Okay, so I finally finished setting up my home gym volleyball corner last week. Man, finding decent wooden flooring that didn’t cost a kidney AND could handle jumps? Total headache.
The Whole Search Mess
First I googled crap like “volleyball wood floor cheap.” Big mistake. Got bombarded with overpriced sports retailers charging like 15 bucks per square foot. Ain’t no way. Then local stores – either didn’t carry thick pads or had that shiny gym-floor gloss I hate.
Changed tactics. Started hunting for “solid assembly gym flooring” suppliers instead of volleyball-specific stuff. Way better. Found three main types:
- Garage floor guys
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- – Super dense wood but felt like walking on concrete. Return policy sucked too.
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- Dance studio suppliers – Softer maple, good shock absorption. Almost went with one til I saw the 30-day backorder.
- DIY home gym wholesalers – Jackpot. Specialized in interlocking panels for basement setups.
The Budget Breakthrough
Narrowed down to two wholesalers after emailing like six places. Both offered 2″ thick interlocking maple panels. Supplier A wanted $6.49/sq ft shipped. Supplier B quoted $5.20 for the same damn specs! Called Supplier B directly. Turns out their “scratch & dent” section had perfectly fine flooring with cosmetic flaws – got it for $3.75/sq ft if I picked it up myself. Drove two hours to their warehouse with a U-Haul. Totally worth it.
Putting This Beast Together
Unloaded all 50 boxes into my garage. Each panel had tongue-and-groove edges – slapped ’em together like giant puzzle pieces over my concrete basement floor. Leveled as I went. Took me three weekends because:
- My measuring was crap first try
- Had to trim edges near pipes
- Neighbor helped flip panels when my back gave out
Final step? Threw down volleyball court tape lines. Done. Floor’s solid – no creaks, no give when I spike. Knees ain’t screaming after drills either.
Lesson? Skip the “volleyball” tax. Hunt garage/dance/gym suppliers, ask about damaged stock, and rent a damn truck. Saved nearly 70% doing this.
