The Backstory and Why I Started

Alright, so here’s the deal. My kid loves dancing, right? Like, really loves it. But practicing on our regular carpet? Total disaster. Tripping all the time. And moving the furniture every single day? Forget about it. Way too much hassle. I needed something flat and hard, portable, and tough enough to take stomping. That’s how I got the idea: build my own dang portable wooden dance floor.

What I Actually Did

First things first, I dragged my butt to the hardware store. Grabbed:

• A bunch of those thick plywood sheets people use for stuff like roofs or subfloors. Didn’t need anything super fancy.
• Some of those skinny wood strips – like trim pieces – to act as borders.
• A huge bottle of that stinky but super tough varnish.
• Plenty of wood glue and shorter nails, plus heavy-duty handles for carrying.

Got home, pushed the couch way out of the way. Measured the space roughly – about 8 feet by 5 feet was my target. Whacked the big plywood sheets down on the floor right there in the living room. Hauled out the saw, wearing this dumb dust mask that kept fogging up my glasses. Measured one piece, double-checked… cut it. It was off by like an inch. SERIOUSLY. Measured and cut again, slower this time, swearing less. Finally got my main panels cut close enough.

Then came the annoying part. Those skinny wood strips for the edge? Yeah, had to cut them at perfect angles for the corners. My sawing skills suck. First attempt looked like a drunk beaver did it. Tried again. Still not great, but good enough for the back of the shed. Glued ’em down around the edge of each plywood panel, nailed them every few inches just to hold everything tight while the glue dried. It felt clunky.

Next up: making it smooth and slippery but not too slippery. Sanded down the top surface like crazy. Dust went everywhere. Took forever. Wife was not impressed. Then coated the whole top side of each panel with that thick, smelly varnish. One coat felt rough. Did two coats. Let each one dry overnight. More waiting.

After the varnish felt dry and smooth? Tried flipping the first panel over. Almost broke my back. These things are HEAVY. That’s when I remembered the handles! Superglued and screwed those heavy-duty handles into the ends on the bottom side of each panel. Huge difference.

Putting It Together (Finally)

With the panels dried and handles on, I dragged them all into place on the carpet. Pushed them tight together. Stood back… mostly looked like a floor! My kid came running in, eyes wide. Jumped straight onto it and started spinning. No wobble. No gaps catching feet. Solid as a rock.

Works great! Kid dances, panels stay put. When done? Just lift each panel by the handles, lean them against the wall behind the couch. Takes about two minutes to set up or put away. Way cheaper than buying one of those fancy rollout ones. Looks decent too. Honestly? Pain in the butt to build, but seeing it working? Totally worth the sweat and sawdust.