Thread: Studio flooring

I'm in the process of opening my own studio and would like to have sprung floors (or simular) installed. Just wondering if anyone else has done this - who did you use and what was the cost (etc/etc).

I've had a gen. contractor friend who has installed dance floors in pro ballet studios look the space over and he's going to write me up a quote (but he kinda threw a ballpark figure out to me and is a lot more than the $5k I had figured it might run...)
Any recommendations?

Shira just did this in her home with great success. Where is she?

We have talked about this before. As it is a professional space, I would definately go with having the floor installed by a good floor guy as oppoed to self installing.

There are also several other options such as a click down floor which is portable.

{{{HUGS}}}

I always post this picture when the subject of floors comes up:



Old timers are tired, no doubt, of seeing it - but I sure do like it!

Zorba, all I can say is "WOW!" That flooring/studio looks AMAZING!!!

FYI Chandra--Laura2 in Wisconsin did this also w/great success...
Laura2/Galatea: Can you give us your observations, comments, spiritual advice? ..g.:

I'm thinking of doing this, too, but not for a few more months...

I couldn't afford a sprung floor, so I went with dancestep flooring, which has a very substantial built-in padding (thin, but dense & springy) and a nice surface.

I'm having a lot of trouble with mine, though, because I was told it was OK to do a semi-permanent installation over the very low-pile carpet in my studio, but it just wouldn't adhere & kept shifting. I'm hoping to get the carpet pulled up & reinstall over bare concrete soon.

Shira did the sprung floor. I think Galatea just did vinyl peel & stick tile for a smooth surface.

Originally Posted by Lesgemini_Zafirah

Zorba, all I can say is "WOW!" That flooring/studio looks AMAZING!!!

FYI Chandra--Laura2 in Wisconsin did this also w/great success...
Laura2/Galatea: Can you give us your observations, comments, spiritual advice? ..g.:

I'm thinking of doing this, too, but not for a few more months...

OMG! How could I forget?!? My teacher, Nilaja, had a studio built up from scratch! Nilaja...?

My contractor had never done a sprung floor before, so I arranged for him to get advice from the theater department of our local university. They had a guy who had arranged for all the university's sprung floor installations, who was quite willing to share his knowledge.

It was not necessary for me to have a vapor barrier (piece of plastic on top of the concrete) because a drainage system already existed under the concrete.

On top of the concrete was laid a grid of pieces of rigid foam. These were purchased from a company called O'Mara who sells the components used in building a sprung floor.

On top of these was a layer of plywood rectangles.

On top of these was another layer of plywood rectangles, laid at a right angle to the first layer.

On top of this was a layer of a sort of paper that had dots of foam on it, to add additional spring.

On top of this was the final layer, something called "Duron", I think, that had an oak veneer on top of it. So my floor has a hardwood surface on top.

When I walk across the room, it feels like a normal floor. But when someone else walks across the room, I can see the floor give ever so slightly under their feet. It's wonderful.

A way to save money: instead of hardwood as your surface layer, go with a synthetic material. I wanted hardwood, and paid extra for the privilege.

As Lauren said, if you can't afford sprung, maybe a rubber floor will do, and if you don't glue it down it'll be portable. They sell them on www.stagestep.com . You could also price whether instead of putting the paper with the foam dots and Duron as your top two layers, putting a rubber floor.

Originally Posted by Lesgemini_Zafirah

Zorba, all I can say is "WOW!" That flooring/studio looks AMAZING!!!

FYI Chandra--Laura2 in Wisconsin did this also w/great success...
Laura2/Galatea: Can you give us your observations, comments, spiritual advice? ..g.:

I'm thinking of doing this, too, but not for a few more months...

Laura2, reporting in from the IBDC in Vegas...I'm treating myself to an hour in an internet cafe. ..g.:

I had put down linoleum tiles in my studio, but it turned into a nightmare. The tiles all peeled up, so I bit the bullet and had laminate wood flooring professionally installed last week. It looks about a thousand times better, is a lot warmer on the feet and has a nice give to it. For a 12 x 18 foot studio, it ran me about $1600, installed.

Hope that helps!

Well, sent my contractor friend back to sharpen his pencil (and still waiting for those numbers). I the meantime I've been looking at (varying degrees/kits for) DIY options online and just thought I'd pass this link to installing something yourself...
http://www.instep.com.au/studio_sprung_floor.htm