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I’m a Scottish dancer, and there is a lot of vertical movement involved. If I dance on a hard floor, it hurts pretty quick.
The traditional solution is a “basket weave” of sleepers/stringers so that the floor boards don’t sit on any hard spots, but this takes up a lot of vertical space. A professional studio might have a 2 ft thick floor!
I’m wondering if there is a rubber product I could use as a sleeper that would provide a plywood subfloor with the right give, but not take up so much vertical space. Maybe something one inch thich, cut into two inch wide strips?
This is to go over concrete in a (dry) basement.
Thanks,
Terry
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Terry, the foam underlayment for rubber roofs is pretty squishy, but probably not enough for your needs. The interlocking rubber pads sold for kid's playrooms might work for you. They aren't cheap but probably less than the alternatives.
*a famous night club here in Vancouver,(the Commodore),just rebuilt their floor and it was rumored to be supported on tires and/or horsehair as a spring medium....didn't find out which, but I could if required, apparently both work....
*Terry, i contra dance at Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle and i watched them put down a floor for the dancers of some sheet material, covering a large hall. It looked like rubberized something-or-other, not sure exactly what, though. Anyway, there's contact email address at the site--i'm sure someone would be able to tell you what is under the several thousand dancers who enjoy it over the Memorial Day weekend.
*I laid a sprung timber floor in a sports hall for basketball, etc. and the tongued and grooved boards were nailed to 2" x 4" floor joists sitting on rubber pads glued to the bearers.The pads were about an inch thick, of hard rubber.
*Terry,I ran a cross a construction log website about a nightclub owner in SF who, as part of his renovation, installed a 'springy' dance floor. He started out on concrete, too, and incorporated two layers of 3/4" plywood and one or two layers of neoprene (yes, the stuff they make wetsuits from). You can find information in the site's log, at URL http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/You might even be able to e-mail the owner about how the floor has been performing, and whether or not it was professionally installed (i'm not sure from the descriptions).HTH,-TJ
*Thanks for all the ideas. I'm especially interested in the 2xs on pads. Did you make or cut the rubber pads, or buy them that way? About how big were they, aside from thickness? Were they flat?Thanks,Terry
*The pads were supplied by the main contractor -- they were about 4" x 3" x 1" thick and were flat.The rubber was a little harder than tyre rubber -- they were glued to the bearer with "Liquid Nails" type adhesive.You may find something suitable in the isolation pads they use for machinery bases -- you may even be able to use two thicknesses of auto-tyre stretched over the top of the bearer and nailed into the sides.
*Long ago I worked as a machinist. The shop where I worked had concrete floors. Hours of standing on those floors left me with sore feet and legs. Several of us machinists suggested that we get anti-fatigue mats. These came in the form of 3' wide rubber runners that made a world of difference. More along the lines of a dance floor there are lightly textured, less to trip on, whole floor mattings available for comercial and industrial settings. A google search should get some names. If you go this route and move you could roll up your matting and take it with you.
*I did a quick Google search about industrial rubber flooring. This link seems to provide a good starting list. Good luck. http://www.floorfacts.com/manufacturers/resilient.html
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I'm a Scottish dancer, and there is a lot of vertical movement involved. If I dance on a hard floor, it hurts pretty quick.
The traditional solution is a "basket weave" of sleepers/stringers so that the floor boards don't sit on any hard spots, but this takes up a lot of vertical space. A professional studio might have a 2 ft thick floor!
I'm wondering if there is a rubber product I could use as a sleeper that would provide a plywood subfloor with the right give, but not take up so much vertical space. Maybe something one inch thich, cut into two inch wide strips?
This is to go over concrete in a (dry) basement.
Thanks,
Terry