# Repairing Stage Floor



## pudge02 (Aug 10, 2006)

I work at a 5 year old Road House, and the previous technical directors did not keep up with the stage. Right now we have a plywook stage that is in rough condition. I'm looking for a inexpensive fix. I know that what I should do is put down untempered masonite, but i don't have the time or money for that. Some one once suggested to me that I put a clear Epoxy down. Anyone ever heard of this, or have any other suggestions. Thanks


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## Foxinabox10 (Aug 10, 2006)

One option is Gam Floor, which is a thin vinyl that you just roll out. http://www.gamonline.com/catalog/gamfloor/index.php


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## pudge02 (Aug 10, 2006)

Can this be a permant fix, that can take the abuse of Orch. Shells rolling over it road shows rolling, moving and putting stuff on it?


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## Foxinabox10 (Aug 10, 2006)

Yes, I believe it can. Although I have not used it, it is the flooring solution that shows like Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and many others use.


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## Van (Aug 10, 2006)

I wouldn't suggest using any Vinyl product Gam floor, Marley, etc. for this type of abuse. Battleship linoleum yes but vinyl ? No. I hat to say it but if your floor is in really that rough of a state and you're bringing in road shows, you need to replace the floor. Any type of vinyl you lay is going to crawl under the weight of road cases, and dimple or puncture under the weight or platforming / leggind etc. The work involved to lay a vinyl type floor in tangent with the cost of the material itself would be < I believe> prohibitive. For instance "Gam floor" is a "peel and stick" solution, to get it to adhear properly to the floor would require 
1. sanding floor to remove high points and shap splinters
2. filling all hole with a suitable ccompound that will not expand or crack on the weight of scenery / road cases.
3. applying an adhesive to the entire stage surface evenly.
4. laying out the vinyl. matching seams and making sure you leave enough relief around the perimeter of each peice.
5. rolloing out the entire floor with a drum roller to assure good adhesion to the entire floor surface and optimal "spread" of material. 

Then when all is said and done in about a year when it's all torn up from screw heads, droped tools, creases where castors have stuck and rolled over it, you're going to want to replace it and now you have to peel it up and get a reallt gnarly floor buffer to remove all the Mastic and start the whole process over again. At the least go for a Masonite sloution. However you have to remember that if you do lay down Masonite over a badly pitted floor you will have to fill any large pits before you lay the masonite. If you don't the first time you roll across it with a road case.. snap ! there's a crack in the floor and a broken or warped castor. 
Don't want want to seem pessamistic but this is definately one of those time when you have to spend money to make money. Honestly 1/4 " MDF isn't all that expensive and it holds up real well under all sorts of conditions. 

Hope all that rampling helps !


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## soundlight (Aug 10, 2006)

I'd say that the untempered masonite solution is absolutely worth it. It will provide a relatively easy fix to the problem, and will most definitely hold up to a whole lot of abuse.


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## ricc0luke (Aug 10, 2006)

the quickest short term solution... i would say a good wood putty and black paint... cheep, but it will still take a fair amount of time... not to mention it isn't at all a forever fix (at least it shouldn't be)...


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## pudge02 (Aug 11, 2006)

I have been using Bondo to repair cracks, and that has been working pretty good. I think the main problem with my floor is that it was never sealed. Somebody recommended using Epoxy because of that, and it would create a surface that would be tough. Has anyone ever heard of using Epoxy??


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## Footer (Aug 12, 2006)

There is an epoxy solution out there that looks very good when down. I played with it a bit at USITT this spring, and I dont have my guide on me now and cant remember the companys name, I will have to go look it up. They could come in and lay the stuff in an afternoon and then you have touch up syringes that you can fill in any dammage/holes etc.


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## RiffRaff54 (Aug 12, 2006)

at my theatre most of the stage is plywood, the front 8-10feel is oak and then there's a pit cover. our stage is over 13 years old and it look great. we redo the finish every year. we usually use Stepshoe. you just sand down the floor to rough it up a bit, make sure its clean then apply the first coat, wait a few hours for it to dry then apply a second coat and let it sit for 2-4 weeks, the longer the better.


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## ship (Aug 13, 2006)

Why un-tempered hardboard?

Never heard of using other then tempered hardboard (Masonite.) I would think un-tempered hard board in use would be all forms of problematic.

Other materials, Epoxy - must be a new solution never heard of more than epoxy based paint before. Navy grade vinyl sheeting used on ships, heard of it but never seen it in use other than in a barracks in which case - great stuff. Gam or other sheeting like Lenolium but better for use on stage might be of use but only after the deck were free of holes larger than a dry wall screw. Water Putty and better yet Bondo if not some plugs cut and glued into place sure. Water putty kind of like plaster but much better might be easire to use on holes but would be less suitable for surface work. Both would work well to fill most holes in especially if some of the water needed for the water putty were replaced with wood glue. MDO, great stuff for sheeting - expensive, single faced 1/4" if available would probably be cheaper and all that's needed. Should not expand and contract much so you might not need a gap beetween sheets. Should not being an optrative term and assumption.

I remember a number of posts on stagecraft about Duran or something similar in name starting with a "D" that was highly recommended. Harlequin and Rosco no doubt still also sell their stage decking laminates - not dance floor vinyl, something like a 1/8" thick vinyl coated plywood backed laminate.

What condition is the floor in and at what point should those panels just be replaced? Fir plywood such as a tongue and groove sub-floor or AC if fir plywood will work much better than pine plywood for flooring as a note also.


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