Just make sure it's ventilated and off-gasses before you have dancers in there. I am telling you the fumes at the studio we just put it down in are toxic and strong. I don't know what I"m going to do about it other than not use it for hard shoe and/or move studios etc. I think it's a combination of ventilation, the amount of space covered (900sf) and that it's still sort of new. But in my home studio it worked great!!! Still looking for thoughts on the fumes though.

I guess then, to answer my query, that PVC works out better than rubber.
I'll post my ops about this soon.

zceam wrote:

To summarize this thread, flooring options are :-
a. Shower PVC pan liner 40 mil
b. PVC roofing
c. rubber roofing

Rubber roofing may leave black marks and may be too sticky for some moves.
PVC gets scuffed by tap shoes.
So, in summary, is PVC better than rubber if one is doing slides and spins ?? Or wearing latin heels ?
And, with PVC, is the pan liner or PVC roofing the better option ?
I wish I could post a poll to see how people were agreeing.
On another thread I saw DriCore as an option, but its not available outside US and Canada. I live in Australia

how much do you think it will cost to cover 3000 sq. ft with the PVC?

I will try to send you the website which gives pricing as soon as I can locate it. We figure approximately $1800 to $2000 for all the pvc liner. Comes in 100 X 50 foot rolls at around $375.00 a roll plus shipping and handling but if you can find a plumber that may be able to order from a local dealer you forego the shipping charges.... I will return when I have more time.

The PVC shower pan liner is also at Lowes. I bought a 5'x7' piece for $30.79. It also can be cut off a roll for $5.93 per 1'x 5'

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR INFOMATION!!

I want to open my own studio and I was discouraged because the stage step floor was so expensive as well as others.

Please!!!! Begging now. Somebody who has used this in their studios. How do you get rid of the toxic vinyl fumes? Thanks so much.

I have not smelled any odor from the lining I purchased. I still recommend anyone anticipating buying and doing their whole floor to purchase a small 8X10 foot piece to make sure it works over the floor they are contemplating using it over. Make sure it does not shift after it has sat for at least 30 days. I would never risk investing that much money without doing some background checking to see if it will work for me personally. Floor surfaces vary. The piece I purchased does not move an inch and it is sitting at the end of my dance area where people walk on it constantly and it is not secured with anything. Fumes? No one has smelled anything from this small piece and I keep my doors closed constantly. You would think I would smell it when I come in to open up.......

It will offgas more when heated so I really notice it when lots of kids are there and the studio heats up. Plus, a small piece you probably wouldn't notice too much. We have the whole floor covered and it gets crazy strong. I am going to try to heat it up over break and vent it out.

I don't recommend buying the PVC or roofing material. I tried it and didn't like it. The rubber roofing material is just too hard to turn on and you can barely tap on it. Just bite the bullet and get a real floor from Stage Step or Harlequin, etc... Stage Step offer financing for their floors.

Definitely going to try this out in the small studio space...would be great money saver!

could you tell me what kind of flooring you can use and then roll up--that would be great and where would I find this, and yes, this would be for tap use also,

I purchased PVC liner in the color of Grey. It does not contain harsh chemicals like the rubber roofing does. The rubber roofing emits an odor especially when you "work" the surface by dancing on it. These chemicals are added to help the roofing fight the sun and rotting. The PVC liner is cheaper, can be bought in large rolls of at least a 100 feet long by 6 feet wide. I like the pvc liner so far. It works for us and we do all types of dance.

I did it! I bought the PVC Shower Pan liner from Lowes and have been dancing on it since the beginning of January. The smell has finally faded. I heard only one parent complain and one student complain about the smell. I used double sided dance flooring tape to stick the PVC around the perimeter of the room and clear tape to tape the seems. So far so good - except for the smell.

How has it been working so far? Can you tap on it? I am going to be buying flooring next month and am really confused if the roofing material or the pvc shower liner is best. The quote for roscoe flooring was 5000.00 not installed!!!! I need something cheaper. thanks for any advice or help

I have been tapping on the shower pan liner and it works for me and has held up well for two months.

This PVC liner SQUEAKS! Anytime. It squeaks- loudly.

Also, ballet on this flooring? No. It's too sticky. I tried to do an echappe and nearly broke myslf. It did not let me slide at all. Like trying to move through concrete! Sigh. I tried to email harlequin for samples, but the emails were all returned. Will try calling later. Won't bother with Stage Step, their TimeStep floor is a joke for tap. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I tried to do a barefoot pirouette the other day and it didn't work out My bare feet wouldn't turn on the PVC flooring. But for beginner ballet and tap classes the floor works well.

there is a flooring which is made by Tarkett which is a padded vinyl flooring. It is new to the market. There are other brands available too. It runs about $1.29 a square foot. You do not have to glue an entire floor......just edges. We just found this though a shop called "junkyard floors". It is a great flooring store which buys surplus flooring and such. The name is not indicative of their product or service. They can order the Tarkett so you can get the same dye lot or if you are lucky you can just order what they have in stock.....I am sure if you are not in Ohio you probably don't have one of these stores but go to a discount flooring place and tell them you want to see any padded vinyl flooring especially made by Tarkett. It is mildew proof and comes with a 15 year warranty. I will try to dig into my notes and see if I can get the specific names of the rest of the brands for anyone interested. It comes in all different kinds of patterns and colors....

Ivynona wrote:

I did it! I bought the PVC Shower Pan liner from Lowes and have been dancing on it since the beginning of January. The smell has finally faded. I heard only one parent complain and one student complain about the smell. I used double sided dance flooring tape to stick the PVC around the perimeter of the room and clear tape to tape the seems. So far so good - except for the smell.

The problem is, the smell that you and dancers/parents etc. are smelling is toxic off-gassing of the PVC vinyl. If you do a quick google search, this is not something you want to be inhaling. I had the shower pan liner, and had to get rid of it at our studio because of this. Couldn't take the risk morally as well as legally to expose kids to this. Can just see it 10 years from now, "You are being sued because Suzie didn't ace her ACT because she inhaled PVC toxic fumes for 10 years." And since you are using it for a purpose not intended by the manufacturer, you could be in trouble. Although all vinyl will off-gas, we have had no problems with Stagesteps flooring. I have the Timestep at home and the matlay (I think...can't remember) in the studio now. Glad yours if working out. Just hoping you don't run into problems.

What is the exact name of the roofing material? Is it pvc or something else? You can tap on it? I am trying to research and need some more info

The Tarkett floor looks really nice on the company's website. How padded is this? Vinyl over cement does not work for me.

What a great idea! I never realized it but 2 of the studios I teach at use the roofing material. It's on my list of floor possibilities.

I am driving down to NYC Sunday to pick up some used Marley for $200 a roll. Hope it works out. I was told that it was the old "Rolling Stones" marley. I guess rock bands use it to keep from getting electrocuted. If it is in good shape, I am going to get all 5 rolls. I was told that it was in good shape.

Wish me luck.

J

Hi, just found this forum through a search for cheap dance studio floors and was wondering about using mdf? The studio where my daughter started used mdf wood over carpet padding. The owner put polyurethane over this and that was it. Would this be a good alternative to floating floor? We put this in our basement for my daughters practice room but I did paint it a gray color with poly sealer and it still looks good after tapping. I am starting a new studio and want a good floor for the dancers at a good price so thanks for any advice.