Okay folks, today I tackled setting up that pad volleyball court with pine flooring I’ve had sitting around. Grabbed the box this morning after my third coffee, figuring it couldn’t be that hard. First step? Clear a massive space in the backyard. Had to shove lawn chairs and the grill aside like some kind of obstacle course. Totally underestimated how much room this thing needs. Spread the big plastic base pad thing out – that was easy enough, just kinda flopped it down flat.

The Actual Floor Puzzle

Opened up the big box of pine panels next. They smelled nice, like fresh wood. Each piece had these tongue-and-groove slots. Started clicking them together like legos right on top of the pad. Felt pretty clever for the first row. Got cocky. Second row? Misaligned a corner big time. Had to pry the whole dang panel up with a screwdriver because I hadn’t noticed the groove wasn’t catching right. Scratched the edge a bit – annoying, but lesson learned: check every slot fits before tapping it in.

Fighting With The Angles

The real headache kicked in when the instructions wanted an angled section near the net zone. Cut two panels with my old handsaw. Measured twice, cut once? More like measured once, cut twice. Ended up slightly off. Sanded the heck out of the wonky edge until it sorta fit. Secured the edges with those little rubber stoppers included in the kit. Half of them popped out as soon as I walked near them. Used a mallet to hammer every single one way deeper than felt necessary.

Final Test Drive

Grabbed my dog’s chew toy ball for a test. Tossed it down on the new court surface. Watched it bounce nice and even across the pine. No weird bumps or hollow spots. Did a few hops myself – felt solid, smelled like a lumber yard victory. Soaked the edges of the pad down with water like the box said to help it ‘settle’ or whatever. Honestly? Feels sturdy right now. Took way longer than those cheery instruction pictures suggested, but standing on it feels good.

Honest recap:

• Take the time to align every panel perfectly at the start. A small gap blows up into a big mess later.
• Don’t trust the rubber edge locks at first placement. Hammer them deep right away.
• Cutting angles? Add an extra 10 minutes to measure and cuss quietly.
• Watering the pad edges afterwards seems weird but didn’t hurt anything.

Feels legit to play on now. Worth the sweat? Mostly. My back might disagree tomorrow.