Okay, so I’ve been wanting to get a dedicated practice space for my tap dancing. My apartment floor? Not exactly ideal. I did some digging and found this thing called “batten dancing solid portable wooden flooring.” Sounded promising, so I decided to give it a shot. Here’s how it went down.

The Hunt and the Purchase

First, I spent ages looking online. There are tons of options, different sizes, different woods… it was a bit overwhelming! I finally settled on one that seemed like a good balance of size and price. I measured out my spare room to make sure it would fit – super important, wouldn’t want to get it and realize it’s too big!

Unboxing and First Impressions

The flooring arrived in a few surprisingly heavy boxes. I enlisted the help of my neighbor to carry them inside (thanks, John!). Unboxing everything, I found these wooden panels and a bunch of… well, battens. They’re basically just strips of wood that go underneath.

The wood itself looked pretty good – solid, nice color. I gave it a good once-over to make sure there weren’t any splinters or anything. Safety first, especially when you’re about to be stomping all over it!

Putting It Together – The Real Test

This is where things got interesting. The instructions were… okay. Not the clearest, but I managed. Basically, you lay down the battens first, spacing them out evenly. This is supposed to give the floor some spring and sound resonance, I guess. It felt a bit like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Then, you start placing the wooden panels on top, locking them together. Some of them clicked in easily, others needed a bit of a… persuasion. Let’s just say I got a good workout hammering some of those pieces into place (rubber mallet, of course – wouldn’t want to damage the wood!).

• Laying Battens: This was pretty straightforward, just make sure they’re spaced evenly.
• Connecting Panels: This was the trickier part. Some fit perfectly, others… not so much.
• Securing Everything: Once it was all together, I double-checked that everything was locked in tight.

The Dance Test!

Finally, the moment of truth! I put on my tap shoes and… wow. It felt so much better than my regular floor. It had a nice give to it, and the sound was great – way more resonant. I spent a good hour just practicing my shuffles and flaps, and it held up perfectly.

My Final Say

All in all, I’m pretty happy with it. It was a bit of work to put together, but the result is definitely worth it. If you’re looking for a portable dance floor, this batten system is a solid option. Just be prepared for a bit of DIY action! And maybe have a friend on standby to help with the heavy lifting. My back is still feeling it a little!