Got the idea while watching my kid attempt pirouettes on concrete. Slipping looked painful. Thought about those portable dance floors but hated the plasticky feel underfoot. Wanted something wooden, tough, but somehow softer. Shock absorbing dancing pine became the goal.

Starting Simple (Maybe Too Simple)

Scrap pine planks were cheap. Grabbed ten 1x4s about 3 feet long. Sanded the heck out of them – splinters are zero fun. Slapped on a clear coat. Looked nice! Arranged them side-by-side on the garage floor. Kid jumped on… CLACK CLACK BANG. Zero bounce, just noise and vibration shooting up their legs. Back to square one.

The “Suspension” Experiment

Figured it needed space underneath to flex. Found some thick rubber gym floor tiles. Cut them into strips slightly smaller than my planks. Glued one rubber strip to the bottom of each pine plank, running down the center lengthwise. Idea was the rubber would compress. Put the planks back together, rubber-side down, spaced them slightly apart.

Kid stepped on. Slight give! Progress! Then did a small jump… Thud. Better than bang, but still harsh. The gaps between planks were annoying, catching toes. Rubber compressed, but only a tiny bit – not enough dance cushion.

Thinking Squishier & Solid Surface

Needed more squish and no gaps. Ditched the individual planks. Found a cheap 4×4 foot plywood sheet, half-inch thick. Sanded it smooth. Went bargain hunting for foam padding. Settled on cheap carpet underlay – that thin, spongy stuff. Glued the foam directly onto one side of the plywood sheet.

Now the tricky part: attaching the actual dance surface. Used thinner quarter-inch pine project panels. Cut them to size. Didn’t glue them directly to the foam! Instead, glued tiny rubber stoppers (like those furniture feet) spaced out along the foam. Then, carefully glued the pine panels onto those stoppers. Idea: the stoppers leave a small air gap, foam compresses underneath, top stays flat.

The Moment of Truth

Laid the whole thing foam-side down on the concrete. Stuck some felt pads on the foam corners to protect the floor. Top surface was one solid piece of pine. Kid stood on it. Wobbly! The foam compressed unevenly near the edges. Not great. Then they jumped. THOMP. Much softer thump! Actually had bounce! Did some basic tap steps. Sound was muted, pleasant wood tap, not loud clack. The surface felt surprisingly springy under the feet, like an old basketball court, not like concrete.

Winning? Mostly!

Called it the Shock Absorbing Dancing Pine prototype. It worked! Not perfect – you definitely feel the unevenness if you stand too close to the edge, and the foam feels like it’ll wear out eventually. Didn’t stain the pine at first, just sealed it. Big mistake – feet didn’t slide right, stuck. Added some dance floor wax later (felt super fancy, hah) and that helped.

Can fold it in half because the panels are attached independently to the base layer via the stoppers. Not elegant, but fits in the car trunk. Total cost way cheaper than real portable floors. Kid dances on it without wincing now. Success! Next experiment: maybe try thicker foam base layer?