The Beginning: Why I Decided on Shock Absorbing Dance Flooring
My old wooden floors were wrecked from dance practice. Every leap made my knees ache like crazy, and the boards squeaked worse than cheap sneakers. Googled “dance flooring that won’t destroy joints” for weeks before finding these soft maple planks claiming shock absorption magic. Ordered ten boxes after midnight, knowing I’d regret it come morning.
The Unboxing Disaster
Boxes arrived smelling like lumberyard heaven, but chaos inside. Each plank wrapped tighter than sushi rolls. Cut my thumb tearing open plastic with kitchen scissors – bled on instruction manual. Key mistake? Didn’t lay everything out first. Ended up crawling through plank mountains like a woodworm.
Prepping the Concrete Pit
My basement floor looked like moon craters. Swept till dust bunnies formed armies. Laid that foam underlayment – unrolled it crooked twice. Third try used duct tape on corners. Pro tip? Walk on it barefoot before locking planks. Found lumpy spot under right foot – folded sock under foam to fix it.
Assembly Nightmares
- First row clicked easy-peasy
- Second row? Tongues refused grooves – whacked with rubber mallet till neighbors complained
- Corner piece chipped when forcing angle
- Ended up sawing replacement plank in driveway at 3AM
The “Shock Absorption” Test
Cranked salsa playlist on Bluetooth speaker. First shuffle-step – knees didn’t scream! Jumped like maniac testing claims. Actual difference? Felt like landing on firm mattress instead of concrete. But the real win? Zero squeaks. Not one embarrassing noise during spin moves.
Final Thoughts
Would I do this again? Only with beer bribes for three friends. Took three weekends because I measured wrong twice. But dancing barefoot now? Heavenly. Cats slide across it chasing laser pointers too – unintended bonus. Still finding wood shavings in weird places though.
