So yesterday I decided to build a shock absorbing base for my backyard volleyball net because playing on concrete is just murder on the knees, right? Thought it sounded simple enough – engineer something to take the impact. Spoiler: it wasn’t.

Getting Started & Materials

First thing, I raided the old shed. Found:

• A bunch of leftover 2x4s (some straight, most not so much)
• Half a sheet of plywood covered in suspicious stains
• An ancient bag of mulch? (Still used it, looked fine…ish)
• Some thick rubber exercise mat squares my neighbor tossed out

Building the “Engineer Board”

Dragged everything to the driveway. Measured the area under the net pole spots – about 3 feet square each. Hammered together a rough frame from the 2x4s. Let’s call it “rustic.” Realized the plywood sheet was warped AF halfway through. Had to wrestle it onto the frame like I was taming a wild animal. Won, mostly. Used like 50 screws holding that beast down.

Stared at the rubber squares. Too small. Grabbed the box cutter and hacked them into jigsaw pieces trying to cover the plywood. Big gaps everywhere. Shrugged, dumped the whole old bag of mulch inside the frame right on top of the rubber scraps. Made a weird, lumpy layer. Smelled like wet forest.

Felt genius. Mulch is bouncy! Covered the whole ugly mess with the plywood lid and screwed it shut tight. Slapped a coat of leftover deck paint on it. Looked… functional.

Testing Phase (aka Reality Check)

Shoved these chunky monstrosities under the net poles. Stepped on one. My foot sank down a good inch and stopped with a crunchy-thud. Bounce? More like a soggy dead stop. Volleyball lands hard? The whole board shudders like it caught a chill. No shock absorption. Just vibes. And mulch dust leaking out the cracks.

Friend tripped stepping off one. Board didn’t budge an inch. No “give” at all. Just launched his ankle sideways. He’s fine. Mostly. Cursing my name.

The “Wooden Flooring” Pipe Dream

Okay, the plan was to attach actual wood planks over these bouncy boards for a smooth playing surface. Yeah, right. My plywood lid isn’t even flat, mulch is bulging in places. Putting slippery wood on top of that? Forget spikes, folks would be eating dirt trying to walk on it. So much for professional feels.

So Where Did It Go Wrong?

Mulch compacts. Turns rock hard. Zero bounce. Rubber scraps? Too thin, too sparse. My frame’s probably too stiff. The whole thing’s basically a fancy brick now. Shoulda maybe used proper foam pads or cut-up tires? Too late. Spent hours on this junk.

Remembered why they just use sand courts. Simpler. Cheaper. Actually bouncy. My over-engineered mulch traps? Heavy, ugly, and smell weird when it rains. Crawled underneath yesterday trying to patch a leak. Got covered in wet bark bits. Looked like a badger dug through a trash heap.

Maybe next time I’ll just buy a volleyball stand system. Or roll out some turf. Or move the net onto the grass. Lesson learned? Sometimes shock absorption belongs on your shoes, not a homemade mulch coffin. These things are currently holding down weeds behind the shed. Doing a great job at that, though.