Talk:Sprung floor

Historical information.. somewhere?
I'm having trouble finding information on how older sprung-wood floors were constructed. So I'm using weasel words like "mechanically cushioned". I mean, based on the wiki article Cantilever, I can guess the dance floor is a bit like a diving board, but I have nothing to back me up. (Also, I have difficulty imagining a room constructed on the far end of a Cantilever that didn't slant to the side, or sag in the middle. There must more to it than that.)

Meanwhile, I found some sales samples of a product used for modern sprung dance floors.. now I just need to grab my camera and take a picture for this article.

--geoff_o 05:45, 29 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I object to the use of "mechanical" in a way which seems to suggest that foam and rubber feet work in a way which is NOT mechanical. Changing it based on data from http://www.harlequinfloors.com/aus/products/sprung-floors/woodspring.html.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.248.163.24 (talk) 08:02, 18 May 2010 (UTC)


 * They weren't all wood. I believe some also used V shaped metal leaf springs like large tweezers which might be what is meant by cantilever springs. Dmcq (talk) 10:06, 18 May 2010 (UTC)


 * As well, some sprung floors seem also to have involved chain:
 * Como House (Victoria, Australia)
 * http://www.onmydoorstep.com.au/heritage-listing/1076/como-house


 * ". . . a ballroom wing, added in the early 1870s to a design by Arthur Johnson. . ..


 * ". . . The [Armytage] family's status in the colony was reinforced by the house's grandeur, and, after the addition of the ballroom, it served as the social centre of Melbourne's elite. An interesting manifestation of this social and entertainment function is the ballroom floor, which was sprung on chains for easier dancing. . . ."


 * And Alistair Urquhart, in 'The Forgotten Highlander' (p 24), wrote of:
 * ". . . my favourite venue was the Beach Ballroom on the promenade. . . . the floor was sprung on chains. You could dance all night and not get tired. . . ."


 * However, Wikipedia article, Beach Ballroom, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Ballroom, notes:
 * "It is home to one of Scotland's finest dance floors - famous for its bounce - which floats on fixed steel springs."


 * Something to research. And I have no idea how a floor sprung on chains was constructed.
 * PhuDoi1 (talk) 10:35, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

Terminology
This is giving me a bit of trouble. I'm more from the dance side of things but it should include sports and other floors. I think I'l go back to 'surface' for a layer on top and use 'mat' for where cushionng is included in what is laid down on top of another floor. -Dmcq 10:24, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Pictures
I think I've put in about as much as I want to say but the article really does need some pictures. A header picture showing a dance floor with a dancer or two would be nice plus a couple of vector drawings for different types of construction. 81.110.251.106 13:00, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

How about this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.139.76.141 (talk) 10:12, 14 August 2014 (UTC)
 * That looks good. If it's your picture and you can stand going through the stuff at to put it on Commons that would be very nice thanks, and then you could say what you called it or even try sticking it as a lead image at the start of this article. Dmcq (talk) 13:17, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Splitting bits to Performance surface
Im going to move some of this article to a new article called Performance surface which would just deal with the traction and appearance parts. This would make the whole business about dance floors whch are just th performance surface rather than the complete thing a bit more straightforward. I'll copy over the stuff first then later come back to delete the duplication from here. Dmcq (talk) 23:19, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Prevention of water damage
I believe a sprung wood floor can easily be much better than other wood floors at avoiding water damage from medium size problems like cracked radiators or a short run of a sprinkler.

If a sprung wood floor uses durometer pads, and uses nothing that absorbs water to level the sub-floor, then it has a large volume below it which can be filled without soaking the wood. The water would have to be removed quickly as it would still be increasing humidity and might encourage molds or rot. Most of it could be pumped out through a hole in the floor and the remainder removed by an extractor fan, possibly assisted with a dehumidifier in the room.

Any thoughts? I haven't seen much on design to avoid water damage from things like sprinklers. Much better having them than being burnt up but still it would be nice to do better. The damage to halls from water would not normally involve any pollution. Dmcq (talk) 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Spring floor
Someone wrote spring floor instead of sprung floor in an edit. I think would be a good idea to have something about the difference or even a separate article. They are mats used in gymnastics or cheer-leading and have actual springs underneath and a textile or carpet surface. Dmcq (talk) 07:11, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Standards
The PLASA organization has a "Floors" working group which is developing standards for theatrical flooring. They've published and updated a standard for sprung floors, which is ANSI standard E1.26 - 2006(R2012). This should be added to the standards references. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.186.58.127 (talk) 03:49, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Well it is the encyclopaedia anyone can edit. I've never read the standard and it is unavailable to me so I can't really say anthing about its. Dmcq (talk) 17:20, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Introduction Accuracy
There aren't any references in the openening paragraph to substantiate that modern sprung floors favor foam underlayment or blocks. In my research, I've never seen pure "rubber" used. Many professional ballet companies and flooring companies still utilize the traditional basket weave construction. Is there any data behind this assertion? 75.186.58.127 (talk) 03:55, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I believe that's just a wrong way of saying things that's there, you're welcome to rephrase. A community hall that's having a sprung floor added may just use neoprene pads but it is better if the hall is designed with a sprung floor in mind in the first place. If you retrofit a basketweave floor you need to raise all the floors and redo the doors - it can be quite a job compared to just putting in some ramp. Dmcq (talk) 17:16, 14 October 2012 (UTC)