So, I finally got around to building this thing I’d been thinking about for a while. Needed a decent surface for practicing some dance stuff at home, and sometimes I need to take it places. Dragging big heavy mats or hoping the floor is okay just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

The idea was simple: a wooden floor, portable, and importantly, level enough to actually dance on without tripping. Oh, and with some rubber involved somehow. I kept seeing ‘rubber dancing floor’ but wanted wood, so I thought, why not combine them?

Getting Started – The Plan

First thing, I sketched it out. Nothing fancy, just squares on paper. Decided I’d make it out of panels. Makes it easier to carry and store, right? Figured maybe four foot by four foot squares would work. Easy enough to handle one or two at a time.

For the wood, I settled on larch. Heard it’s pretty durable but not like super dense oak, so hopefully wouldn’t break my back carrying it. The ‘portable’ part was key. The ‘lvl’ or level part… well, I hoped careful building would take care of that mostly. The rubber idea was to put it on the bottom of the panels. Grip, you know? Stop it sliding around on smooth floors, and maybe a tiny bit of cushion.

Gathering the Bits and Pieces

Off I went to get supplies.

• Found some nice larch planks at the local timber place. Looked straight enough.
• Ordered some rubber sheeting online. About a quarter-inch thick, maybe?
• Grabbed screws, wood glue, sandpaper (lots of sandpaper!), and some clear floor finish. Nothing too glossy or slippery.

Felt like I had a proper project going on now.

The Build Process – Sawdust Everywhere

Okay, this was the main chunk of work. I started by cutting the larch planks down to size to make the frames for my panels. Then cut thinner pieces for the top surface. Basically making square sections.

Lots of sanding. Seriously, took way longer than I thought. Got everything pretty smooth though. You don’t want splinters when you’re dancing.

Next up, gluing and screwing the top planks onto the frames. Made sure everything was as square and flat as I could get it. This is where the ‘lvl’ part comes in – if the panels aren’t flat, the whole floor won’t be.

Once the panels were built, I flipped them over and attached the rubber sheeting to the bottom frames. Used a strong contact adhesive and some small screws just to be sure. This felt like a good move – they already felt more solid and less likely to slide.

Connecting the panels together… I looked at different latches and clips. Found some simple, strong metal latch things that seemed like they’d work. Fixed them to the edges of the panels so they’d lock together easily but also come apart without tools. That was the ‘portable’ bit sorted.

Last step before finishing was laying them all out, connecting them, and checking for level. One corner was a tiny bit low, maybe the floor wasn’t perfectly flat either. I just stuck a very thin piece of rubber under that panel’s corner. Good enough!

Finally, brushed on a couple of coats of that clear finish. Let it dry properly between coats. Gave it that nice smooth, protected surface.

Trying It Out

Waited a couple of days for the finish to really harden. Then, time for the test run. Clicked the panels together in my garage. Took maybe five minutes. It felt really solid underfoot. Did a few steps, a turn, even a little jump. Didn’t budge! The rubber bottoms worked great. The larch felt nice and firm, good sound too.

Taking it apart was just as easy. The panels stacked up okay, not super light, but definitely manageable to carry a couple at a time. Portable mission accomplished.

Final Thoughts

So yeah, pretty pleased with myself. It works! It’s a proper little wooden dance floor I can put down almost anywhere indoors. Took a good bit of effort, mostly the sanding and getting things lined up, but totally worth it.

What would I change? Maybe use slightly thicker rubber next time? Or look for even simpler connectors, though these latches are fine. But overall, having this custom ‘rubber dancing lvl larch portable wooden flooring’ thing I built myself feels great. Way better than dancing on carpet, that’s for sure.