Alright folks, let’s talk about my weekend project trying to piece together this shock absorbing volleyball setup with that Hevea wood flooring kit. Man, what a ride.

The Starting Point

So the idea seemed simple enough: buy this “easy-to-assemble” shock absorbing floor kit specifically for volleyball, made with Hevea wood. Looked fancy in the pictures, promised pro-level bounce reduction. I figured, “Hey, my garage floor is brutal on the knees, this might be the fix.” Ordered the whole shebang online.

Unpacking the “Surprise Party”

Box arrives, heavier than sin. Drag it in, crack it open. Instant overwhelm. Instead of maybe, I dunno, FOUR big sections? Nah. There were like a HUNDRED pieces staring back at me. Long wooden planks, little shock pad blocks, bags of screws that looked too small, brackets… the works. The instructions? A single piece of paper with blurry black and white diagrams. Already sweating.

The Actual Assembly Chaos

Here’s where the fun really started:

• Step 1: Lay the Shock Pads. Supposed to be the base. Easy, right? Nope. Took forever just getting these foam squares laid flat without gaps. They kept sliding around like greased pigs. Ended up using painter’s tape to hold them down temporarily. Embarrassing, but it worked.
• Step 2: Connect the Wooden Planks. This involved little metal bits and slots. Instructions said “click together easily.” Lies. The wood was tough; slot A refused to talk to slot B without violence. Needed a rubber mallet and a whole lot of swearing. Seriously, spent like an hour crawling around, hammering bits, trying to force things into submission.
• Step 3: Securing the Joints. Found those bags of tiny screws. Screwing sideways into the end grain of Hevea wood? Harder than it sounds. My drill driver felt like it was wrestling a bear. Half the screws refused to sit flush, sticking up like tiny metal mountains. Had to go back, unscrew them, drill deeper pilot holes – absolute time sink. My back screamed.
• Step 4: Leveling Disaster. Got the whole thing loosely pieced together. Stepped back to admire my handiwork… and saw a gentle wave rolling across the floor. Some bits solid, some bits sagging slightly over the pads. WHY? Had to crawl back under, try to shift the pads underneath, wedge little cardboard bits into the voids like some kind of shoddy carpenter. Took ages.

The “Finished” Product

After about six hours that felt like sixty, it was sorta level. Tested it by bouncing a volleyball. Okay, the shock absorbing part actually seems legit? Ball lands softer, knees feel less jarred than on bare concrete. That part’s a win. But is it perfectly flat? Nah. Can I see some waviness under harsh garage light? Yep. Does it creak ever so slightly when someone jumps? You bet.

The Brutal Verdict

Look, if you have the patience of a saint and a chiropractor on speed dial, maybe this kit is for you. The shock absorption is there – that promise held true. The Hevea wood feels sturdy underfoot. But “easy assembly”? Biggest joke since dial-up internet. It was a full-on DIY cage match. For the price, I expected better instructions and less ambiguous parts. End result? It works okay for bouncing a ball and saving my knees. Doesn’t look perfect, but hey, it’s just the garage. Would I do it again? Probably not without bribing three friends and buying a bigger hammer first.