Okay, so the dance space in my basement? It’s concrete. Fine for practicing basic stuff, but man, landing jumps felt like stomping on bricks. My knees and ankles were screaming after sessions. Needed some give under my feet. So I thought, why not try making some shock-absorbing panels myself?

Starting With What I Had

First, I just grabbed leftover parquet blocks I had from that hallway project ages ago. These are small wood pieces, kinda thick and heavy. I figured maybe just gluing a bunch together thick could soften things up? Yeah, not so much.

Stuck them together with strong wood glue, clamped them super tight overnight. Made a solid slab. Slapped that down, tried a hop… clunk! Hard as a rock. Total waste of time and glue.

Back to the Drawing Board

Fine. Clearly just stacking wood ain’t the trick. It needs some space underneath to flex. Time to get clever.

Found these:

• More Parquet: Obvious one. Needed a bunch for a decent size panel.
• Rubber Feet: Found these weird little squishy bumpers meant for chair legs or something. Super cheap.
• Cheap Plywood: Just needed it as a base plate to stick everything to. Nothing fancy.
• Strong Wood Glue: My go-to.
• Wood Varnish: To seal it all and make it look nicer.

How I Actually Built It This Time

Started with a sheet of plywood cut to the panel size I wanted. Not too big, just something I could move around.

Marked out a grid pattern on the plywood, spaced evenly. At every crossing point, that’s where a rubber foot went. Glued each foot down carefully. Oh boy, that took a while. Glue, press, hold… repeat forever.

Once all the rubber feet were stuck down and set (gave it a good few hours), it was time for the fun part – the parquet. Covered the top of the plywood (avoiding the feet) with a thin layer of glue.

Then, piece by piece, started sticking the parquet blocks on top. Had to press each one firmly to make sure it grabbed the glue, but careful not to crush the little rubber feet underneath. Kept the blocks tight together, like a normal parquet floor. This part was satisfying.

Left the whole thing weighted down overnight to really bond. Patience!

Next day, sanded the parquet surface smooth. Put on a couple of coats of varnish to seal it and bring out the wood colour. Made it look presentable.

Testing Time – Crossed Fingers!

Moved the panel to my dance space. Stepped on… felt different already. Less ‘clang’. Did a little bounce… definite give! Tried some simple leaps and landings. Oh yeah! Not super bouncy like a sprung floor, but way softer than concrete. Knees instantly thanked me.

Was it worth it? Honestly? Yes and no. It took a stupid amount of time gluing those little rubber feet and individual parquet blocks. And using rubber feet? Probably not the absolute best material for longevity. But it worked! It cost me barely anything because I used mostly scraps. My knees feel better. Proves you don’t always need expensive stuff to solve a problem. Gotta love that.