Alright, so yesterday I finally tackled that wooden floor project for the little dance corner in my garage. Been staring at those planks for weeks, and the wife’s been dancing on concrete – gotta fix that!

Dragging Everything Out

First thing, hauled all the tongue-and-groove maple boards from the shed. Heavy stuff! Nearly dropped one square on my foot – that would’ve been the end of my dancing engineer dreams, for sure. Spread ’em flat inside the garage, right on the concrete where I planned to build. Needed those boards to chill out and get used to being indoors overnight. Warped wood ain’t nobody’s friend.

Laying Down the Bouncy Bits

Woke up early, coffee in hand. Rolled out this black, spongy stuff – it’s like a gym mat but thinner and tougher. Called it the shock absorber layer, right? Cut it roughly to size with my box cutter, overlapping pieces just a bit. Taped them seams down with industrial duct tape – the good, thick stuff. Didn’t want this layer shifting around while I worked. Stepped on it, felt the slight bounce. Good start!

Getting Boards in Line

Now, the fun part started. Picked the straightest board for the starter wall. Laid it down on the spongy mat, groove side facing the wall. Left about half an inch of space all around the edges – wood needs room to breathe and wiggle, especially with dancers jumping on it. Banged in the first nail with my rubber mallet – didn’t wanna split that groove. Felt pretty pleased.

Next board went in snug against the first one’s tongue. Slid it in at an angle, tapped it down flat. Had to wrestle one piece that seemed determined to pop out – applied a clamp like a giant hug and nailed it down while it was locked up. Sweating buckets by board number five!

The Midway Crisis & Fix

Halfway through, disaster struck. Tapped a board too hard with the mallet, heard a sickening crunch. Glanced down – dang! Small splinter ripped off near the tongue. Heart sank. Couldn’t waste a whole plank. Scraped off the little jagged pieces with sandpaper, roughed up the groove on the next board too. Slathered wood glue onto both surfaces like peanut butter, jammed them together hard, clamped them overnight. Nervous wreck.

The Final Stretch

Came back this morning. Clamp off, glue solid. Phew! Finished the last few rows. The end piece was way too wide, so I marked the cut line with a chalk line (wobbly first try!), grabbed the circular saw, chewed my lip, and sliced it clean. Snapped that last piece in place – tight fit!

The Moment of Truth

Got rid of the spacers, swept the whole thing clean. Felt smooth under my socks. Then… the jump test. Grabbed my dusty sneakers – did a little hop. Just a bounce. Did a proper stomp. Felt the floor give just a little, like pushing on a firm pillow, then spring right back. No echoes, no weird creaks! Tested it again later with more enthusiasm – knees thanked me. Success!

Took the whole dang day, fought a splinter, sweated like crazy, but now? Garage dance studio? Open for business!