Alright so I finally tried building that removable volleyball court with soft maple wood everyone’s been asking about. Took me three weekends and more coffee than I should admit.

The Why and The What

Started ’cause my backyard grass got destroyed after one volleyball game last summer. Totally wrecked. Needed something removable that wouldn’t kill my lawn completely. Soft maple was cheaper than hard maple at Lowe’s, so that’s what I grabbed. Big mistake? Maybe. Read on.

The Ugly First Attempt

Right off the bat, things went wrong:

• Screwed up the measurements – Cut all my first batch of planks too short by like 3 inches. Forgot saw blade thickness matters.
• Ignored wood conditioning – Just hauled the maple home and started cutting. Two days later, half the boards warped like bananas sitting in my garage.
• Cheaped out on underlayment – Used old carpet scraps. Terrible idea. Ball bounced like a brick.

Had to drive back to Lowe’s twice. Felt like an idiot paying for more wood.

Getting My Act Together

Tried again after watching too many YouTube fail compilations to feel better about myself. Here’s what actually worked:

• Let wood sit in my garage for a week before touching it. Humidity here’s crazy.
• Made a jig for cutting – scrap plywood with clamps. Life changing.
• Used foam puzzle mats under the planks. The cheap ones for kids’ playrooms. Shockingly good.

Assembly went like this: Cut planks → sand like crazy → put foam mats down → lay planks side-by-side → hammer those plastic edge connectors every foot. Took forever and my thumbs were numb.

The “Removable” Nightmare

This part sucked. First version weighed a ton – needed 4 people to lift sections. My brother’s friend tripped carrying one. Almost sued me, probably.

Fixed it by cutting panels smaller. Made 4×4 ft squares instead of giant strips. Worked better but now I’ve got 16 sections to store behind my shed. Pain in the neck when storing.

Did It Actually Work?

Kinda? Good news first:

• Ball bounce was decent after sealing wood
• Nobody twisted ankles on uneven bits
• Pulled up easy after games

But man, the bad stuff:

• Maple scratches SO easy – one game left marks everywhere
• Grass underneath turned yellow after a week in summer heat
• That stupid foam got all lumpy after rain

Biggest Lessons Learned

If you try this yourself:

• Use cheaper wood – maple’s overkill unless you’re pro league
• Weather matters way more than I thought
• Make panels light enough for ONE person to handle
• DO NOT skip sealing the wood – it rained once and boards swelled up like muffins

Total cost around $500 including screwups. Next time maybe I’ll just pay for a community court rental. Took too much beer to convince friends to help move these panels every time.

Still. Kids played on it all summer without wrecking my lawn. That’s a win.