My daughter's 13th birthday party is in a little over a week. She loves to dance, so we are going to have a bunch of her friends over and the party will be a dance party at the house.

I am going to build a temporary dance floor, set up on the driveway, which is nicely level concrete. The size will be 12'x12'. I can give a quick sanding if needed. I plan to paint it in checkerboard pattern, which should also help with smoothness.

This will only have a lifespan of one evening. I do not plan to re-use, mainly because then I would have to store it somewhere.

What material do I want to use? I am thinking plywood? But before I spend $100 on wood and another $20 on paint, is there something else I should consider?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: holdem,

You can buy peel and stick vinyl tiles for less than a dollar each. I'd buy 70 white, 70 black, and stick them right to your driveway. Peel them off when you're done. If you're worried about too much effort peeling them, lay down a heavy sheet of plastic first and stick it to them. Then just roll it up and toss it.

I’d use plywood and 2x4s. I’d wrap the edges with 2x4 and all the seams. I’d put a 2x4 between the centers of the 4x8 sheet of plywood so you’re effectively making 4x4 squares. That way it doesn’t flex a lot.

Home Depot or Lowes, whichever has the best return policy...

What about inexpensive laminate flooring?

The type that clicks together over a foam underlayment.

OSB over a 2x4 base structure. Wish I'd have known about this a few weeks ago. I would have offered you 4 or 5 sheets of OSB I eventually gave away to a neighbor.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
You can buy peel and stick vinyl tiles for less than a dollar each. I'd buy 70 white, 70 black, and stick them right to your driveway. Peel them off when you're done. If you're worried about too much effort peeling them, lay down a heavy sheet of plastic first and stick it to them. Then just roll it up and toss it.

Great idea. I just looked them up on HD, they are $.69 per sq ft, so that would not cost anymore than plywood. I will check them out this weekend.

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Originally posted by PASig:
What about inexpensive laminate flooring?

The type that clicks together over a foam underlayment.

Also a great idea, Lowes has laminate for $.79 per sq ft. I had no idea it was that inexpensive so I did not even think to look at that option.

I know this is not the exact answer, but
Have you looked into a rental?
They come and install and take away when done.
Probably less than buying materials to DIY.

Consider making a reusable dance floor since you might want to use it again, or maybe somebody else would. You could lay down plywood sheets with unglued biscuits with a wood strip screwed to the perimeter. Cover with checkerboard vinyl sheet flooring and cut to separate the sheets after the first use.

How about renting one? Probably cheaper, definitely easier and less wasteful: https://www.orlandodancefloorrental.com/

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Originally posted by PeteF:
I know this is not the exact answer, but
Have you looked into a rental?

quote:

Originally posted by DaveL:
How about renting one? Probably cheaper, definitely easier and less wasteful.

I did look into that. The company you linked was one of the companies I got a quote from. Their quote was $337 for a 12'x12'. And they were the lowest quote.

What's wrong with the cement?

Bob

quote:

What's wrong with the cement?

And some sidewalk chalk, have your daughter help with the layout.

I think you'd want something smooth, like the current concrete, the tile someone mentioned or a rental floor. Plywood can be rough w/knots - you do not want someone tripping on a hole or rough area (liability) on a dance floor you made. IMO, your best bet would be to rent a dance floor.

I'd mark out a "floor" as big as possible with 2" red/black/red duct tape and put down sawdust. Or sand. Or straw.

We used rolled vinyl floor for our wedding, used clear tape for the seams, worked great.

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Originally posted by 9x18:

quote:

What's wrong with the cement?

And some sidewalk chalk, have your daughter help with the layout.

I thought about it. It's not super rough, but it's not smooth like a garage floor either. For 13 year olds, it would probably work fine. But if I can get something to work better and not spend $400, I would like the nicer presentation.

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Originally posted by Skins2881:
We used rolled vinyl floor for our wedding, used clear tape for the seams, worked great.

Hmmm, interesting. Lowes sells this in 12 ft rolls as cheap as $.49 per sq ft. So I could buy one 12'x12' piece for $70-$100 bucks depending on the color and be done with it.

This is your chance! Honey, we need a new driveway!