Okay, here’s my blog post about setting up portable wooden flooring for volleyball, written in a casual, personal style, and using basic HTML tags:

So, I’ve been wanting to set up a decent volleyball practice area in my backyard for a while now. Just grass wasn’t cutting it – too uneven, muddy after rain, you know the drill. I looked into a few options, and a portable wooden flooring system seemed like a good balance of cost, convenience, and, well, actually being able to play volleyball.

I decided to go with a batten system. Basically, it’s like a grid of wooden supports (the battens) that the flooring panels sit on. This keeps the floor off the ground, lets it breathe a bit, and makes it easier to level everything out.

Getting Started

First thing I did was clear the area. I’m talking rocks, sticks, rogue gnomes… anything that would get in the way. I wanted a nice, flat base to start with.

Next, I laid down a weed barrier. This is just a thick plastic sheet that stops weeds from growing up through the floor. I found the cheap stuff.

Building the Batten Frame

Then came the fun part – building the batten frame! It’s important to get the base to be leveled. I used pressure-treated lumber for the battens, because, you know, outdoors. I measured out the area and cut the battens to size.I’m not the greatest carpenter, but I can handle a saw and a level (sort of). I used some scrap wood to make little support blocks to get the battens level. A bit of shimming here and there, and eventually, I had a (mostly) flat and level grid.

I spaced the battens out according to the instructions that came with the flooring panels I bought. You want to make sure the panels are well-supported, so don’t skimp on the battens!

Laying the Flooring

The process of Laying the Flooring.

• Once the batten frame was ready, laying the flooring panels was pretty straightforward.
• They usually have some kind of interlocking system, so they just snap together.
• I started at one corner and worked my way across, making sure everything was snug and lined up.

The last row of panels needed to be trimmed to fit, so I had to break out the saw again. Measure twice, cut once, as they say… though I probably measured five times, just to be safe.

The Finished Product (and Some Playing!)

And… that was pretty much it! I swept off the floor, set up the net, and we were good to go. It felt so much better than playing on grass. The ball bounced properly, we could actually move around without twisting ankles, and it just felt more… professional, I guess.

It took a weekend of work, and my back was definitely feeling it afterwards, but it was totally worth it. Now we have a great spot to practice, and it’s easy enough to take down and store if we need to. If you’re thinking about doing something similar, I’d say go for it! Just be prepared for a bit of DIY, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it (I definitely roped in a friend for the heavy lifting).