So today I decided to install that shock-absorbing volleyball floor I bought online. Been sitting in my garage for weeks, right? Finally had time.

Started by dragging all the boxes inside my empty garage space. Man, so many boxes! Had to open everything just to make sure nothing was broken during shipping. Lay all them wooden planks out flat on the garage floor. Some pieces looked kinda twisted? Hope that won’t be trouble later.

Okay, step one: clean that garage floor like crazy. Swept out every single dust bunny, pebble, old nail – you name it. Got down on my knees with a damp cloth. Not exciting, but super important. Gotta start flat and clean.

Next came the underlay. Rolled out that rubbery matting stuff. Had to cut pieces with scissors to fit the shape of the space. Tried taping the seams… tape just kept peeling off! Got annoyed and just overlapped the pieces slightly instead. Hope that holds.

Now the fun part – clicking planks together. Or so I thought! Lined up the first plank against the wall. Took the second plank, angled it like the instructions showed, pushed down… snap! Nice click. Felt good. Kept going.

Then hit a snag. Halfway across, planks wouldn’t click smoothly. That twist I saw earlier? Definitely a problem. Had to whack one plank hard with a rubber mallet and a scrap wood block. Almost swore when it finally dropped into place. Probably should’ve sorted planks better at the start.

Moving row by row took hours. Back started aching. The locking system got tighter near the walls – needed way more force. Had to borrow my neighbor’s weird clamp tool to pull the planks tight before clicking. Saved my sanity.

Finished the main area, then cut the edge planks with a handsaw. Measured twice? More like five times. Sawdust everywhere. Those angled cuts near the door frame were nerve-wracking! Somehow managed not to mess it up.

Final piece clicked in. Stood back sweaty and tired. Threw my volleyball down hard onto the middle. Bounce… nice! Dropped it again. That “thud” felt different than hitting concrete. Definitely had that cushiony feel. Sat down right there on my new floor to take a break.

Made me think of high school volleyball tournaments. Remembered how harsh those old gym floors felt after a whole day of playing? Wish we had this cushion back then! This installation wasn’t perfect – that one corner still looks a little wonky if you stare – but man, that shock absorption works. Worth the sore knees.