Alright, let me walk you through how I tackled putting together this removable volleyball sleeper floor thingy in the backyard. Total experiment, but man, it worked out decent!

The “Why” and Getting Stuff

Basically, the kids wanted a volleyball net, but the spot we have is also where we park the trailer sometimes. Paving or something permanent was out. Stumbled online on this “removable sleeper floor” idea – basically fancy wooden tiles you click together. Sounded perfect! Ordered a bunch of these pre-cut interlocking wooden squares meant for temporary flooring. Also grabbed a big roll of that mesh stuff you put under gravel to stop weeds – figured it would protect the grass and make the ground smoother.

Prepping the Battlefield

First job: clear the space. Got the kids to help rake all the leaves and twigs off this patch of grass. Took way longer than expected, ’cause surprise, we found like three lost toys and a frisbee buried. Then, rolled out the mesh fabric, the big stuff. Had to wrestle with it – wind kept trying to blow it away. Finally pinned it down using tent pegs around the edges. Looked kinda weird, like a giant, flat net just lying there.

The Assembly Puzzle Begins

Unpacked the wood tiles. Each tile had these little plastic lugs sticking out on one side, and holes on the opposite side. Simple click-together idea. Lay down the first tile. Easy. Clicked the second one onto its side. Feeling good! Then the third one… ugh. Misaligned it slightly. The lugs weren’t sliding into the holes right. Had to lift it back up, wiggle it around, feel that satisfying snap when it finally went in. Key lesson learned: gotta make sure you hear and feel that click on every single connection.

Kept crawling on my knees, placing the next tile, clicking it to the one before it and the one above or below it. My back started complaining real fast. The ground wasn’t perfectly level either, so some tiles sat slightly higher or lower than their neighbors. You could see tiny gaps. Didn’t bother me too much for volleyball – long as it wasn’t a trip hazard.

Tweaking and the Final Stretch

Got into a rhythm eventually, crawling around like some weird, wooden-puzzle-solving creature. Had to trim the mesh where it overlapped too much near the edges. The hardest part was the edges where a full tile didn’t fit. Luckily, a few tiles came with these little half-moon cutouts for edges, but not enough! Had to improvise on two sides, leaving the fabric slightly exposed. Not the prettiest finish, but functional.

Does it Work? The Test!

After, like, 3 hours of kneeling and clicking and grunting, it was done! Plopped the volleyball net posts right on top – they had wide bases that spread the load. Tossed the ball. Kids came charging. They ran on it, jumped, dived for the ball. Didn’t slide around unexpectedly. The tiles shifted very slightly under hard jumps, but didn’t come apart. Success! The “sleeper” part is the beauty: after the game, we just unclicked the perimeter tiles. Then lifted the net posts. Started pulling the large central sections apart. Broke it down into manageable chunks in maybe 15 minutes. Stashed the tiles back in the garage. Rolled up the mesh. Grass underneath? Looked a bit smooshed, but totally fine after a day. Exactly what I wanted – a court that appears and disappears!

Honest Thoughts: It ain’t a fancy gym floor. You feel tiny gaps and uneven spots. Crawling around assembling it sucks. But man, the looks on the kids’ faces? Priceless. Plus, knowing I can pack it all away? Totally worth the sore knees. Wouldn’t do it for a super permanent setup, but for occasional backyard fun? Hell yeah.