Okay, here’s my blog post about the whole volleyball court flooring project:

So, the other day, I got this crazy idea to put down some proper flooring for our makeshift volleyball court. We’ve been playing on grass, which, you know, gets muddy and uneven. I wanted something with a bit more… bounce. And, well, I’m a bit of an engineer at heart, so I thought, “Why not DIY it?”

The Cushion Quest

First thing was figuring out the cushioning. I mean, you can’t just slap wood on concrete. That’s asking for knee problems. I did some digging around, and it turns out there are these special athletic underlayments, kind of like really thick yoga mats. I ended up getting rolls of this stuff, it’s some rubber, it’s pretty dense and looked like it would do the trick. We unrolled the rubber across the concrete slab we’d poured earlier (another story for another day!). It took a few of us to wrestle it into place ’cause those rolls are HEAVY.

Wood You Believe It?

Next up: the wood. Now, I didn’t want just any wood. I wanted something that could handle some serious stomping and the occasional spilled drink. I went with these pre-assembled wooden flooring panels. They’re designed to snap together, which sounded way easier than dealing with individual planks.

We started in one corner, snapping the panels together. It was actually kind of satisfying, like a giant, floor-sized jigsaw puzzle. The panels clicked into place, and slowly but surely, the court started to take shape. We worked our way across the cushioned underlayment, making sure everything was lined up nice and straight.

The Assembly Line

• Step 1: Clear the area. Get all the old junk and make way clear.
• Step 2: Roll that rubber!.
• Step 3: Click-clack-wood.

The whole assembly process took a good chunk of the weekend, plus pizza. But seeing that finished wooden surface? Totally worth it. It’s got a nice give to it, thanks to the cushioning, and it looks way more professional than our old grassy patch.

Game On!

We tested it out with a quick game, of course. The difference was amazing. The ball bounced better, it was easier on our joints, and it just felt… right. It feels much more stable.

So, that’s the story of how I, with a little help from my friends, turned a muddy patch of grass into a (semi) professional-looking volleyball court. It was a bit of work, sure, but the end result is something we’re all pretty proud of. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I hear a game calling my name…