dance floor finishing advice

[Mark Simpson]

My wife is an avid Salsa dancer. I am building a collapsable dance floor for her use in outdoor salsa parties etc. Won't be used all that often - 2 or 3 times per year.

Floor is 4'X4' panels with 3/4 inch ply. The building supply was closed Saturday for the holiday, so the schedule forced me to pick through a dozen lousy Lowe's A/C project panels to get three that did not have any resin-filled gaps on the A-side.

Although adhering some sort of flooring to the panels is an option, I would prefer to just finsh the plywood and see how that holds up (saves $ and weight). I can always put tiles or flooring on later if needed.

So question, what would be the best way to go to provide some sort of protection for the ply and to provide a decent dance surface?

I am assuming that my two main alternatives are a natural oil finish like WOCA, or a polyurethane. I am wondering if the WOCA will be hard enough when applied to a standard (non-hardwood) A-side of A/C plywood?

Any insights/opinions from someone who actually knows something (aka not me) would be much appreciated, afterall, "a happy wife is a happy life."



Mark

[Ken Garlock]

Good morning Mark, and welcome to the creek. Do stop in and wade with us often.

Regarding your finishing problem, I suggest using Water Lox (http://waterlox.com/solutions/), it is a good product that has been around since 1910. Their website is a wealth of information regarding it's use, and have a section on their site regarding floor finishing.

Good luck with your project.:)

[Scott Holmes]

How about peel and stick floor tiles?

[Craig Hemsath]

I second J. Scott. Lots of varieties to choose from. They're cheap, lightweight, durable, easy to repair/replace and would probably look better than just plain plywood.

[Scott Holmes]

I was thinking the oak parquet stye...

[Mark Simpson]

Thanks guys for the advice, I may reconsider the tile option.

Anyone have opinions on natural oil finishes for a dance floor? Would that provide sufficient hardness/protection.

[Jason Roehl]

I'd go with a hardwood floor on 1-bys, done in 2'x2' sections or so, with some sort of latch system underneath the panels for quick assembly. With the smaller sections, they could be stack and easily moved with a dolly. You could even just use the T&G for interlocking the panels, maybe add some dowels or pins in the sub-frame (the 1-bys), then use a few ratchet straps around the perimeter to draw it all together.

As for finish, I'd go with a gym floor-rated waterborne finish.

[Mark Simpson]

As I said, panels are largely built, so alternative method is not an option. I chose 4'x4' plywood panels since the construction was easy, and all we intend to do is carry them from the shed to the yard when needed. Also, this floor will be set up in the grass, so joining system needs to tolerate that - smaller panels would present too many issues, I think.

The issue is what to surface the panels with, whether stick on tiles, or natural oil, or polyurethane, or what.

Still curious if anyone has experience or knowledge of whether natural oil finishes would provide sufficient hardness if applied to standard A/C "project" plywood.

Thanks for the advice proferred so far.

[Joe Cunningham]

Do you have a product in mind when you say 'natural oil finish'? Generally pure oil finishes are not very good, except for something like a picture frame.

I'd be looking at poly or the tiles if I was doing this, but I'd also talk to my local dance club and see what kind of surface they use.

[Mark Simpson]

Do you have a product in mind when you say 'natural oil finish'?

As I said in the OP, I looked at something called "WOCA" which I read about on some website. somewhere. Here is a link, I think. http://www.woodcareusa.com/

I will check into that more and also Water Lox as suggested by Mr. Garland. I haven't had time since posting to check it out.

My wife is starting to like the idea of appropriate stick-on tiles, which as several have suggested, might be the best bet after all. Now if that Lowe's dude had actually cut the panels dead on 48" the way I asked and assumed he would....

[Scott Holmes]

If you go for the hardwood floor system Jason recommends buy the flooring PRE FINISHED