I am examining options for flooring for a start-up studio and was hoping I may get some guidance with regard to flooring.

Laminate flooring is certainly economical, but does any one have any feedback regarding its use as a ballroom floor?

Does it hold up reasonable? Is the appearance acceptable? Does it provide a reasonable feel/ degree of comfort to the dancers?

I have read prior suggestions on these boards regarding the use of a plywood layer directly beneath the laminate and on top of the concrete to provide a better feel without sacrificing the foundation the laminate requires.

At some point I would very much like to upgrade to a more traditional hardwood floor, but I am trying to control the initial start-up costs as much as feasible

Any assistance with these questions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Have just laid a floor with a ply sub floor... do NOT use laminate. It chips easily and is not durable.Seal your ply, with a damp proof liquid.

The cheapest method is 2"/3" floor board, you dont need tongue and groove... and.. remember to lay it LENGTH wise .

Treat it with a caustic soda "wash ", with a damp( do NOT soak the floor ) mop,...after it is completely dry , apply liquid parafin wax.. buff( commercial buffer ) and leave for 24 hrs .

The appearance and durability of laminate flooring is going to depend on its quality: and there is a huge range of pricing, from the cheap and nasty, to very good.

Nearly all boards have a lacquered finish, which is acceptable, but if you can afford to use boards that have a real wood veneer layer, preferably unfinished, then you can wax the floor, as you would a "real" one, and that would be the best option (but such boards are at the top end of the price scale).

The real issue is going to be that your floor is not sprung. Whether you put a layer of plywood or just a damp barrier between the boards and a concrete floor, the floor will have no "give" or spring. Many dancers use solid floors, but some, particularly at a high level, will not risk injury or the strain a solid floor puts on the joints.

A sprung floor will always be preferable, regardless of the final surface, and there are several methods by which the springing can be achieved. One method that I have used successfully is to lay laminate over high quality rubber carpet underlay, with a very thin layer of plywood between (which is only there to spread the weight of the dancers so that the floor cannot flex at the joins). This is fine for a home studio or practise space, but I wouldn't suggest that it would be suitable for the more intensive use that a commercial studio floor would receive, because the underlay tends to become compressed, over time, and the more use it gets, the quicker it will happen.

There are lots of better ways to provide a sprung floor, and you get what you pay for. If you lay the cheapest laminate over a solid floor, with no intermediate support, then you will have a floor that is not ideal for dancing, and which won't last very long. There isn't really any easy answer, if cost is an overriding issue, but your customers may vote with their feet if you get it wrong ...

It depends on how long your temporary needs are.In the eighties I layed good quality HARDBOARD direct on to concrete,using standard flooring adhesive.Polished it with Johnson's Traffic Wax,then used it continuously for five years.I re-applied wax twice a year.It was cheap cheerful and a very 'fast' floor.and trouble free.In view of this,Iwould imagine that laminate(not then available)will give similar results.Obviousle the lack of spring and subsequent tiring of leg muscles is another subject altogether

I can tell you from recent experience it has no durability with volume " traffic"... for indoor home use, maybe.

having owned 17 dance schools over the yrs, Ive tried all possibilities, and the " pure " wood floor is always the best option, if financially poss.( I layed floors myself, in 10 of them.. all wood )

I can't agree with the durability point: it depends on what you buy. Here in the UK, one of the early volume sellers of laminate flooring was the furniture chain IKEA. They used their own flooring in VERY high volume areas of their stores as a graphic illustration of just how durable the suff can be. It lasts years, if you buy decent flooring.

As it caught on, much cheaper ranges became available, and I agree that THAT is not worth bothering with, but a quality of boards suitable for heavy domestic use in kitchen & bathroom areas can be very hard wearing indeed. The chipping problem is usually a result of one of two problems: either that the boards were rubbish in the first place (and you get what you pay for), or they were NOT suitable for use in areas where they may get damp or even wet (spilled drinks ...), and the MDF material from which they are often made (not US, I think?) swells up at the edges, and the edges get chipped.

Good quality boards are not cheap (similar to regular floorboards), but are very easy to lay, and provide a virtually indestructible surface (FAR harder than "real" wood), but they are a second choice in any circumstances. Good boards, layed properly with springing (however achieved) will always be the BEST option, but at a higher price, and if you do it yourself, much more effort.

Cant speak to eng. quality products ( other than wood )But.. the floor that was put down in a very large studio (U.S.)in which I worked ,with a fair amount of traffic (7 days a week ) was coming apart within 2 yrs !.. this was laid by prof. installers .

I now this is a bit off topic, but I am interested in the views of others over just how much wax they think a floor should have, and how often it should be applied.

One studio in my area is waxed almost daily by using a block of wax and a cheese grater (really!) to distribute wax all over the surface of the floor, and leaving the customers to tread it in to the floor. When you have danced on that floor, you have great flakes of the stuff on the soles of your shoes, and methinks, perhaps this is a bit OTT. What do others think?

The reason all the "great " floors in the Uk ( HAm. Palais and one in Brighton among others ) were successful was.....

1... they used the best wood poss..usually Maple, they were sanded, and applied coats of paraf. wax on a very conservative basis..

2.. wood BREATHES, it does not need to be completely clogged, by continuos application .. a good weekly buffing is sufficient..

laminate is NOT porous.. it therefore will" build " a surface ( same as Poly eth. )which will collect dirt in patches..

The best laminate flooring is hardwood veneer (and maple is readily available) on a plywood (laminated) base. It can be obtained unsealed, and breathes, just like any other flooring material. The good stuff isn't cheap, but it won't warp, is easy to lay, and can be very durable.

The rubbish quality stuff is just that - rubbish - but the best is very good, but still not the equal of solid boards, properly laid.