Shock absorbing system for exterior dance floor?
RogerAllen
| Posted in General Questions on
I’m building an exterior wood framed, 8 by 8, 1/2″ marine grade plywood dance floor, (1 layer only) so a typical floating floor method won’t work. Is there a way to put , maybe, bridge rubber or springs, or some polycarbonite foam in between the pier block and the bottom of the floor joists, or in between the top of the joist and the plywood for some flex in the floor for the dancers legs?
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Why on earth would you use marine ply? The small voids in standard exterior ply shouldn't pose too much of a problem with freeze/thaw. If you want to upgrade, maybe use MDO ply (the stuff they use for highway signs), and consider 3/4" or even 1" thickness, as the 1/2" may feel squishy.
One "traditional" method of constructing a big dance floor is to float the whole assembly on inflated tires. Adjust the air pressure until you get the bounce you are looking for. Maybe just lay the tires on the ground at the four corners - and in the center, if needed - and rest 2x4 framing directly on the rubber sidewalls. Cheap and effective!
I'm using marine grade @ almost $100 a sheet (WOW) just for mental insurance for the future possible warping or delaminating. It's only 2 sheets so I can swallow that if I never have to worry about that. It's going to be an experiment with the single layer 1/2" for weight supporting on 16" centers. I'm going to use a epoxy, or polyurathane base porch and deck coating or clear urathane to keep it more weather tight. I'm trying to get better sound out of the flamenco dancers shoes with the 1/2", as to much wood dampens the sound to just thuds instead of clicks. All our exterior dance floors here at SMAI, Sierra Music and Arts Institute are 3/4" with masonite on top. So we pull up the sheets every winter and put them out again in summer.......too much work. I'm going for leaving the whole thing out all year so I can show up anytime and use my dance floor after just sweeping it. The inflatable idea is great for control of the bounce. If there were car motor mount type of bushings with metal hardware on the bottom for the pier block, and metal hardware on top for the joist, with the rubber in between them, well, that sounds optimum to me as nothing is really "floating" everything is attached to something, with some flex in there. Thank you for you input Mr. Betts
My recollection is that marine ply ( of which I have used plenty - IN BOATS ;-) generally uses the same glue as good exterior ply; I wouldn't expect much difference in delamination or warping. Just make sure you seal the edges and fasteners thoroughly.
You have multiple little dance floors? Sounds like a great opportunity for experimentation - see what combination of surface finish, "subfloor" thickness, ballast, and suspension works the best.
Have fun!