Why I started this flooring project
My dance shoes were eating the cheap carpet alive after two weeks. I saw dark patches wearing through where I do my spins, so I started hunting YouTube for solutions. This pad dancing hard maple thing kept popping up – seemed solid enough to handle daily taps and slides without breaking the bank. Amazon dumped 30 boxes at my garage door last Thursday.
Getting the gear ready
Cleared out my entire living room first, dragged the couch to the bedroom where my wife nearly murdered me. Laid out all the maple planks – smelled like a lumberyard in there. These planks click together like Lego but needed serious muscle. Grabbed:
- Rubber mallet (the metal one leaves dents)
- Wood glue that promises to stick forever
- Measuring tape with big numbers so I see without squinting
- Cheap knee pads (forgot these first hour – huge mistake)
The slapping-together chaos
Started in the corner like every tutorial said. Plank one went smooth with the tongue-and-groove click. Got cocky on row two – hammered too hard and cracked the groove edge. Had to run outside with my chisel carving the splinters off. The glue oozed everywhere when I pressed down row three, sticky mess on my pants. By row eight, my knees felt like hamburger meat from all the kneeling.
Midway disaster struck: forgot to check the wall line. The last plank in row 11 wouldn’t click because the baseboard jutted out. Had to rip out five rows, shave 1/4 inch off with my neighbor’s jigsaw at 10 PM while he complained about the noise.
Wrestling the finish line
After trimming every edge plank twice, finally hammered in the final piece yesterday morning. Sweat dripping onto the maple when I bent to inspect gaps. Did that barefoot slide test – caught a splinter in my heel. Sanded everything with 120 grit paper until my arms felt numb, vacuumed sawdust three times.
Applied two coats of clear finish with a roller, left windows open for three days to clear the chemical fog. Still reeks faintly like a bowling alley but my triple spins glide like butter now. Worth the bloody knuckles? Ask my wrecked carpet.
