Okay so today I wanna talk about this project I just finished – putting down a solid wood floor you can actually take apart later, for volleyball. Sounds kinda niche, right? Yeah, probably is. But hey, that’s what I felt like doing!

Getting the Idea and Stuff

So it all started last month. Me and the guys were playing volleyball at this community court, the ground absolutely sucked. Concrete. Hard as hell. Slid and almost busted my knee a couple times. Got me thinking, wouldn’t it be cool to just, I dunno, lay down some wood over it? But then you gotta think about the space, maybe someone else wants the court for something else later. Can’t leave permanent wood planks on public concrete.

Started scouring around online for ideas. Saw some modular stuff, usually plastic or foam tiles. Didn’t look tough enough, felt flimsy. Wanted that solid, real bounce, like a proper indoor court. Then found some dudes talking about interlocking wood panels – lightbulb moment! Removable AND solid? Gotta try that.

Searched for materials. Didn’t wanna spend a fortune, obviously. Looked at options. Maple? Way too pricey. Oak? Also no. Found some decent kiln-dried pine tongue and groove planks. Not the most fancy, but sturdy enough for occasional games and way easier on the wallet. Bought enough to cover a decent playing area.

Actually Building the Thing

Alright, here’s where the real work started.

• Step One: Measuring and Cutting. Hauled all the wood to the garage. Measured the space at the court earlier, drew out a simple grid on paper – basically just figuring how many panels I needed. Wanted the panels big enough to not be annoying, small enough for one person to handle. Settled on roughly 2 feet by 4 feet panels. Measured and marked planks, used my circular saw to cut them to size. Did it slowly, kept checking the measurements. Made a bunch of panels. Some edges weren’t laser-perfect, but good enough.
• Step Two: Making ‘Em Interlock. This was the key part for being removable. Didn’t want hinges or complicated stuff. Looked at simple joint options. Decided on wood cleats. Basically just shorter bits of wood screwed to the underside of the panels along the edges. Bought some cheap 1×2 pine strips. Cut them to the right lengths for the sides of each panel. On one panel edge, screw the cleats to the underside so they stick out a bit. On the opposite edge of the adjacent panel, screw cleats to the underside but set IN from the edge, so there’s a gap. This way, you kind of hook the lip of one panel’s cleat under the set-back cleat of the next panel. A bit hard to explain in words. Drilled pilot holes first to stop the cheap wood splitting, then screwed them in tight. Did this for all four sides of every panel.
• Step Three: Testing the Lock. Tried assembling two panels right there in the garage. Hooked one into the other. Held ’em together with one hand on each and tried shaking ’em. Felt pretty solid. Did a little jump on ’em – no gap opening up. Good sign. Got excited now.
• Step Four: Sanding Like Crazy. Pine planks are rough, man. Splinters waiting to happen. Got my orbital sander and went through sandpaper like water. Started coarse, worked down to smoother. Sanded the tops, sanded the edges, even sanded the cleats a bit. Took forever. Dust everywhere. But felt way better, safer.
• Step Five: Protecting the Wood. Figured it’d be outside sometimes, get damp maybe. Didn’t want it warping or rotting quick. Bought a big bucket of outdoor water sealer and a few bottles of polyurethane. Brushed on a heavy coat of the sealer first, let it dry overnight. Then did two coats of the poly, sanding lightly in between. Took days waiting for drying, but looks way better, feels smooth.

Taking it to the Court and Assembly

Finally, D-Day. Loaded all the dry panels into my buddy’s pickup truck. Took it to the court. Concrete looked clean enough.

Started laying it down. Began at one corner. Placed the first panel. Grabbed the next, hooked its exposed cleats under the recessed cleats of the first. They snapped together. Gave it a little tap with a rubber mallet – felt solid. Kept going, row by row. Connected all the panels together. The hook-lock thing worked! Whole court area covered in solid wood panels, just clicked together under their own weight mostly.

We walked on it. Bounced the ball on it. Threw the ball hard. Did some small jumps. Solid. No gaps, no shifting panels. Felt amazing! The bounce was predictable, way softer than concrete. No dangerous slides. Took maybe 20 minutes to lay down the whole playing area.

Taking it Back Apart

The real test – can I get it back apart without destroying it? Lifted one corner panel straight up. The cleat just unhooked. Easy. Worked my way across the court, lifting each panel straight up. Unlocked. Threw them back in the truck in minutes. Clean up was easy, just sweep the concrete underneath. Park was back to normal.

So yeah, dumb project maybe. But it worked! Solid wood volleyball floor. Goes together fast, comes apart fast. Wood’s tough enough for some hard play. Cost me some effort and time sanding and sealing, but totally worth it. Next sunny weekend? Game on!