So I got this idea last month after my downstairs neighbor started banging on the ceiling when I practiced my salsa moves. Old apartment buildings suck for dancers, man. Needed wooden floors that won’t destroy my joints or make Mr. Grumpy downstairs call the cops. Here’s what went down.
Stage 1: Figuring Out This Absorber Nonsense
First thing? Dragged my old yoga mat to the basement studio. Jumped on it like crazy. Felt like bouncing on a dead fish – total garbage. Then I ripped open my kid’s abandoned foam puzzle tiles. Stuck ’em under cheap laminate boards like some Frankenstein experiment. Walked across… felt spongy and weird. Failed spectacularly.
Lesson learned: Garbage in, garbage out.
Stage 2: Raiding Construction Sites (Legally!)
Went hunting at hardware dumpsters – found rubber strips contractors throw away after installing windows. Grabbed:
- Two truck inner tubes (free at tire shop)
- Broken conveyor belt chunks
- Leftover cork underlayment from office reno
Laid rubber strips parallel like train tracks, filled gaps with shredded tubes. Covered everything with that grody conveyor belt. Looked like a serial killer’s basement, but felt springy!
Stage 3: Wooden Floor Fight Club
Scavenged oak planks from demolished basketball court – sanded off 20 years of sneaker marks. Cut planks with handsaw because my circular saw died mid-project. Nailed ’em sideways over the rubber mess while swearing at splinters. Pro tip: Work gloves prevent 83% of creative cursing.
Tested with cha-cha-cha… knees didn’t scream! But whole floor wobbled like pudding. Crap.
The Final Boss Battle
Realized the problem: too much bounce in uneven spots. Tore up edges, stuffed cork pieces under weak areas like fixing a saggy couch. Dumped five buckets of rubber mulch from playground supplier into cavities. Stepped hard on every square inch listening for creaks – sounded like walking on rain boots.
Perfected the system: rubber-cork-wood sandwich.
Does It Actually Work?
Been dancing three weeks now. Knees feel 60% happier, downstairs guy hasn’t threatened me since Monday. Cost less than takeout for a month. Looks like a Frankenstein dance floor? Sure. But when you engineer on a beer budget, you get shock absorption that works.
