Getting started with the dance floor project

Honestly, I’ve been wanting a practice space where I wouldn’t annoy the neighbors every time I practiced my routines. Saw folks online building temporary floors and thought: how hard could it be? Grabbed my toolbox and some leftover planks.

First mess-up? Used cheap pine boards like an idiot. Felt all confident drilling them together – crack! Halfway through testing a spin, the board split clean under my foot. Felt like a cartoon character. Salvaged what I could and drove back to the hardware store for proper oak strips.

The assembly headache

Now for the “removable” part everybody loves. Tried hooks first:

• Drilled eye hooks into the sides.
• Connected ’em with bungee cords.
• Stood on it… and instantly did the splits when cords snapped.

Epic fail. Switched to metal hasps like suitcase latches. Bolted those suckers on tight:

• Marked every plank edge with chalk
• Drew blood twice drilling holes through oak
• Sweated like crazy tightening 32 bolts per panel

Finally clicked together four panels. Did a test stomp – held! Tore it apart in three minutes. Exactly what I wanted.

Reality bites back

Of course there’s flaws:

• Weighs a ton – moving it means calling friends for pizza bribes
• Still squeaks near corner joints when landing jumps
• Looks like Frankenstein’s dance partner

But hey – my downstairs neighbor hasn’t banged on the ceiling since. Worth every splinter and cuss word thrown at this monstrosity. Next project? Maybe wheels for this heavy beast. Or just paying for dance studio time.