High everyone!

This is my first post with my newly registered name. If I post this subject in the wrong forum, forgive me.

I am a competitor in International standard division. I found it is harder and harder to find a suitable place in Connecticut to practice and prepare for a competition. I am going to move to a brand new house with a good size basement in a few months. I am planning to install a dance floor in the basement. First I'll make sure it is dry and find ways to lay moisture barrier, padding and floor of some kind. If you have done installed a dance floor in the basement (below grade), could you share your know how and experience? Thanks and happy dancing!

I had these folks do my basement floor on top of concrete.

http://www.sprungdancefloors.com/index.htm

They did a good job and the price was competitive. If you go with them, tell me and I'll discuss it further with you.

Jerry

That is such a great idea! I wish I had a dance floor in my house...but here in Florida you can't have a basement! Well, good luck!

Thanks Jerry for the great dance floor information. It sounds so good. Which floor design did you choose, Basket weave, Semi or Sprung floor? For my bugeting purpose, do you mind to let me know the price per square foot roughly (material and labor) before I contact the supplier?

Thanks for sharing!

Dave

I dont remember the squ footage. We chose a bamboo semi sprung floor. I'll try to find the paperwork.
Jerry

Hi Dave - we installed a laminate floor in our basement a very little expense (under $1000). Our room is 13 ft X 29 ft, which is a good sized room but not enough to do much ballroom. We can work out moves and do very short sequences but it is tight. For slow fox we have to start a little bit wedged into the laundry room, do the feather and 3 step and a turn then have to stop and turn around to do more. We have had some close calls with the walls while doing quickstep and Viennese! Great for latin, though.

Since we can't really do hours of practice there we didn't worry about a sprung floor. The laminate is "floating" so it has a bit of give to it anyway. The biggest disadvantage, aside from the lack of space, is that it is a beautiful floor to dance on - very smooth. Going to halls that have less than ideal floors is a pain.

Let me throw my thoughts into this mix.....

Think about the "join the gym" situation... I have a brother in law that owns a gym.... Here is his theory.. If you can committ yourself to walking a 1/2 hour per day, and 1/2 hour of floor exercise in your home, then you are ready for a committment to take on the finanical obligation of a gym membership.... Otherwise, it is just a pipe dream of something you will commit to on a whim and not follow through with....

The same holds true with dance practice...

Before you take on the expense of remodeling your basement with a dance floor, are you absolutley committed to a few hours of dance practice each night??? Just walking down a flight of stairs makes it so easy to say, not tonight, maybe tommorrow...

This is why I have no exercise equipment in my house... It is much more of a motovation to go to the gym each night.... Also why there will never be a dance floor in my house... We go to the studio to practice.... I check with the instructors as to who will be in that evening.... And we plan in advance to go to the studio to practice.... You cannot build a stuidio in your basement, with adequate space unless you have a 6000+ house, less you dance in the laundry room, as a previous poster stated.... If you are dancing smooth or standard, this lack of space will cause damage as you will shorten up your flight, and that will become habit...

I suggest, talk with your studio, and schedule time that you can realistically committ to practice before you take on an expense that will be nothing more than a spot the cleaning lady has to deal with.......

Every amatuar couple that I know that has taken on this expense, has never used the dance floor as intended... Instead they use it for dinner parties, or most of the time, just not used at all...........