Alright, let me tell you about this volleyball court floor project I finally finished. Took me a while, had some headaches, but it’s done and working great.

Starting Point: A Wonky Backyard

So, my backyard was this lumpy mess. Tried playing volleyball there once – tripped over my own feet more than anything. Decided it needed a proper, flat surface. I didn’t want anything permanent though – needed it to be removable later.

Deciding on the Pieces

I hunted online and settled on this wooden tile kit. The big selling points were no glue needed and rubber on the bottom. Supposedly, the rubber would grip the grass underneath and protect it, while the wooden tiles clipped together. Sounded perfect.

Getting the Goods

Box arrived, heavy as heck. Unpacked everything:

• Square wooden panels: Felt sturdy, maybe too heavy?
• Plastic connectors: Little white things for linking the panels.
• Rubber base sheets: These were thick, heavy rubber mats – meant to go down first.

Already wondered how long this would take.

Groundwork Blues

Biggest job first: clearing and leveling. This sucked. Spent an entire weekend:

• Raking up sticks and stones until my back ached.
• Mowing the area down super short.
• Using a long board and a level, pushing dirt around to get it as flat as humanly possible in my uneven yard. “Level enough” became my mantra.

Hot, sweaty work.

Laying Down the Rubber Base

Figured the rubber mats should go down first. Hauled them out one by one. They were ridiculously heavy and awkward to move. Placed them down edge-to-edge over my “level enough” area, trying to keep them flush. Had to wrestle them into place – bending them felt impossible. Made sure there were no gaps. First layer done.

Assembling the Wooden Tiles

Now the fun(?) part. Brought out a wooden tile and a pile of the plastic connectors near the rubber. Slide the connectors into the grooves on one edge of a tile. Line up the next tile, slot it onto the connectors sticking out. Hear a satisfying “click”. Okay, not bad.

• Started in one corner, worked my way out.
• Clicked a few tiles together – felt pretty solid.
• But… if two tiles weren’t perfectly lined up before clicking? Man, it was stubborn! Had to sometimes lift and jiggle the whole connected section. Sweating buckets again.
• Biggest pain? Cutting tiles for the edges. Marking them with pencil was fine, but using the borrowed circular saw? Scared the heck out of me! Measured three times, made the cut super slow. Couple pieces were a tiny bit rough, but did the job.

The First Game Test Disaster

Got it all laid out. Looked great. Called some buddies over for the first game. We started jumping and diving… and that’s when it happened. Tiles started moving! One slid a few inches, creating a lip. Almost sprained an ankle. Panicked silence. What the heck? The rubber base was gripping the grass, but the wood panels just slid right over the rubber surface!

Stopping the Slide

Major problem. Needed to stick the wood tiles firmly to the rubber mats below. Velcro tape! That was the desperate idea. Went out, bought a whole bunch of heavy-duty self-adhesive Velcro strips.

• Peeled backing off the “hook” side, stuck it firmly to the underside of every single wooden tile.
• Peeled backing off the “loop” side, stuck it onto the top surface of the rubber mats.
• Carefully placed each wooden tile back down onto the rubber, pressing down hard to get the Velcro to bite.

Satisfying “rriiiip” sound pressing each one down. Took forever and cost more than expected, but seemed to work.

Final Court Test

Waited a full day to let the adhesive cure. Got the crew back together. Nervous start. Jumped. Dived hard. Ran sideways. No shifting! That lovely Velcro held everything tight. Surface felt solid, springy from the rubber underneath. Played a full set without anyone eating dirt. Victory!

After Thoughts

• Velcro saves the day: Without it? Epic fail. That rubber layer was too slippery on top.
• Heavy labor: Moving those rubber mats was absolute torture. Younger help would be smart.
• Not truly “removable”: Getting the Velcro tiles up again? Might wreck the adhesive or the rubber. It’s “removable” in chunks, but it’s gonna be a chore. Still better than concrete.
• Feels amazing to play on: All the backbreaking work was worth it when the ball flew cleanly and nobody tripped. Love this court now!