Why I Built This Thing

Last week, my volleyball buddies complained about sore knees after playing on concrete. That got me thinking – why not build a shock-absorbing floor for backyard games? Everyone said specialty sports floors cost crazy money. Challenge accepted.

Getting the Supplies

First stop was the hardware store. Grabbed:

• Twenty pine planks about this long
• Two tubes of super-strong wood glue
• Rubber padding strips they use under treadmill mats
• Regular wood screws from my garage stash

Tried asking for “engineering boards” – guy just stared blankly. Regular planks it is.

Building the Base

Started in my garage yesterday morning:

• Laid out all planks like puzzle pieces on my saw horses
• Measured with my kid’s school ruler – eyeballed when numbers got fuzzy
• Sawed three planks wrong and had to restart

Glue splattered everywhere when I squeezed too hard. Had to wipe my glasses twice.

The Shock Part

Cut up those rubber strips into little squares. Stuck them between planks every foot or so. Pressed down real hard – fingers hurt like mad. Did the bounce test:

• Dropped my coffee mug from waist height
• Bounced once softly instead of shattering to pieces
• Good enough proof for me

Assembly Nightmare

Screwing boards together was the worst part:

• Some screws went in crooked
• Two planks split near the ends
• Rubber bits kept slipping out when I turned boards

Just kept adding extra screws wherever things felt wobbly. Looks messy but holds together.

Final Test

Dumped the whole contraption on my patio this morning. Jumped up and down:

• Knees feel way better than concrete
• Board creaks in two spots
• Volleyball bounces nice and predictable

Would I build it again? Maybe with different wood. But tonight we’re playing without knee pads. Call that a win.