Hey you flooring experts, I need some advice. I’m putting 3/4″ plywood sleepers over a slab floor (with my Hilti and PL400) in order to install a bamboo floor over it. The flooring is a uniform width and a 6 foot length. My client wishes to have some bounce to the floor so he can practice his karate on it. The options I’m entertaining are either to install the sleepers on the 24″ instead of on the 12″, or else to put some kind of ripped down foam sheets in between the sleepers and flooring. Anyone know what kind of rolled foam I would use? Would that option work?
thanks everyone.
Replies
For a medium-bounce gymnastics floor, 4" blocks of foam (don't know the density but could find out probably) are glued to 1/2 ply. Then other sheets of 1/2 ply are staggered over this and screwed. Now, we cover this with 2" thick rolls of a spongy foam (kinda like wrestling mats) and covered with carpet. But it might work to nail the bamboo to the ply.
thanks--I think I'm understanding what you're describing.......but I'm dealing with a NYC apartment where I realistically can't raise the floor more than 1 1/2" to 2" from subfloor to finished floor. I guess I'm looking for a quick way to give him a floor with more give than a floor laid on 3/4" plywood sleepers. there's no real protocol for what I'm trying to do unfortunately.
thanks for responding.
Why dont you try two layers of 1/2 " plywood with 3/8" sport pads under the bottom layer for your subfloor
Wait a minute, these guys break bricks with their bare hands and concrete blocks with their ear lobes and he wants a springy bambo floor? Another dojo wimp, if you ask me {VBG}
Perhaps you'd be the most appropriate one to go there and explain this in person to him. <G>
Perhaps you'd be the most appropriate one to go there and explain this in person to him. <G>
Ahh, yes, Grasshopper. Notice that I said "If you ask me." Fortunately, nobody asked me, so hypothetical it is <G>
Try looking into a "portable" dance floor - Harlequin Floors. They sell roll-up floors that would appear to be what you need - 3/8" foam sandwich amoungst other offerings. Another idea would be to visit a well established karate school and see what type of floor they practice on.
lol
At a local Tae Kwan Do school they told me their bamboo floor (very nice) floated over a carpet underpad to take some of the jolt out of the floor..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
What you are looking for is overall resilience, not greater deflection between sleepers.
You have two possibilities - one is to use the high-density resilient blocks from a company called Stage Step (800) 523-0961, the other is to use Miller bridge bearing neoprene blocks. There are lots of other considerations too, like using FG insul between the sleepers to overcome that hollow feeling.
T. Jeffery Clarke
Here's Stage Step site
http://www.stagestep.com/subfloors.htm.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
thanks for your help, Phill. this may well do it for me.