Outdoor, permanant dance floor: Installation questions

[San Carlos tango]

We purchased a home in East San Diego, with a beautiful 400 sqft wood deck in the front yard, completely shaded by a 40' wide tree (no sap), and outdoor evening milongas there would be beautiful & sexy.

No way to dance on the existing surfface, as the 2x6" wood boards have 1/4" gaps, and the surface is not dance-smooth (nor could it be).

Thinking of adding new layers: a springy layer, then a 2-layer marine plywood subfloor, then a rolled vinyl surface (for weather/water reisitance). Not sure what color would be preferable, probably dark.

Has anyone seen an installation like this, or installed one?

Thanks, in advance for any suggestions!

My first post, love the site!

 

[nucat78]

Keep us posted on kind of solution you decide to go with.

 

[bia]

I know nothing about construction, so take with a grain of salt, but I would imagine that you'll want to think about some kind of drainage. I could imagine standing water not being good for the floor, even with a vinyl surface. Or maybe buy one of those squeegees that they use for tennis courts?

 

[tsb]

i wouldn't even leave a portable floor out overnight (although someone who borrowed my floor did, and it required re-varnishing due to the accumulation/condensation of dew the following morning), much less try to design and build a dance floor capable of withstanding prolonged exposure to the elements. but that's me.

 

[nucat78]

I'd wager that marine epoxy clear coat would be way too slippery.

SummerDance here in Chicago has an outdoor sectional floor that looks like 2X4s laid narrow dimension vertically, but I've found it to be pretty uneven and looks like one could snag a heel on it pretty easily in places. I wonder what the finish is on that.

 

[nucat78]

Clarification: the 2X4s are laid so the narrow dimension forms the floor surface.

 

[bia]

Would it work to make/buy a portable floor of the right dimensions to sit on top of the deck? Maybe something that you could store in sections in a garage and just put down for dances.

 

[toothlesstiger]

I've installed a couple of different dance floors. If this is for Tango, and you already have a deck, you may not need any additional springiness. Being in SD, you know best how much dew and rain you have to deal with, I would assume not much at all.
My concern with a vinyl surface is that it would discolor and become brittle in the sun, but I know there are vinyl sheet roofs, so there must a vinyl material that can withstand the elements.

 

[Joe]

Stainless steel!