How This Crazy Floor Idea Started

So yesterday my kid came home whining about wanting a volleyball net indoors. Our living room’s got this fancy wooden flooring my wife would kill me over if I drilled into it. Figured hey, maybe I can rig up something that stays put during playtime but vanishes completely afterward.

Scrounging Up The Parts

Rummaged through my garage stash first. Found these four pressure-treated 2x4s and some ratty carpet scraps I’d saved from last year’s basement redo. Too short though. Drove to Lowe’s and grabbed:

• Two planks of pine shelving wood
• Pack of heavy-duty velcro strips
• Replacement bungee cords from camping section
• Non-slip drawer liner roll

Cutting The Base Pieces

Measured the room width where we’d play – came out 28 feet corner to corner. Sawed each pine plank into 14-foot halves. Sanded the splintery edges using my crusty orbital sander coughing sawdust everywhere. Stuck that non-slip liner onto the bottom face of each plank with construction adhesive.

Building The Anchors

Took those short 2x4s and wrapped ’em with carpet strips like burritos. Used my staple gun like a maniac securing them – nearly bent a staple when hitting knotty wood. Glued velcro hooks onto the carpet wrapping. Then stuck velcro loops onto the main planks where anchors would sit.

Why This Velcro Mess?

Before settling on velcro, I tried:

• Clamping anchors to planks – slid around during test jumps
• Magnetic strips – held worse than dollar store tape
• Industrial suction cups – popped off like champagne corks

Assembling The Sleeper System

Slapped those carpet-wrapped 2x4s onto the velcro strips every 4 feet along the planks. Threw the bungee cords sideways across the anchors like seatbelts – that’s what keeps the whole thing from splaying apart when you spike hard. Took all four pieces and arranged them in a rectangle around our play zone.

Testing The Whole Setup

Made my teenager jump around like a kangaroo near the edges. Those anchors? Held solid as a rock. When he tripped and crashed into the bungee cord? The whole frame flexed but didn’t budge an inch sideways. Even dragged the couch over the planks afterward – zero scratches on the flooring!

What Worked Surprisingly Well

• Bungees keeping tension between anchors
• Non-slip liner preventing creep
• Carpet friction gripping wood floor

The Unexpected Consequence

After we packed up the contraption, found weird indentations in the carpet anchors. Turns out when my teenager did his dramatic victory stomp, his shoe carved a Batman symbol into the carpet. Wife walked in later screaming about “alien crop circles” on her precious floors. Took 20 minutes to convince her they’ll bounce back by morning. Now the kid wants Jurassic Park footprint textures on all anchors. Probably duct-taping plastic dinosaurs next weekend.