Okay, so today I wanted to finally tackle that volleyball issue in my garage. See, I converted part of it into a practice space with wooden flooring last month, but man – when my kids spiked that ball? Sounded like cannonballs hitting a ship! And the floorboards were gonna get wrecked fast. Needed some shock absorption.

Planning Phase

I started eyeballing under-bed-sleeper things at the hardware store last weekend. You know, those springy foam rectangles people put under mattresses? Grabbed four cheap ones. Figured I could Frankenstein a base layer for the ball instead of buying fancy sports pads. Cut ’em square with an old bread knife – smelled like burnt plastic, ugh.

Base Construction Mess

First dumb idea: Just plopped the sleepers under the volleyball net pole legs. Big mistake. Ball hit the net, poles wobbled like drunk giraffes, sleepers squished sideways. Almost took out my toolbox. My neighbor laughed his butt off watching through the window.

Redesign Time

Changed tactics: Took scrap plywood from last year’s failed birdhouse project – sanded the splinters off. Gorilla-glued two sleepers onto each board. Had to weigh ’em down with cinderblocks overnight ’cause instructions said “don’t disturb for 6 hours.” Like I’d sit still that long.

Installation Chaos

Morning comes. Hauled the plywood-sleeper sandwiches under the net area. Now the fun part – anchoring them to my stupid wooden floor. Pilot holes? Nah. Drilled straight through sleepers into floorboards. Snapped one screw clean off trying to muscle it. Swore at my cordless drill for being wimpy.

• Problem: Sleeping pads kept peeling up when drilled
• Fix: Punched holes FIRST with a screwdriver (stabby method)
• Problem: Uneven floor dip near the wall
• Fix: Jammed beer coasters under one sleeper. Classy.

Field Test Drama

Made the kids test it. First serve – thud instead of BANG. Sweet! But ball bounced sideways weird. One sleeper pad got crushed flatter than my motivation after taxes. Realized cheap foam sleeps like wet cardboard under pressure. Flipped the sad sleeper over for temporary plumpness.

Results? Not pro-level, but definitely muffled the thunder. Floor ain’t cracking anymore. Still needs work – maybe upgrade foam or nail boards sideways next weekend. But for $20 and two hours of cursing? I’ll take it.