Okay, here’s my blog post about setting up that portable wooden flooring, written in a casual, personal style:

Alright, so I wanted to get some decent flooring for my dance practice at home. You know, something that wouldn’t wreck my knees and actually felt good to move on. I ended up going with this “keel dancing lvl larch portable wooden flooring” thing. Sounds fancy, right? It’s basically just interlocking wooden panels, but the “keel” part is supposed to be some kind of support system underneath.

Getting Started

First, I measured my practice space. This was crucial because you gotta know how many of these panels to order. I’m pretty clumsy, so I made sure to measure twice (maybe three times…) to avoid any uh…surprises later on.

The Unboxing

Unboxed everything. The panels themselves were pretty hefty, which is good – I wanted something solid. They had this nice larch wood finish, which, honestly, I picked mostly because it looked pretty. The “keel” things were these separate strips of…I think it was some kind of engineered wood. They felt strong, at least.

Putting It Together

The instructions were…okay. Mostly pictures, which is good for me, because I tend to skip over the written parts anyway.

The first step was to put down some protection cloth.

Then I laid out the keel strips * were spaced out according to the instructions – I think it was something like 12 inches apart, but don’t quote me on that. I just eyeballed it, mostly. Made sure they were running parallel to each other.

Then came the actual panels. These clicked together along the edges. It was a little tricky at first, getting the hang of the angle you needed to snap them in. I definitely pinched my fingers a couple of times. Ouch. But once I got the rhythm down, it went pretty smoothly.

• Tip: Use a rubber mallet! I didn’t have one at first, and I was using the heel of my hand to bang them together. My hand was NOT happy. Borrowed a mallet from my neighbor, and it made things so much easier.

The Finishing Touches

Once all the panels were connected, I had this nice, solid wooden floor. I walked around on it, jumped a bit, even tried a few dance moves. It felt way better than my old carpet. Much more responsive, and definitely easier on the joints.

My Final Thoughts

I did a little more cleaning up and that was about it. Pretty good result.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. It’s definitely an upgrade. It wasn’t super cheap, but I figure it’s an investment in my, uh, “dance career” (mostly just flailing around in my living room, but hey, it’s a career to me!).

The best thing for me is I can always disassemble the flooring and stroe them.

If you’re looking for a decent portable dance floor, this keel system thing is worth checking out. Just make sure you measure properly, get a rubber mallet, and maybe watch a video tutorial or two before you start. And don’t pinch your fingers like I did!