# New Blackbox Floor



## Skervald (Jun 26, 2014)

It's remodel time, friends! Funding is in place and our blackbox is about to get a serious face lift. These opportunities don't come along every day and I'm working hard to get the entire organization to pause and think through these very important decisions in a logical way.

I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions on flooring but first a little about the space we're calling the "Blackbox Classroom". It's a bare cement floor right now (about 3,000 sq. ft.) and a sub floor with some degree of spring to it will be added. It will be used as:

teaching/rehearsal studio space
dance performance space (including Jazz, Tap, Ballet, and Modern)
musical theatre performance space
straight drama performance space
event venue
In other words, this is a true multi-purpose room. We have a portable stage and portable audience risers that can be used at times. (blocking of sprung floor and point load has been addressed)

There are currently two options on the table (and many more opinions!):

Option [HASHTAG]#1[/HASHTAG]: Black Marley (or Marley like substance)
Option [HASHTAG]#2[/HASHTAG]: Dark stained Maple

So what's in your Blackbox?
What do you like about it?
What do you dislike?
What do you wish you had and why?

Thanks in advance for the feedback!


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## Footer (Jun 26, 2014)

Neither.... Masonite over the sprung floor and buy a Marley floor to tape down. 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## Skervald (Jun 26, 2014)

Thanks, Footer. That makes a lot of sense. I'd kind of dropped the Masonite topic. I got a lot of push back on it from instructors because we do so much dance here. We switch over very quickly and I'm not certain a Marley floor would ever come up once it was laid down. In a sense it would almost be a permanent Marley installation. I suppose we'd be no worse off though. The cost of a Masonite floor is pretty reasonable and it would always be there if we wanted it.


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## carproelsofly (Jun 26, 2014)

My stage floor is 1/4" MDF, and I really like it. It is a little more deadening than Masonite for regular shoes, but still has enough of a hard surface for tapping.

It's more expensive than Masonite, but it seems to hold paint better.

As with Masonite, it requires a bit of maintenance to pop down or sand off the little bumps that appear when you pull out a screw.

My floor is on year seven, with about 250-275 days usage per year (theater, dance, concerts, etc.), and will need to be replaced either next summer or the one after.

HTH,
Jen


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jun 26, 2014)

Seems to me it's about fastening to the deck and I suspect your bigger problem will be thresholds, door swings, and ADA if building up on top of existing slab. 

Whatever you use as the top layer under vinyl, try to find something without seams or fasteners that telescope through. You might look at the Rosco flooring products. The tiles have some appeal for repair and replacing just a piece if this is left down a lot. And their sub-floor system - the jig saw looking pieces - are worth considering as a fairly thin resilient base.


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## Skervald (Jun 26, 2014)

Very true. The floor is just one part of this project. Thresholds and ADA compliance have already been accounted for. Luckily we have a wide hallway leading to to main entrance that can be modified into a very gradual ramp. The doors and frame are being lifted to accommodate the new floor height.

Thanks for the advice. I'll check out the Rosco products. The ability to replace just one tile would certainly have it's advantages especially if we leave it down a lot. The sprung system we're looking at includes some blocking to protect against the heavy stage, audience risers, and any scenery that needs to be moved on it. I wonder how that would work with the pre-fab products. I suppose the point load may also be an issue. You've given me plenty to ponder.


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## Footer (Jun 26, 2014)

Skervald said:


> Thanks, Footer. That makes a lot of sense. I'd kind of dropped the Masonite topic. I got a lot of push back on it from instructors because we do so much dance here. We switch over very quickly and I'm not certain a Marley floor would ever come up once it was laid down. In a sense it would almost be a permanent Marley installation. I suppose we'd be no worse off though. The cost of a Masonite floor is pretty reasonable and it would always be there if we wanted it.



Eh. So, this is a dance studio that might have a play performed in it everyone once in a while? The idea of setting audience risers and scenery on a permanent marley floor gives me the shakes. Your going to get dimples and all of that fun stuff. Either way, you are going to have two different floors at play. If it means you rep a masonite floor for when you in "play" mode or rep a dance floor so be it. A taped marley floor is not going to take a ton of abuse before it has to be re-taped. We do a 3 week ballet residency in our larger room and we have to re-tape about every week. I would throw out the hardwood option... it is really good for no one and is a real pain to maintain. No real perfect answer here if you don't want to be pulling and replacing a marley.


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## techieman33 (Jun 26, 2014)

I'll second the comment about risers on a marley floor, if you have to do it at least put a block of plywood under them to help spread the weight out. The floor in our black box has been destroyed by risers.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jun 27, 2014)

This is sounding more like a real theatre, not a studio occasionally used for drama productions. Seems more like a hardboard or plyron top layer with full resilient stage floor system - sleepers,pads, stopper blocks, and sub-floor, etc. - and a roll out dance floor. Are you likely to ever have a scissors lift or lift truck in here?


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## JChenault (Jun 27, 2014)

Another vote against a permanent Marley floor. You say you will be doing musical theatre. At some point there will be a tap number. Taps and Marley don't work that well together.


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## Skervald (Jun 30, 2014)

Thanks for the warnings about risers on the marley. We were planning on blocking them but after reading all of your comments, taking it up is probably the better/safer option and worth the work. We do as much theatre as we do dance so there will be plenty of changeovers but that's job security, right?

@BillConnerASTC - Yes, we're looking at a sleeper, pad, block subfloor system. The space has 16' ceilings but I don't think we could get away with a truck or scissor lift in there. I'm intrigued by some of these small single person systems as an alternative to the ladder but I don't have much experience with them. It sure would make hanging and focusing easier.

Thanks for all the great input, everyone! Now, to get the decision makers to listen to your collective expertise!


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## sk8rsdad (Jun 30, 2014)

Skervald said:


> I'm intrigued by some of these small single person systems as an alternative to the ladder but I don't have much experience with them.


We use a Genie GR-20 Runabout for focus on a sprung floor that was built over slab-on-grade concrete. Our rehearsal room/black box has a 16' ceiling and 14' grid height so it's a similar space to yours. We looked at scissor lifts, but they are 3 to 4 times the weight of a mast lift like the Runabout.


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