So I made this removable volleyball timber thing last weekend cause honestly, those regulation steel posts are just stupid. Every time we finish playing volleyball in the backyard, those giant metal poles are right there, tripping everyone up or getting in the way. It’s a pain, especially when I wanna mow the lawn or my kid wants to kick a soccer ball around. Needed somethin’ solid but that actually moves outta the way.

Started Simple, Got Annoyed Real Quick

First thought was lazy: just zip-tie some timber uprights to the chain-link fence. Did that. Predictably disastrous. First decent spike hit the timber, whole thing wobbled like a drunk, and smacked the fence with a horrible CLANG. My neighbor glared like I’d kicked his dog. Okay, scratch that. Needed its own legs.

Diggin’ & Stickin’

Grabbed two treated 4×4 posts from the shed – good solid timber, sturdy. Measured where the posts should be for a proper net. Took the post hole digger – man, those things are hard work, swear I sweated buckets just for two holes. Shoved the 4x4s deep into the holes, poured in quick-setting concrete mix, leveled them upright with my rusty old level. Taped ’em together with scrap wood crossbeams so they wouldn’t lean while the concrete dried. Waited overnight, felt like forever.

Building the Removable Bit

This was the trick. How do you make it solid enough but also… y’know, removable? I didn’t want permanent eyebolts sticking outta the posts. Sketch time! Cut two lengths of 2×4, longer than the distance between my upright posts. These are gonna hold the net hooks.

Figured… pins. Grabbed some heavy-duty metal pins – basically thick steel rods with holes drilled near the top. Mounted a bracket on each 2×4, letting it sit on the ground beside the upright post. Drilled a hole clean through both the timber upright and the end of the horizontal 2×4 support arm – same width as the pins. Hammered the pin down through both holes like a big fat nail. Felt solid! Kicked it lightly… no give. Good sign. Gave it a proper shove. Held firm. Okay!

Did the same drill for the other side. Now I had two horizontal arms sticking out sideways, each pinned to their upright post.

Hangin’ the Net (Finally!)

Time for the net hooks. Simple: screwed sturdy eyebolts into the underside of each horizontal arm near the ends. Slung the volleyball net rope through those eyebolts, pulled it tight. Stood back. Looked pretty darn professional!

We played a game – no wobble, net stayed taut. Sweated buckets chasing a wild spike, but the timber didn’t budge an inch. Perfect.

The “Removable” Payoff

After the game, popped out those two big metal pins on each side. Pulled the horizontal arms right out. Lifted ’em off, leaned ’em neatly against the shed wall. Bam! Now all that’s left are the two upright 4x4s in the ground, sturdy but way less obtrusive than giant steel posts or a full frame sticking out. Lawnmower rolls clear, kids can run wild. Pop the pins and arms back in whenever we wanna play again. Takes maybe thirty seconds.

Total victory. Stupidly simple idea but man, why don’t they sell these things? My back hates digging holes, but my shins are gonna thank me forever.