So today I’m sharing my DIY journey building shock absorbing volleyball flooring with oak wood. Why? Because I love playing volleyball at home, but my knees were getting wrecked on the concrete basement floor, and the wife kept yelling about the noise shaking her teacups upstairs. Figured it was time to fix both problems at once.

First, The Material Hunt

Started by researching cushiony stuff online for weeks. Saw fancy “sports underlayment” products – price tags made me choke. Decided to improvise instead. Headed to the hardware store and bought:

• Thick rubber horse stall mats (cheaper than “specialty” padding)
• 1-inch oak planks labeled “factory seconds” (had some knots, saved 40%)
• Construction adhesive that promised to survive earthquakes
• Cheap carpet padding scraps from a flooring store dumpster

The Messy Assembly Process

Cleared out my entire garage space, like war-zone level cleaning. Swept concrete dust for an hour before laying down the rubber mats. Problem? They curled up like overcooked bacon. Had to duct-tape them to the floor overnight with weights on top.

Next day, slapped adhesive onto the mats and pressed down my stolen carpet padding scraps. Looked like a Frankenstein quilt. Cut the oak planks with my rusty circular saw – wood chips everywhere. The dog thought it was snowing. Glued planks directly onto the padding layer, hammering them tight. Stupidly forgot spacers between planks. Panic-sanded edges when planks swelled later.

Testing Phase Disasters

Tried spiking a volleyball immediately. Three things happened:

• The ball bounced weirdly sideways
• One plank popped up like a toaster
• Adhesive oozed between cracks like alien snot

Got super frustrated. Peeled up half the planks, scraped off glue globs with a butter knife (wrecked the knife). Went back for thicker carpet padding. This time used finish nails along plank edges like a maniac. Added plywood border frames to stop lateral shifting.

Finally, Something That Worked

Third time’s the charm? Knees didn’t ache after 20 minutes of jumping! Dropped a bowling ball from waist height as ultimate test – made a dull thud instead of earthquake rumble. Wife didn’t scream. Victory! The oak surface feels solid underfoot but gives just enough spring. Bonus: The dog now naps on it because it’s warmer than concrete.

Key takeaway: Total cost was about $300 compared to $3k quotes for pro sports floors. Took three weekends and one near-divorce. Worth it? Absolutely – as long as you ignore the dented butter knife and my garage looking like a lumberjack crime scene.