each. Took forever, my drill battery died twice.

Putting It All Together On The Ground

Laid the frames right on the weed blocker, kinda like big tiles. Needed to space ‘em out just a bit, maybe half an inch between frames? Used little scraps of wood as guides. Then, the real work started: putting the actual floor on top. Used 1×6 rough pine planks cut long enough to span several frames at once. Started at one end and worked across. Each plank got one drill hole near each end before I put it down – saved a ton of crawling around.

Placed the plank over the gap between frames, pushed together hard with my knee (almost gave out once!), then drilled the screw down right between the frames underneath. The screws go through the top plank and into the side edge of the top rail on the base frame. Sounds fiddly? Was fiddly. Needed long, sturdy screws for this – 4-inch deck screws did the trick. Worked row by row, crawling along, breathing sawdust.

Fiddly Bits and “Doh!” Moments

• Gaps! Left little rubber gaps (cut up an old bike tube) where the planks meet perpendicularly? Allows stuff to move without cracking when it’s hot or cold.
• Alignment sucked sometimes. A few frames weren’t perfectly square? Some planks ended up looking drunk. Doesn’t affect play much, just bugs me.
• Screw holes got too big. Oops. Countersinking the holes first helped, but a few ended up too deep. Pine’s soft, man.

The Big Reveal… It Worked!

Finally slapped the last plank on. Sweaty, sawdust-covered, but pumped. Grabbed my test ball – the cheap practice one, not the good one! – and gave it a whack. Solid thock sound! Ran around on it a bit, bounced a bit. Felt sturdy! Solid as a rock. And that pine smell? Actually kinda amazing. Got the kids and neighbours over later, played a few rallies. Nobody died, the court didn’t collapse, and the ball bounced true. Win!

Best Part? Taking it Apart Later!

A few weeks later, we needed the space for something else. Just grabbed my trusty drill and reversed the process. Unscrewed every plank starting from the center. Stacked ‘em neat. Then unscrewed the frames themselves and carried those sections away. Took maybe an hour? Left me with a stack of wood and frames tucked away and my dirt patch back. Exactly what I wanted – my own volleyball court, but only when I want it. Pine handled it way better than I thought it would. Definitely recommend for anyone wanting a temporary play space without breaking the bank or the ground.