Starting the Volleyball Floor Project

So I decided to make shock-absorbing flooring for backyard volleyball after seeing players complain about sore joints. Grabbed my measuring tape first – our yard space is roughly 10×5 meters. Needed materials? Just four things: beech wood planks, rubber pads, construction glue, and basic carpentry tools. Borrowed my neighbor’s electric saw cause my handsaw takes forever.

Prepping the Base

First, cleared all rocks and leveled the dirt spot where the court would go. Took my shovel and compacted the soil hard until it felt like concrete under my boots. Then laid those black rubber pads everyone uses for gym floors – cut them into square pieces using my kitchen scissors when the utility knife got dull. Sweat buckets pressing each pad tight against the dirt so no gaps remained.

Wood Cutting Phase

Unwrapped the beech planks smelling all fresh and woody. Measured twice per plank before cutting because wood ain’t cheap. The electric saw screamed like a banshee when slicing through those thick boards – wore double ear protection. Sawdust covered my hair like fake snow even though I was working outside with wind blowing.

Important lessons during cutting:

• Planks warp if you stack them wrong during sizing
• Gloves saved my fingers when handling splintered edges
• Marking lines with chalk works better than pen

Assembly Time

Slathered construction glue on every rubber pad section like spreading peanut toast. Started from the center plank, pressing each board into the glue goop while checking alignment. Noticed some planks didn’t sit flush immediately – beat them gently with a rubber mallet. Left outer edges unfinished for now cause corners always cause headaches.

Weather turned moody halfway, so covered the work area with my camping tarp and took three coffee breaks while waiting for glue to get sticky.

Final Touches & Testing

Trimmed the bumpy outer planks using a hand plane. Did the jump test first – landed straight legged from half-meter height and my knees didn’t hurt at all! Bounced a volleyball super hard to check responsiveness. Satisfied, I swept sawdust off while neighbor’s kids immediately rushed over to play. Watched them dive for two hours – zero complaints about falling on their butts!

What I’d Change Next Time

Should’ve ordered extra planks because the last row ended up being ugly scrap pieces. Rubber pads slid a bit during gluing phase – maybe use temporary nails as anchors. But for less than $200 and two weekends’ work? Totally beats paying gym membership just for cushioned floors. These old knees feel twenty years younger!