Okay, so I’ve been wanting to set up a little volleyball practice area in my backyard for a while now. I didn’t want anything permanent, and digging up the lawn was a no-go. That’s when I stumbled upon this idea of a portable wooden floor, using battens and sleepers. Sounded interesting, so I gave it a shot!

Getting Started

First things first, I measured out the area I wanted to cover. I went for a relatively small space, just enough for some basic drills. Then came the fun part – gathering the materials. I headed to the local hardware store and picked up a bunch of treated pine sleepers and battens. I also grabbed some heavy-duty landscape fabric to put underneath, to stop weeds from growing through.

Building the Base

I laid down the landscape fabric first, making sure it covered the entire area and overlapped a bit at the edges. Then, I started arranging the sleepers around the perimeter, kind of like creating a big, low wooden box. I used some long, thick screws to hold them together at the corners. It wasn’t perfectly level, but hey, it’s just for practice, right?

Adding the Battens

Next up were the battens. I placed them across the sleepers, spacing them out evenly. This was probably the trickiest part, making sure they were all more or less level. I used a spirit level (and a lot of eyeballing) to get them as close as possible. I screwed the battens down onto the sleepers, using shorter screws this time.

• Measure the area.
• Gather materials.
• Lay down Landspace fabric.
• Arrange sleepers.
• Place battens.

The Finished Product (Sort Of)

And that was pretty much it! It’s not exactly professional-grade, but it’s surprisingly sturdy. I can jump and move around on it without it feeling wobbly. The wood has a nice little give to it, which is easier on the joints than concrete. I can roll it with my volleyball kits on that area without any problem.

I might add a layer of plywood or something on top eventually, to make it a bit smoother. But for now, it’s perfect for what I need. Plus, when I’m done, I can just unscrew everything and stack it away. Pretty neat, huh?

It wasn’t perfect, there were a few gaps here and there, and it definitely wasn’t perfectly level. But you know what? It worked! It’s super convenient being able to take it apart and store it when I’m not using it. And honestly, it was a pretty fun little project!